I just got the latest Costco Household Almanac.
Each article in their “Almanac” is an advertisement. The one that got my goat was the one titled “The benefits of bottled water” sponsored by Nestle Waters. There are six different labels on Nestle Waters: Poland Springs, Arrowhead, Ozarka, Deep Park, Ice Mountain and Zephyrills.
Here are some of their facts:
“Bottled water is so much better than sodas.” Completely agree with this though there is nor reason to have to the word “bottled” in front of water there.
“It’s often difficult to drink enough water while on the go … and you might be wary of the quality of the local water.” I have two things to say about this. If you are on the go in a car, there are cup holders. They hold water glasses as well as cups of coffee. And I do not know of a place in the United States where utility supplied water is not safe.
And their final reason is environmental concern: Putting water in a bottle uses less water than a putting soda or beer in a bottle. They say is takes 1.37 gallons of water to make a gallon of bottled water. This is a lot less than the 2 – 3 gallons for a soda. But what is even less is just putting water in a glass and drinking it.
At least Nestle’s finally giving up the pretense that they don’t try to frighten consumers by denigrating the quality of tap water, though they’re less thrilled when you point out that tap water’s far more regulated than bottled.
A recent Environmental Working Group report found carcinogens, acetominophen, fertilizer and other interesting compounds in ten bottled water brands bought at random from stores around the country.
Wary about the quality of water? I’m sticking with tap.