吳悠

Bottled & Sold： the Story Behind Our Obsession1 with Bottled Water

隨著生活水平的提高，人們對(duì)生活品質(zhì)有著越來越高的追求。水作為人類生存的必需品，也被價(jià)簽分為三六九等。憑借便攜、安全、健康等優(yōu)點(diǎn)，瓶裝水日漸成為市場(chǎng)的寵兒。然而瓶裝水真的像廣告做得那么好嗎？它真的比自來水更安全嗎？瓶裝水究竟為何風(fēng)靡全球？

1. obsession： 癡迷，著魔。

2. 突然間，公共飲水器消失在人們的視野當(dāng)中，取而代之的是隨處可見的瓶裝水：在每一家便利店、每一臺(tái)飲料冰柜和自動(dòng)販賣機(jī)中都能見到。water fountain： （設(shè)于公共場(chǎng)所的）飲水器；vanish： 消失，突然不見；beverage cooler： 飲料冰柜；vending machine： 自動(dòng)販賣機(jī)。

3. cart： 手推車，手拉車。

4. lunch counter： 便餐館。

5. Silicon Valley： 美國硅谷。

6. throw-away： 用后可扔的。

7. lobby： 大廳；reception： 接待處。

8. unload： 卸貨；cafeteria： 自助餐廳。

9. anachronism： 時(shí)代錯(cuò)誤，不合潮流的人或物；liability： 累贅，惹麻煩的人或物；concession stand： （體育比賽場(chǎng)地、劇院等開設(shè)的出售食品、飲料等的）營業(yè)攤點(diǎn)，小商店。

10. health-conscious： 注重健康的；tap water： 自來水； contamination： 污染，污染物； contagion： 傳染病。

11. pipe： 用管道運(yùn)輸；inhabitant： 居民。

12. 然而，窮人們則要依靠私人供水商和附近的水井，這些水井往往破敗不堪、受到污染或病菌肆虐，例如曾在周圍區(qū)域傳播霍亂的著名的寬街水泵。vendor： 供貨商；taint： 污染，玷污；pump： 泵；cholera： 霍亂。

13. 1851年倫敦世博會(huì)期間，關(guān)于對(duì)要展出的英國頂尖技術(shù)、科學(xué)和創(chuàng)新成果的設(shè)想，《噴趣》雜志就寫道：“一杯適合飲用的水將是整個(gè)博覽會(huì)最杰出也最能福及全球的發(fā)明。”conceive： 構(gòu)想，設(shè)想； showcase： 使展示；triumph： 成功，成就；Punch Magazine： 《噴趣》雜志，是英國著名的諷刺漫畫雜志。

14. outbreak：（疾病的）爆發(fā)。

15. eliminate： 消除。

16. faucet： 水龍頭，旋塞。

17. in favor of： 支持，贊同。

18. controversy： 爭(zhēng)議；contradiction： 矛盾；glitterati： 上層人士，名流； perception： 認(rèn)知。

19. sommelier：（旅館、餐館等的）侍酒師；fancy： 昂貴的；premium： 高價(jià)的，優(yōu)質(zhì)的；boost： 提高。

20. exorbitant： 過高的，高得離譜的。

21. celebrity： 名人，名流；tout： 兜售。

22. 腰纏萬貫卻缺少理智的富人們花費(fèi)至少50美元購買裝在嵌有假寶石的華麗瓶子里的白開水，抑或是可能產(chǎn)自異國或經(jīng)過神奇加工的“優(yōu)質(zhì)水”。plain water： 白開水；gem： 寶石，珍寶；exotic： 異國的。

23. niche：（產(chǎn)品的）商機(jī)，有利可圖的市場(chǎng)定位；mineral-water： 礦泉水。

24. gallon： 加侖（液量單位）；sparkling mineral water： 氣泡礦泉水。

25. trucker： 卡車司機(jī)；retailer： 零售商，零售店。

26. pocketbook： 錢包，財(cái)力。

27. 自來水之爭(zhēng)向來是一場(chǎng)不宣而戰(zhàn)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，但是近些年來，私人瓶裝水商發(fā)起了越來越多的活動(dòng)，巧妙地宣揚(yáng)自來水可能帶來的健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，或是鼓吹瓶裝水可能具備的健康優(yōu)勢(shì)。subtle： 巧妙的，狡猾的；play up： 渲染，宣揚(yáng)；launch： 發(fā)起，發(fā)動(dòng)。

