September 23, 2006
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Bottled Water
Last night I wrote a post about expiration dates on bottled water, and I meant to imply that such a thing is strange, if not absurd. Since I made that post, two things have occurred related to bottled water.
First, one of my readers left a comment that contained a link to a web site at Cornell University about why bottled water has an expiration date. Evidently I’m not the only one who noticed that date and had a question about the practice. Check out the link (click here) if you’re as curious as I am. Thanks, Jim.
Second, this morning I happened to open the latest issue (September 16, 2006) of the National Catholic Reporter. Page 7 contained a half-page ad by the Emmitsburg Province of the Daughters of Charity about what they perceive to be the morality/immorality of bottled water. Lest anybody think this is some rogue group of whako lefties, let’s put them in context.
The first native-born saint, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, was the American founder of this outfit in–where else?–Emmitsburg, Maryland. This order of nuns has run, and maybe still does run, hospitals and schools all over the country. Charity Hospital in New Orleans–the enormous public hospital that had to be closed because of Hurricane Katrina–was called Charity Hospital not because it served charity patients (which it did) but because it was originally staffed by the Daughters of Charity. The countless doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who got their training at Charity (it was the teaching hospital for both LSU and Tulane University medical schools) are, in a sense, the direct descendants of the Daughters of Charity in New Orleans.
Okay, back to the ad. This is what it says:
The Daughters of Charity of the Emmitsburg Province issue a corporate stance on the use of bottled water.
The Daughters of Charity of the Emmitsburg Province ministering in seven southeastern states and the District of Columbia support the basic human right of access to clean water. After a thorough study of the reasons for and against the use of bottled water and solidarity with poor people throughout the world who suffer the effects of the privatization of water resources, the sisters have committed to the following actions:
- Reduce the use of bottled water to absolute necessity;
- Invite others to join in this action;
- Notify companies which manufacture bottled water of our stance;
- Develop an education program to make more public the effects of the privatization of water.
This stance serves as a voice for systemic change on this compelling issue of the 21st century.
So, who knew drinking bottled water was a compelling issue of the 21st century? I knew bottled water was expensive and that lugging home a twelve-pack from the grocery store was a pain in the ass (which is why I refill the bottles), but using bottled water is convenient. I know that I drink far more water from bottles than I ever would if I had to depend on the old glass tumbler method. One of the most highly regarded group of women in the Catholic Church seems to think there is a social justice dimension to bottled water that was, frankly, way beyond me.
It’s stuff like this that intrigues me about the prophetic role of religious in the world. I probably won’t change my bottled water-drinking habits because of this, but I don’t think I’ll ever open a fresh bottle again without at least thinking about that ad.
ED
