Pulaski, New York may be a small town of just 2,400 residents, but it has now added itself to the list of more than 130 communities across the country that have banned the addition of fluoride to their water supply.
While not all fluoride is bad, the type that has been promoted by dentistry and added to our water and food supply beginning in the 1940s certainly is. Calcium fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, while its synthetic counterpart, sodium fluoride (silicofluoride), is an industrial-grade hazardous waste material made during the production of fertilizer. Its past history includes patented use as rat poison and insecticide. There are many blind- and double-blind studies that show sodium fluoride has a cumulative effect on the human body leading to allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, bone weakening, cancer, and neurological problems, while actually damaging tooth enamel if consumed in high enough quantities. The chart below illustrates that dental fluorosis rates have only risen over the 60 years since its addition to dental products, food and water.
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| source: Fluoride Action Network |
As people have become more aware of the dangers of the toxic effects of excessive fluoride exposure, activist pressure has forced its removal in many locations. However, in the case of Pulaski, NY, it was was not due to public outrage; it was a well-informed water board chaired by Mike Sacco who voted to pull the plug on exposing the community to fluoride’s harmful effects.
A rather biased piece from The Post-Standard features a local dentist who gives his testimony as to the benefits of fluoride he has observed over his 45 years in practice, as well as the position taken by the 20 or so people who did show up for the meeting that comprised mostly people from the dental and healthcare professions.
An ancillary concern was that of corrosion that had been noticed in the town’s copper water pipes. However, even on this note Sacco “said village water workers were told during one of their state-mandated training classes that fluoride damages the pipes.”
Nevertheless, for Chairman Mike Sacco, he cites Dr. Paul Connett’s book The Case Against Fluoride which documents the damaging effects of what winds up in 72% of the nation’s tap water without their knowledge. As you will see in the video presentation below, Connett also documents how politics often trumps health, especially in the case of Portland, Oregon.
Due to monied corporate and political interests, the debate about the health effects vs. benefits of fluoride is sure to rage on, but one thing should remain clear, as Mike Sacco notes, the central issue is one of the right to informed consent; fluoride supplements are still available for those parents who would like to offer them to their children. And it would be a far more honest way to do it. If government wants to end the conspiracy theories, then it’s very simple: let people research all aspects of the issue and choose for themselves.
As the Post notes, while the Pulaski verdict went in favor of the “anti-fluoride movement,” (in the Post’s view due primarily to the Internet) big money and politics is still winning, with 297 communities deciding to add fluoride during the same 12-year time period that 139 have removed it.
Meanwhile, we should share the positive news about any community that has voted for the precautionary principle, and let each one of them serve as a point of information and awareness for others to adopt.
As stated by a resident of Pulaski who sent us this news item:
Much of the state is preoccupied with preventing hydrofracking from polluting our water, many are still ignorant to how much our water is already is intentionally contaminated. If we can defeat fluoridation, we can defeat fracking as well.
Let this be a lesson: One person CAN make a difference!
Other sources for this article:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/
http://naturalsociety.com/top-scientist-fluoride-already-shown-to-cause-10000-cancer-deaths/
http://naturalsociety.com/common-food-items-could-contain-180-times-more-fluoride-than-tap-water/
Additional Resources:
Top 10 Ways to Reduce Fluoride Exposure
FAN’s Grocery Store Guide: 7 Ways to Avoid Fluoride in Beverages and Food
Top 5 Ways to Reduce Fluoride Exposure from Infant Formula
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