We’ve heard about a lot of conspiracy theories lately:
Is bin Laden really dead?
Was Obama really born in the United States?
Was 9/11 planned by the U.S. Government?
Today, I’m going to address a popular water fluoridation conspiracy theory: Is big business profiting from water fluoridation?
The theory goes along these lines:
Fluoride is a waste by-product of manufacturing, such as the manufacture of fertilizer.
The companies that make the fertilizer can’t find a cheap way to safely dispose of it, so they decide to sell it to the thousands of unsuspecting municipalities around the country by telling them that if they dump it in their water, they will have healthy teeth. A frequent argument against water fluoridation is that companies are getting paid to dispose of their toxic waste and we are being forced to drink it!
De-Bunking the Water Fluoridation Conspiracy Theory
A spokesman for Alcoa, during an interview in 1972 stated that fluoride sales were not more than an “infinitesimal part” of Alcoa’s business model. He said, “We are in business primarily to make and sell aluminum. The future prosperity of the thousands of employees and shareholders who make up Alcoa depends principally upon how well we make aluminum, not on whether communities fluoridate their water.” (Source: Fluoridation Reporter, American Dental Association, 10(2), 1972. Emphasis added!)
The American Water Works Association recently reported in this article and in this article that we are experiencing shortages of fluorosilicic acid, a by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It would seem that if companies were making such a huge profit selling their “toxic waste” fluoride, then there would be a huge supply of fluorosilicic acid, rather than a shortage.
Find out if your water is really fluoridated with toxic waste fluoride.
The article notes that “At one point, Cleveland Water was only one day away from running out of FSA, but its supplier has managed a delivery in time for the utility to maintain fluoridation.”
It would seem that Cleveland Water would have a herd of shady businessmen knocking on their doors trying to sell them their “toxic waste” if this conspiracy theory were really true.
Conclusion
In summary, companies aren’t getting rich by selling their waste products for us to drink.
You can read all of the other articles I’ve written about water fluoridation.
Do you have any questions, comments, or concerns about water fluoridation? Also, do you think that this conspiracy theory is true? I’d love to hear what you have to say below in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
Your arguments are as dumb as you are [censored]. Just because the companies aren’t getting rich selling this poison to water companies, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. A shortage of the poison isn’t proof either, except maybe to say that it’s selling like hotcakes. Real research and documentary’s are available on the FluorideActionNetwork
You are a huge [censored].
Edit by Tom: I decided to remove a couple of words, just to keep things family-friendly! If you’re wondering why, please read the comments policy.
Hi John – My point wasn’t that fluoride is good for you. If you take a look at some of the other posts I’ve written, such as the Top 10 Reasons to Oppose Water Fluoridation, you’ll see that I understand a lot of the reasons why water fluoridation isn’t a perfect solution.
I was simply trying to point out that the argument that companies are getting rich selling their toxic waste and that they have an agenda to get rid of more fluoride by encouraging water fluoridation doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. I hope that helps clarify my points.
Tom, the argument completely stands up to scrutiny. Multimillion/multibillion dollar chem companies don’t profit by accident. It’s simple math. Pay a few hundred thousand per year to dispose of a product or sell it to gullible municipalities for an assumed benefit.
Snake oil.
john doe, you’re ignorant and rude. he never made the assumptions you did that it is good for you….. just that the conspiracy theory seems to have holes in it. Try to read what the post says and not what you “think” it says.
Thanks for sticking up for me, Jane! I didn’t get time to reply to the comments over the weekend.
Tom,
I think to debunk this “conspiracy” it would be more important to look at disposal cost of fluorosilicates rather than the profit the businesses make from it. To state this another way, it is possible that the suppliers are giving the “toxic waste” away to water utilities almost for free so that they don’t have to incur the cost of disposal. Because if it really is such a small part of their business, why even be in that business? Only to provide a public benefit?
Tom, just because ALCOA makes billions in revenue from aluminum, doesn’t mean they don’t want to make millions from fluoride(aka fluorosilicic acid). That’s not how corporations work. Corporations operate on a bottom line philosophy. If it makes money, it MUST happen.
To quote a ALCOA publicity rep further degenerates your argument. And to claim that any kind of fluoride shortage has literally anything to do with how much profit is to be made is simply ignorant. Is it possible that a contributing factor to the fluoride shortage may be the excessive demand, which by the way, leads to higher prices and higher profits.
From a corporate standpoint, this isn’t a conspiracy. So I’ll give you points on that one. It’s what you call in business, a “sale”. It’s also what you call in ethics, a “forced medication of a toxic industrial byproduct”.
Fluoride was used in Nazi Germany. It has a negative effect on the brain; makes you docile.
Do research if you want to find out more.
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/effects_of_fluoride.htm
Hey Tom,
Your article is a load of BS companies may not make a lot of money off the sale of fluoride (toxic waste) but it is a great way to avoid the costly expense of disposing of it. Very few countries add this toxin to their water supply because of it’s known side effects; perhaps it’s time for you to educate yourself and stop feeding the sheeple this conspiracy theory rhetoric.
Peace out.