Bottled Water Pros and Cons

Bottled water has garnered much press recently as it relates to environmental impact. And, deservedly so. The environment is this age's greatest concern, or at least it should be.

On one side, consumers are saying they want water available in this format. It is convenient and the quality is higher than what they would get at home or work. In a way, it is hard not to support them. After all, they are making a healthier choice for their body. Not so long ago the only beverages available at stores were sodas, etc. In my opinion, just the fact that more people are drinking water in lieu of toxic, mass marketed sugar beverages is a wonderful thing. Stewardship of the body goes hand in hand with stewardship of the planet.

The other side feels that the majority of bottled waters are not much better than tap water. All those trucks shipping bottled water burn fossil fuels and carry a heavy environmental impact. What is the point if you can just fill your own bottle at home? Valid point. However, I do not think it is fair to single out bottled water drinkers on this fact alone. Let's face it. In many cases a consumer reaching for a Coca-Cola or Pepsi on the shelf is creating the same environmental impact with that choice and a much worse one for the body. At least with water, consumers are telling big corporations that they want healthier choices at the store.

This side also sites the issue of non-biodegradable plastic filling up landfills. This is not an industry problem per se, but a consumer issue. Apparently, many people feel recycling is inconvenient. That is silly. Please recycle your containers. A new biodegradable food grade plastic has been developed from corn. Unfortunately it is more costly to use, especially as more and more corn crops are being diverted to alternative fuels. Still, it cannot hurt to suggest to your favorite bottled water company that they use this type of bottle.

The big picture here is that both sides are correct- and wrong!

I do not care what anyone says. I am not drinking tap water. If you think that is a good choice for your body, you have simply not done your homework. However, a good filtration system in the home can easily produce a quality of water equal to and in many cases better than most bottled waters. Especially the lower quality ones that are most frequently purchased. If this is the water you purchase, you can make a difference. Bottle at home!

Above that we have the premium water consumers. Many sources for these waters are not so remote, but most are extracted from exotic locations like Fiji or a volcano in France. These are quality natural waters with a distinct taste. In this case, the argument that you can get water at home just does not hold up. You cannot make these at home. The problem here is these waters are shipped thousands of miles before they reach stores. These waters are better for you than the lower quality ones, but I do not think the health benefit outweighs the environmental impact for everyday consumption. One must also consider that vast quantities of water are being extracted from the earth at single locations. In most cases, this cannot continue indefinitely.

If you are a premium water consumer, please do research on the companies who provide your water. Ask them questions regarding environmental impact and if they offset these significantly in any way. Unfortunately, most companies are only as accountable as their paying customers demand them to be.

Lastly, we have health waters. These waters sometimes have additives in the form of vitamins and minerals although certainly not always. The majority of these waters are not more healthful than the premium waters mentioned above. However, most are sourced from existing municipal supplies which reduces their environmental impact significantly.

A handful of waters in the health category do offer a truly unique product. Some of these companies even understand that water can be structured in a way to provide great benefit to the body.

If you purchase water, please do your homework. If it is not going to improve your health, it is not worth the environmental impact.

To Your Health!

Craig Hoffman

I recently conducted a survey that asked bottled water drinkers to rank in order of importance five things related to bottled water. The options were: Source, Packaging, the Water, Taste, and Environmental Impact. This survey was designed to reveal much information. Surprisingly, people ranked 'Source' as being more important than 'the Water!' This choice wasn't made for environmental reasons as 'Environmental Impact' was ranked even less than 'the Water' implying 'Source' is more important than 'the Water' for health reasons.

Admittedly this is a bit of a trick question because it is 100% logical that the quality of water you are putting in your body is of greater importance than where it originally came from. But, it reveals a common misperception that what happens to water after it is collected is less important and impactful to ones health than the actual source of the water. This can be true, however, in most cases it is not as you will soon understand.

The public categorizes bottled water sources into two primary groups, natural and unnatural. Natural includes springs, streams, rivers, wells (artesian and pumped) and even the sea. Unnatural is what is normally called tap water or municipally supplied water. It is labeled unnatural because this water usually has additives like chlorine and/or flouride, and is pumped throughout the municipalities water supply system.
Bottled water from unnatural sources can be plain tap water or Purified Water. Purified means the water is processed to remove contaminates which is a good thing. What you may not know is that natural sources of water are also processed, often subjected to filtration and UV Sterilization to ensure it is safe before bottling. Many waters from natural sources also contain contaminates.

You also may not know that simply pumping water through common flat-walled pipes strips pristine water of its beneficial energies. So, even water from the best source is significantly impacted by the time it reaches your body. It is a fact that most people in America have never even tasted water in its most beneficial state, let alone experienced the health benefits of drinking it regularly. Think about that. It is all handled by man, in one way or another. Our current methods of moving water destroys a significant amount of its beneficial properties.

The only time the source of the water is more important than the water itself (as it relates to health) is when nothing is done to the water. But if you are drinking it from a bottle or it comes out of a pipe from somewhere, even if it is your own well, something significant has been done to the water. And, that something has altered it from its natural, most healthful state.

How important is source? Source is not important unless you are drinking directly from it! If you are not, it is all about the water.

Craig Hoffman