Fluoride Action Network

Watsonville: Civil rights leaders have come out against water fluoridation

Source: Register Pajaronian | Watsonville resident who has fought fluoridation of the city water supply
Posted on May 4th, 2011

In last Thursday’s Register-Pajaronian, there was a story about our county having some of the cleanest air in the state. Unfortunately, when it comes to the air emanating from the tower known as Watsonville City Hall, the air has a putrid stench to it.

In a recent news article, Andrew Young, the renowned civil rights leader from Georgia, publicly stated his opposition to water fluoridation.

Mr. Young said that “We also have a cavity epidemic today in our inner cities that have been fluoridated for decades.” As mentioned in the article, the state of Georgia has fluoridated 96 percent of its public water supply, but 61 percent of Georgia’s low-income third-graders have tooth decay.

Obviously fluoridated water is not working in preventing tooth decay in Georgia. Watsonville City Council members have been repeatedly told of tooth decay epidemics in fluoridated cities, but they choose to ignore such facts.

Dr. Gerald Durley, another renowned civil rights leader, is quoted in the same article in which he wants to know “why we haven’t been openly told that fluorides build up in the body over time.” Again, this is another point that has been frequently brought up to our City Council, only to be ignored.

It is beyond my comprehension why most Watsonville council members have a perverse love affair with fluoridation, even though nobody has produced any scientific proof showing that the main fluoridation substance (hydrofluorosilicic acid) used in this country actually prevents tooth decay. No matter what new evidence is presented to the city showing problems with fluoridation, the majority of the council chooses to ignore the fresh facts.

At least one previous City Council member who pushed for fluoridation received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from a pro-fluoridation group. Are there more council members who’ve received some sort of “contribution” for supporting fluoridation?

When the public has addressed the council on the problems with fluoridation, council members responded with comments like “shut up,” “go jump off the parking garage,” “the issue is closed,” or just say we are “wasting the time” of the city.

Well-known civil rights leaders have come out against fluoridation for the same reasons that we have repeatedly told our City Council, but in all likelihood the council members, who like to act like civil rights leaders, will run from the facts and repeat the same stale misinformation that other fluoridation pushers have spewed out to the public.

How much more proof does the council need to see that something really reeks with the insane concept of injecting an industrial waste into our water supply for the unproven claim that it will fight tooth decay?

Rather than represent, whether intentional or not, the interests of the fluoridation lobby, this council should try representing the people of Watsonville and immediately stop the fluoridation process. If the council would truly represent the people and maintain the integrity of our water, then maybe the foul stench of Watsonville politics could be finally pushed away by a breath of fresh air known as truth and justice.

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See May 6 response from Council Member Emilio Martinez