Santa Cruz County has long avoided the fluoridation of its tap water. People are wary of adding the chemical to the water they drink and bathe in, even though fluoridation has long been proven to help prevent dental problems. Too many people don’t believe that, though, and suspect that health officials are “lying.”
The problem is that a California law requires cities with more than 10,000 residents to fluoridate their water if an outside entity covers costs. That’s what happened in Watsonville. The California Dental Association Foundation provided the city with a $1.6 million grant to build and operate a fluoridation system for the city’s water supply. Tempers flared and people protested, but on Tuesday night, Watsonville City Council voted 4-3 to accept the grant.
It was a stormy meeting, with many residents complaining about the government dictating medical practices. Councilwoman Kimberly Petersen, who supported the measure, actually agreed with them, but encouraged citizens to oppose and change the California law instead. Some residents supported doing just that, with Jim Roszell suggesting that they fight the measure all the way to the Supreme Court.
They may yet do that. John Martinelli, president of juice maker S. Martinelli & Co., who has long been an opponent of fluoridization, declared earlier this year that “if half the people in this town don’t want to be mass-medicated, then we shouldn’t be.” Of course, he has a business interest in the debate as well. Until now, no water has been added to his company’s juices and ciders. Recently, however, Martinelli has rolled out a series of new products, including acai, pomegranate and blueberry juices. These all add water in the manufacturing process, and Martinelli feels that if customers find out that the juices are fluoridized, they will balk at buying them.
On the other hand, plenty of people do support fluoridization too, and the CDC has called it “one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.” With City Council’s decision on Tuesday, Watsonville will now find out how fluoridization really affects them. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
