Although a growing list of communities (of which Portland is the largest) have banned the addition of fluoride to tap water, such places are doing so against the recommendations of the medical establishment. What's driving the backlash?
"Nearly three-quarters of Americans drink fluoride-enriched water, which is universally acknowledged [PDF] to help fight tooth decay," writes Henry Grabar. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call the use of fluoride in water systems, which began in the 1940s, one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century."
However, a growing list of communities (125 since 2010) have removed fluoride from their drinking water, driven by "anti-government sentiment" and the opinions of "dubious experts." And this week, Portland voted for the fourth time since 1956 to reject fluoridation.
"Oregon has one of the highest rates of tooth decay in the nation, and yet, the state's biggest city will remain an outlier, thanks to the remarkable efforts of the anti-fluoride lobby, a non-partisan alliance of paranoiacs," says Grabar.
"It’s as if an Occupy protest, a talk on artisanal cheesemaking, and a Tea Party rally were all accidentally booked at the same hotel ballroom," Marty Smith wrote in the Willamette Week.
Read the full story: With Portland's Latest Rejection of Fluoride, Science Loses Out to History's Weirdest Alliance of Paranoiacs
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority