The Consumption Of Bottled Water

Bottled water has become a controversial topic as of late. There are always two sides to every argument, some think that bottled water is beneficial to society, whereas some people think that it is detrimental to society as a whole. Bottled water is detrimental to society because it costs the country an abundance of money. It is also harmful to society because it is damaging to the environment. A lack of sanitation in bottled water has also been connected to illnesses among people who drink it. Bottled water is in no way shape or form worth the price that one will spend financially, nor is it worth the gamble of becoming sick from all the harsh chemicals that come from the bottle itself.

Is the great taste and convenience of bottled water worth the cost of the environmental damages it will cause in years to come? Most would say the cons of bottled water definitely outweigh the pros of bottled water and that everyone should drink tap water out of reusable containers. The answer seems obvious, but it is a simple issue. Bottled water is not worth the cost to the environment, but with some resourceful thinking, bottled water can be exempt from its environmental damages.

In the United States, the available water resources is also under assault. Half of water collected and stored by existing infrastructure is usually used in the production of electricity. This forces the population to use and divide what little there is left. This has always been a “good enough” approach until now, when water prices and population is on the rise.(3) There are already calls for charging water resources in order to increase efficiency of use.(3) Water protection is already being carried out and has been for years, but there is still water pollution occurring within the United States. After the Civil war, America strived to provide its population with clean water

Obsession may be the word used to describe American’s outlook towards bottled water. Many people buy it without thinking twice while others are thoughtful about the product. However, the use of bottled water establishes a challenge worth a discussion. As Susan Freinkel and Peter Gleick illustrate in their books, the use of plastic bottled water has birthed several consequences, which are not only economic but also environmental.

“Most communities have clean water,” says Alex Beauchamp of Food and Water Watch, a national organization dedicated to keeping “clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes.”(page #) Beauchamp’s organization believes water is a public commodity, not a private one, and shouldn’t be privatized.(page #)

Americans live in a consumer society where majority of products are packaged ready for use. This is attributed to the availability of disposable merchandise that is favorable and efficient in delivering the various products that are on demand. Among the various favorably consumed packed products is bottled water. It does not however, make sense for people to buy bottled water and throw the container away after they have emptied it. This is because the plastic bottles have a number of defects to the environment as well as to the general welfare of the economy. For example, in 1976 an average American drank 1.6 gallons of bottled water and since then the quantity has increased to an average of 30

In study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 1999, it revealed that twenty-two percent of the one-thousand water bottles being tested contained an alarming amount of chemicals that surpassed the health limit in one or more states. In addition, out of one-hundred and three brands that were tested, at least eighteen of them were found to have had contained microbiological contaminants, once again exceeding the health limits (Hyder). Although the study is a bit older, the problem of finding chemicals in bottled water has continued. Since the year 2000, there have been nine outbreaks due to contamination in bottled water (Commercially Bottled Water). In 2004, Coca-Cola withdrew its own water bottle brand because of concerns about a possible carcinogen in the water (Ward, Owen, Ryan et al). Carcinogens are “substances and exposures that can lead to cancer”, and the fact that it was a concern in a popular water bottle brand could result in dangerous outcomes (Known and Probable…).

Among these millions are those who believe bottled water is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Like Thomas J. Lauria, they believe “…bottled water provides a healthy choice when tap water is not accessible, preferred, or convenient.” According to a consumer poll “70 percent of bottled water drinkers also drink from the tap.” (Lauria) showing that what consumers care about most is convenience of consumption. Individuals in developing countries do not have the luxury of choice. They must travel a great distance for access to safe drinking water. When a group of individuals does not have access to clean water, whether due to natural disaster, water contamination, or developing status, bottled water is a saving grace and can save many lives. Access to bottles water allows them access to clean water without the time consuming and often dangerous process of traveling to and from a watering hole.” For those of us in the developed world, safe water is now so abundant that we can afford to shun the tap water under our noses and drink bottled water instead,” (Standage)

