Fluoride -- An Ounce of Prevention? Donella H. Meadows, AlterNet
We have fluoride in toothpaste, mouthwash, vitamins, and half of the nation's cities fluoridate their water. But is fluoride really that great, asks ecologist Donella Meadows, in her weekly column on the AlterNet news service. Yes, it helps prevent cavities in children, but it also is a toxic substance. A little bit of it can kill vegetation, fish, mussels, crabs, shrimp, cattle. Meadows writes: 'Given the uncertainties, given the variation in intake from other sources, given the possibility of overdose, given known toxicity to other forms of life, if I lived in a city deciding about fluoridation, I would ask, isn't there a better way to protect children's teeth? Why fluoridate the whole water supply, the millions of gallons with which we flush toilets and take showers and water lawns, if our only target is children's teeth?' -- Sara V. Buckwitz
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