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Panich52

(5,829 posts) Sat Mar 14, 2015, 07:31 PM Mar 2015

The Most Brazen Rip-Off Ever? How the Beverage Industry Brainwashed You to Fear Tap Water [View all]

The Most Brazen Rip-Off Ever? How the Beverage Industry Brainwashed You to Fear Tap Water
Tap water is superior to bottled water. Why don't consumers know that?

The biggest con job perpetrated on the consumer is not some shady operation selling bogus cures through TV infomercials. America’s biggest snake-oil salesman is actually the beverage industry, or Big Bev, which resells the simplest and most vital product for thousands of times its value. That product is drinking water.

Multinationals ... rake in a combined $110 billion a year selling bottled water worldwide. ...

But the expensive water the beverage industry sells is no better — and possibly worse — than the water you get from your tap (and often, the water they sell is tap water). So how did these companies fool the public into paying a few bucks for something that costs a few pennies per gallon from a faucet?

Fear. These multinationals have spent millions on marketing to convince consumers that tap water tastes bad, contains high levels of contaminants and poses a danger to human health. ...

... With some 92% of tap water meeting state and federal standards, the U.S. has the cleanest and safest public water supply in the world. ...

To make matters worse, the supposedly healthy alternative is virtually unregulated. The water from a public utility is constantly monitored under Environmental Protection Agency standards, but bottled water does not have to meet those standards. In fact, independent testing of bottled water has indicated that microbiological impurities and high levels of fluoride and arsenic posed health concerns.

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More
http://www.alternet.org/fear-america/how-beverage-industry-gets-you-fear-your-water?akid=12890.1924881._Cj8Ep&rd=1&src=newsletter1033204&t=2

64 replies

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The Most Brazen Rip-Off Ever? How the Beverage Industry Brainwashed You to Fear Tap Water [View all] Panich52 Mar 2015 OP

Oooh I LOVE the taste of chlorine and rusty metal. cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #1

Which is in the bottled water, too. Pshaw! nt longship Mar 2015 #5

If you're trying to tell me a pint of Sparkletts tastes like the tap water in Big Bear Lake... cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #7

I've been there a few times. longship Mar 2015 #8

I'm open to that. n/t cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #19

I get reverse osmosis water from a store, it's way cheaper than bottled water, and tastes AMAZING! DesertDiamond Mar 2015 #37

Not all of us own homes so reverse osmosis isn't an option Beaverhausen Mar 2015 #55

A couple hundred bucks for an under counter unit. longship Mar 2015 #57

Is bottled water progress to you? Jetboy Mar 2015 #16

Not only do I recycle; I work for the disposal company. cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #18

They still manufacture those bottles by the millions. Jetboy Mar 2015 #21

Billions. But do feel free to preach to someone else. cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #24

That's great. The OP is about bottled water which is manufactured by the billions as Jetboy Mar 2015 #28

Answer me one question. yeoman6987 Mar 2015 #22

I don't care how bottled water tastes. Jetboy Mar 2015 #23

What? Compare SUV to water? Well get me some good tasting tap yeoman6987 Mar 2015 #25

Plastic bottles by the billions just aren't good for the planet. Jetboy Mar 2015 #30

Maybe you are right, yeoman6987 Mar 2015 #31

I do it once a day and gather all of the water I need for the day. Jetboy Mar 2015 #34

You are good I must say. yeoman6987 Mar 2015 #39

This message was self-deleted by its author muriel_volestrangler Mar 2015 #62

It's just pure water Treant Mar 2015 #26

Your lucky. Florida is horrible, Arnold Maryland is ok yeoman6987 Mar 2015 #29

Here in Japan, those plastic bottles are recycled Art_from_Ark Mar 2015 #46

Some "progressives" are all about progress/principles until it ChisolmTrailDem Mar 2015 #58

If my brother drinks the local tap water, he shits himself Sen. Walter Sobchak Mar 2015 #63

My tap water tastes better than any bottled water I've tried cali Mar 2015 #45

Spring water is awesome. cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #49

however, if my tap water tasted like some tap water I've had, I damn well would buy water. cali Mar 2015 #50

Get a water filter if you pipes are old and your city uses too much chlorine Matariki Mar 2015 #54

Maybe you should read my posts before you tell me what to do. cherokeeprogressive Mar 2015 #56

I've never bought bottled water. Jetboy Mar 2015 #2

My city tap water tastes awful. Lilyhoney Mar 2015 #3

Consider a reverse osmosis system. longship Mar 2015 #6

A big waste of water taught_me_patience Mar 2015 #38

That's what I use. It makes a difference and is inexpensive. randome Mar 2015 #44

I've always known that. Ron Obvious Mar 2015 #4

I've been in places in Massachusetts and Louisiana Art_from_Ark Mar 2015 #47

Sure Ron Obvious Mar 2015 #53

I was in the Southbridge area of Massachusetts Art_from_Ark Mar 2015 #59

I've always been fine with city water, but my kids... bhikkhu Mar 2015 #9

Have thought about getting a Brita pitcher? AwakeAtLast Mar 2015 #51

My water tastes fine. If I'm ever anywhere where the water stinks, I'll use a filtration system. MADem Mar 2015 #10

"$110 billion a year selling bottled water worldwide" MisterP Mar 2015 #11

there's visible stuff floating around in tap water where i live. i still drink it, i just KG Mar 2015 #12

I drink filtered tap water itsrobert Mar 2015 #13

At home I use tap - in 840high Mar 2015 #14

Same. It's not really difficult to figure out why. Inkfreak Mar 2015 #41

I let my tap water air out over night... EX500rider Mar 2015 #15

Two words Tracyjo Mar 2015 #17

The water here tastes horrible gollygee Mar 2015 #20

Dallas water is pretty good. malokvale77 Mar 2015 #27

They didn't brainwash me. I've drunk tap water my whole life. cyberswede Mar 2015 #32

My tap water is awful jollyreaper2112 Mar 2015 #33

For the record, Thespian2 Mar 2015 #35

My tap water reeks of chlorine. Boiling doesn't get the taste and smell out. YOHABLO Mar 2015 #36

Same here. Sometimes worse than others... Phentex Mar 2015 #60

I pay the $.25 a gallon to refill my bottles at the store LadyHawkAZ Mar 2015 #40

We've got some of the best water in NY!! Inkfreak Mar 2015 #42

i keep cans of seltzer in the car for emergencies bedazzled Mar 2015 #43

Actually, this is why I fear tap water: blue neen Mar 2015 #48

Lewis Black on water. mmonk Mar 2015 #52

You don't need to spend a penny to convince me my tap water tastes bad Sen. Walter Sobchak Mar 2015 #61

The tap water I have in SE MI romanic Mar 2015 #64