28. convince： 使信服，使相信； essentially： 本質(zhì)上，根本上；accessible： 容易得到的；alternative： 可供選擇的事物。

29. perceived： 感知到的；flaw： 瑕疵，缺點(diǎn)。

30. invisible： 無形的。

31. skyrocket： 飛漲，猛漲。

32. PepsiCo： 百事可樂公司；division： 部門。

33. irrigation： 灌溉。

34. Quaker Oats Company： 桂格燕麥片公司；candidly： 坦白地，坦率地； relegate： 使降級(jí)。

35. 瓶裝水商在辯論、國會(huì)證詞、廣告和媒體宣傳中都表明瓶裝水產(chǎn)業(yè)的日益崛起不是以自來水產(chǎn)業(yè)，而是其他商業(yè)飲料為代價(jià)的，這是瓶裝水行業(yè)最近的宣傳活動(dòng)策略之一。tactic： 策略，手段；Congressional：（美國）國會(huì)的；testimony： 證詞，證據(jù)。

36. IBWA：（International Bottled Water Association）國際瓶裝水協(xié)會(huì)；calorie： 卡路里；caffeine： 咖啡因； artificial： 人造的，假的；flavor： 味道；ingredient： 成分，要素。

37. intriguing： 引人入勝的，神秘的；potentially： 可能地，潛在地。

38. Department of Commerce：（美國）商務(wù)部。

39. carbonated： 含二氧化碳的；hard alcohol： 烈酒。

All of a sudden public water fountains have vanished and bottled water is everywhere： in every convenience store， beverage cooler， and vending machine.2 In student backpacks， airplane beverage carts3， and all of my hotel rooms. At every conference and meeting I go to. On restaurant menus and school lunch counters4. In early 2007， as I waited for a meeting in Silicon Valley5， I watched a steady stream of young employees pass by. Nearly all were carrying two items： a laptop and a throw-away6 plastic bottle of water. When I entered the lobby and checked in at reception，7 I was told to help myself to something to drink from an open cooler containing fruit juices and rows of commercial bottled water. As I walked to my meeting， I passed cases of bottled water being unloaded near the cafeteria.8 Water fountains used to be everywhere， but they have slowly disappeared as public water is increasingly pushed out in favor of private control and profit. Water fountains have become an anachronism， or even a liability， a symbol of the days when homes didnt have taps and bottled water wasnt available from every convenience store and corner concession stand.9 In our health-conscious society， were afraid that public fountains， and our tap water in general， are sources of contamination and contagion.10 It used to be the exact opposite—in the 1800s， when our cities lacked widespread access to safe water， there were major movements to build free public water fountains throughout America and Europe.

In London in the mid-1800s， water was beginning to be piped directly into the homes of the citys wealthier inhabitants.11 The poor， however， relied on private water vendors and neighborhood wells that were often broken or tainted by contamination and disease， like the famous Broad Street pump that spread cholera throughout its neighborhood.12 At the time of Londons Great Exhibition in 1851， conceived to showcase the triumphs of British technology， science， and innovation， Punch Magazine wrote： “Whoever can produce in London a glass of water fit to drink will contribute the best and most universally useful article in the whole exhibition.”13 Just three years after the Exhibition， thousands of Londoners would die in the third massive cholera outbreak14 to hit the city since 1800.

By the middle of the 20th century， spectacular efforts to improve water-quality treatment and major investments in modern drinking-water systems had almost completely eliminated15 the risks of unsafe water. Those of us who have the good fortune to live in the industrialized world now take safe drinking water entirely for granted. We turn on a faucet16 and out comes safe， often free fresh water. But those efforts and investments are in danger of being wasted， and the public benefit of safe tap water lost， in favor of17 private gain in the form of little plastic water bottles.

