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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