According to a recent study in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, Latino and black parents are three times more likely to purchase bottled water for their children than are white parents. The reasons cited include the widespread belief that bottled water is cleaner, safer, and healthier than tap water.

Arguing the contrary, TheRoot.com reports, “Health experts note reams of data showing tap water to be pure, healthful and entirely sanitary. Plus, study authors say that missing out on the fluoride in tap water could contribute to dental issues among minority children. And then there’s the National Resources Defense Council investigation that discovered that 17 percent of bottled water contained unsafe levels of bacterial loads, and 22 perent was contaminated with chemicals, including arsenic.”

It’s no secret that our trust in bottled water stems from successful corporate marketing campaigns (see the above Dasani advertisement with Chilli) and the belief that something manufactured is better than something that comes directly out of the faucet. The truth is that the United States has one of the best and cleanest tap water systems in the world. Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year and costs far more than utilizing our natural resources. Buying one sturdy water bottle and filling it up each day would not only help the environment but likely encourage more people to refill and drink more water each day.

So let’s discuss: why are black and Latino parents three times more likely to purchase bottled water than white parents? Drop your thoughts!

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7 Comments

  1. atm the faucet water i use is so hard it dries out my hair and mouth. and it tastes like bleach. under normal circumstances i would just drink from the faucet.

  2. I was drinking tap water…until it came out the faucet brown one day. The country as a whole may have good water but I’m in a state known for its horrible water. When I saw brown water I knew i’d be stickin to the bottled water.

  3. I don’t drink tap BECAUSE it contains fluoride! FLUORIDE IS POISON! It has been linked to many adverse affects/illnesses! Please research it for yourself. Here is a link to get you started….http://www.fluoridealert.org/iq-studies.aspx.

  4. I don’t drink bottled water because it isn’t regulate and often the plastic contains carcinogens and toxins. Many times bottled water is the same water as tap water anyway.

  5. I use tap water, but I boil it first. It’s free and if it worked for my grandmother and great grandmother who lived to be 104 (died 2 years ago), it’ll work for me! It only takes a few minutes to boil the water and it tastes crisp and fresh.

  6. I don’t drink my tap water because I rent an apartment with well water – not only does it not smell great, it doesn’t taste great either – and it is sometimes brown as well.

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