The growth of the bottled water industry is a story about 21st century controversies and contradictions： poverty versus glitterati； perception versus reality；18 private gain versus public loss. Today people visit luxury water “bars” stocked with bottles of water shipped in from every corner of the world. Water “sommeliers” at fancy restaurants push premium bottled water to satisfy demand and boost profits.19 Airport travelers have no choice but to buy bottled water at exorbitant20 prices because their own personal water is considered a security risk. Celebrities tout their current favorite brands of bottled water to fans.21 People with too much money and too little sense pay $50 or more for plain water in a fancy glass bottle covered in fake gems， or for “premium” water supposedly bottled in some exotic place or treated with some magical process.22

In its modern form， bottled water is a new phenomenon， growing from a niche mineral-water product with a few wealthy customers to a global commodity found almost everywhere.23 The recent expansion of bottled water sales has been extraordinary. In the late 1970s， around 350 million gallons of bottled water were sold in the United States—almost entirely sparkling mineral water and large bottles to supply office water coolers24—or little more than a gallon and a half per person per year. As the figure below shows， between 1976 and 2015， sales of bottled water in the United States doubled， doubled again， doubled again， and then doubled again. In 2015， nearly nine billion gallons （over 34 billion liters） of bottled water were packaged and sold in the United States and five times this amount was sold around the world， feeding a global business of water providers， bottlers， truckers， and retailers at a cost to consumers of over a hundred billion dollars.25

Millions of Americans still drink tap water at home and in restaurants. But there is a war on for the hearts， minds， and pocketbooks26 of tap water drinkers， a huge market that water bottlers cannot afford to ignore. The war on the tap is an undeclared war， for the most part， but in recent years， more and more subtle campaigns that play up the supposed health risks of tap water， or the supposed health advantages of bottled water， have been launched by private water bottlers.27

How do you convince consumers to buy something that is essentially the same as a far cheaper and more easily accessible alternative？28 You promote perceived advantages of your product， and you emphasize the flaws in your competitors product.29 For water bottlers this means selling safety， style， and convenience， and playing on consumers fears. Fear is an effective tool. Especially fear of sickness and of invisible30 contamination. If we can be made to fear our tap water， the market for bottled water skyrockets31. Some of the worlds biggest bottlers have also targeted tap water. In 2000， shortly before he was made chairman of PepsiCos North American Beverage and Food division，32 Robert S. Morrison publicly declared， “The biggest enemy is tap water... Were not against water—it just has its place. We think its good for irrigation33 and cooking.” That same year， Susan Wellington， president of the Quaker Oats Companys United States beverage division， candidly told industry analysts， “When were done， tap water will be relegated to showers and washing dishes.”34

Looking at the massive growth in bottled water consumption， it is apparent that the bottled water companies have been winning the war against tap water. And in one of their latest campaign tactics， the bottled water industry is now arguing in debates， Congressional testimony， advertising， and media campaigns that the growth of bottled water sales doesnt come at the expense of tap water， but rather other commercial beverages.35 In August 2013， they bought full-page ads in the New York Times. “Whether it comes from a faucet or a bottle， drinking water is an easy step people can take to lead a healthier lifestyle. So， as far as were concerned， the drink in everyones purse， backpack， and lunch box should be water.” In December 2007， in testimony to the U.S. Congress， the IBWA President， Joe Doss， said， “Consumers also choose bottled water over other beverages because it does not contain calories， caffeine， sugar， artificial flavors or colors， alcohol and other ingredients.”36

This is an intriguing and potentially powerful argument，37 except that it is false. Are we really drinking bottled water instead of soft drinks and other consumer beverages or are we actually drinking less tap water？ The U.S. Department of Commerce38 collects excellent data on beverage consumption. Contrary to what the bottled water industry argues， the numbers show that we are buying more bottled water and carbonated soft drinks， and drinking less of everything else， including milk， coffee， tea， fruit juices， beer， wine， hard alcohol，39 and especially tap water.

The beverage companies are winning the war on tap water. As long as people can be made to fear tap water， they will seek out alternatives they think offer more safety. But we have to ask： is bottled water actually any safer？ What do we know about whats actually in our tap water—or in the bottles of water we buy？ And how safe is it to drink？