In this journal a study was run comparing the characteristics of bottled water to regular tap water and the overall beliefs of their health benefits. In the journal they had participants affiliated with the University of Birmingham, they ranged in ages, ethnic backgrounds, and it contained both males and females. These participants had email correspondence with the Researchers, who set up the study, before they went to an interview with them about the nature of bottled water and their thoughts on its benefits compared to tap water. The interview imposed many questions about the two waters such as the way they taste, smell, and even their environmental aspects. Many of the participants believed that there are some health benefits of drinking

According to Hannah Ellsbury (2013), “The energy squandered on using bottled water would be sufficient to power a hundred and ninety thousand homes”. In 1621, the idea of bottled water first originated in the United Kingdom. Therefore, global consumption of bottled water reached seventy-four and seven billion gallons in 2014. The largest consumer in the world of bottled water is U.S. comes next Mexico, China, and Brazil. Some individuals argue that drinking bottled water has many risks in different aspects. However, this paper argues that people should not only drink bottled water.

This source features information about the pros and cons of drinking bottled water vs tap water. It emphasizes on the bottle companies gimmicks and branding to convince the public to consume bottled water vs tap. The author Martin W. Lewis, who is a senior lecturer at Stanford University and author of Green Delusions: An Environmentalist Critique of Radical Environmentalism, offers a bias point of view on the subject, especially pointing out the influence bottling companies have on the consumers. Most of the research he uses in his source is from water expert Peter Gleick. His intended audience are consumers of bottled water. I like this source because Lewis makes it a point to shine a light on the gains and gimmicks that companies such a Coca-Cola,

Have you ever had any concerns about bottled water? Do you think that bottled water consumption should be banned? Bottled water is water packed in plastic containers and sold for human consumption (Health Canada, 2013). Currently, the amount of bottled water consumed has increased considerably since many people feel it is safer drinking bottled water than tap water (Parent and Wrong, 2014). According to The Statistics Portal, the global sale of bottled water took a leap from 161, 589 to 181, 608 liters from 2009 to 2011. Only in the United States, each American citizen consumed around 32 gallons of bottled water in 2013, thus meaning an equivalent growth of 15, 94% over 2009 (The Statistics Portal, 2014). In fact, due to good portability, bottled water has been helpful in both simple and complex situations such as daily exercises and natural disasters. Even though having those few considerable advantages, bottled water still have been less beneficial; especially due to the negative impacts in the social, health and environmental fields.

Coca Cola is a beverage company, a major consumer of water resources, it uses 2.43 liters of water to produce just 1 liter of beverage which makes it prone to criticism and consumer boycotts so to protects its brand image and defend its vision statement, which said be a responsible citizen, and run its business smoothly it decided to start water program to maintain its operations in Vietnam and build a CSR reputation.

One big change that needs to be made is pesticide free water in the Coca-Cola products. Indians have a lot of trouble with making sure their food and water is contaminated, and things like this aren’t going to help Coca-Cola’s business because they aren’t going to want to risk their health. Indian’s need to feel safe and trustful of Coca-Cola that their products are safe for themselves. Coca-Cola made also need to use less Indian water in their products if that problem cannot be fixed. Whatever it takes for Indian’s to understand that Coke’s products are pesticide free is what Coca-Cola needs to do. The future of Coke in India is in the hands of

Who would have known that Coca-Cola debut to the world was all because of a pharmacist? And just a touch of carbonation has truly made it a refreshing and an enjoyable carbonated soft drink. It is within “arms reach of desire” as former CEO Robert Woodruff notes. The Coca-Cola Company ultimately cares about its customers and prides itself into providing good citizenship. One of Coca-Cola’s largest international investors was India, from 1993 up until 2003, Coca-Cola invested more than US$1 billion into the country. In August of 2003, CEO of Coca-Cola India, Sanjiv Gupta came to a standstill where he had to further anticipate his next move for the company. The company faced a crisis where the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) issued a press release affirming that three samples of the 12 cold drink brands sold in and around Delhi containing pesticide residues were of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands.