In case you feel you didn’t have enough to worry about, the folks at Live Water are more than willing to help you panic about one more thing – water. This company’s stand against filtered, treated water has already found fertile ground in the minds of plenty of people in Western California, riding on the public outrage around the water crisis in the city of Flint, Michigan. To combat the scourge of regular tap water (or bottled water, for that matter), they offer 11 liter bottles of “unfiltered, unsterilized, untreated spring water”.
Live Water founder Mukhande Singh has harsh words to say about the fluoride and chlorine used to treat tap water, forgetting the fact that these chemicals have virtually eradicated cholera, typhoid fever and diarrhea caused by water pathogens, ever since being employed to purify water in the US, in 1908. Fluoride is also proven to help prevent tooth decay, which is another scientific fact being disputed by Mr. Singh. Instead, he claims that his untreated spring water (selling at $37 per bottle) has certain probiotic qualities – that is to say, bacteria that are good for the human digestive system.
It is important to state that treating drinking water is by no means a recent practice. As far back in history as Ancient Egypt, people would clarify their water before drinking it, and it is a well known fact among survival experts that even fresh spring water should be boiled before drinking, to eliminate contamination risks. After all, it’s very difficult to know for sure what exactly fell (or perhaps died) in the water upstream from you.
While concerns for the integrity of city officials are not unfounded, as evidenced by the recent Flint debacle, that does not mean that succumbing to conspiracy theories is the way to a healthier, safer life. The same anti-scientific rhetoric employed by anti-vaxxers is being flung around again, and it can lead to very dark paths indeed.
