Is bottled water good or evil?

"Would you like bottled or tap water with your meal tonight?" That's the first question servers ask when you sit-down at a restaurant table. Diners love having the choice. But what if you were no longer given the option to select what kind of bottle you want? Well, if the non-profit organization Food Water Watch wins its campaign against the use of bottled water at New York restaurants, then NYC tap water will soon be the only option.

By launching the Take Back the Tap campaign, FWW is hoping to point out all the social, economic, and environmental problems brought on by the overuse of bottled water. How? They're encouraging approximately 1,000 New York City restaurants to stop selling bottled water.

Bottle fans may have another option. A newly launched company, GIVE water bottles, helps diners donate funds to one of three causes: children in need, women with breast cancer, and environmental concerns. All you have to do is purchase a blue-, pink- or green-colored water bottle; every time you buy a bottle of this natural spring water, ten cents is donated to your cause of choice. In other words you can become what the people at GIVE refer to as micro-philanthropists.

What if your local restaurants offered either tap water or GIVE water? Which would you chose?

Carolina Santos-Neves grew up in Brazil, Mexico City, and New York City. Her interest in the culinary field first surfaced in the second grade, when it became clear she only liked to play with edible play dough. Years later, after graduating from Brown University, she attended French culinary classes at the New School, honed her skills at the Grandaisy Bakery in Manhattan, and studied food writing. Her favorite pastime: perusing restaurant menus for Brussels sprouts, banana desserts, and eclectic ice cream flavors (like black pepper gelato). She attributes her interest in food to her mom's stories about growing up as an Ohio farm girl and to her dad's love of food and travel.

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From the Community…

Comments 1-8 of 8

Posted by sexie01 Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:27pm PDT

hun???? last i heard God created the air we breath and the water we drink

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Posted by caitie Fri Aug 1, 2008 7:06am PDT

10 cents? How much does it cost per bottle?

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Posted by MBT Fri Aug 1, 2008 4:53pm PDT

Every little bit can help the earth.

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Posted by Susan Sat Aug 2, 2008 8:28am PDT

I always choose tap water over bottled water. All those plastic bottles end up in landfills unless people recycle them and not everyone does. And instead of carrying around a bottle of bottled water, I carry a reusable bottle I fill from the tap.

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Posted by Kat Sat Aug 2, 2008 9:47pm PDT

so we pay a lot for a bottle of water that ends up in a LANDFILL FOR A FEW THOUSAND YEARS to give 10cents to help save the earth........uhm
kay....that makes sense.....
In the words of River Tam "this food is problematic"

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Posted by P-LOW LOCO YO Sun Aug 3, 2008 11:21am PDT

SAVE THE WORLD MAN............DRINK FROM THE TAP.....IF IT WASN'T SAFE I AM SURE IT WOULD BE THERE.......PLASTIC BOTTLES ARE A PROBLEM, UNLESS UR USING THE NEW BOTTLES MADE FROM RICE THAT BIO-DEGRADABLE IN ABOUT 90 DAYIES AND IS GOOD FOR THE SOIL AND EARTH.......
SAVE THE WORLD MAN

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Posted by bless m Sun Aug 3, 2008 6:35pm PDT

then way my dogs pasedaway drinking city whater to me bollet water is bater then oklahoma city water is

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Posted by moultoncheryl Tue Aug 5, 2008 3:57pm PDT

Next time you reach for that bottle of water, check it out. If it says bottled from a "municipal" water source, then it was TAP WATER to start with!!!!!!! People who buy bottled water are FREAKIN' IDIOTS !!!!!!!!

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Comments 1-8 of 8

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