Published in the Red Oak Express on February 10, 2015.

There are many issues our country is riddled with, but today I would like to talk about something that directly affects us here in Southwest Iowa every single day. That is water fluoridation (the addition of fluoride to our water supply). I propose that the towns of Montgomery County stop the fluoridation of our municipal waters on these grounds: ingestion of fluoridated water does not help prevent tooth decay, fluoride is not an essential nutrient, fluoride increases the chance of dental fluorosis among youth, and high amounts of fluoride toxicity can lead to various health risks including neurodegeneration, increase of bone fractures, thyroid diseases, male infertility, endocrine disruption, and much more.

Since the inception of water fluoridation in the 1950’s, there have been protests against it, but recently this trend has been growing. Portland, Oregon, has stopped the practice and many other smaller communities across the United States have come to the same consensus. Worldwide, over a 150 communities, since 2010, have stopped water fluoridation. This even includes such nearby locations as Crete, Norfolk, and Wahoo, Nebraska; and Lake View, Iowa. The state of Israel has adopted the movement to end fluoridation of water, as have various cities throughout Australia, Canada, and England. Many communities throughout Ireland, including Dublin, are now pushing for government reform on the country-wide mandatory fluoridation. In fact, most developed nations do not fluoridate their waters; Japan doesn’t fluoridate their water, nor does 97% of western Europe. The United States fluoridates more water than the rest of the world combined.

The most startling report I have seen recently has been from Harvard. A study from 2012, by Harvard School of Public Health, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, has demonstrated a link between areas with high water fluoridation and significant lower IQ scores among children; the conclusion supports possible “adverse effects of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment.” 42 other studies throughout the world have also come to this conclusion.

There is just too much information for me to cover in this letter, but my goal is to get the word out there, and to get the people talking and thinking about this issue. Please, I highly suggest you research the issue yourself so you can come to your own conclusion. For more information, I would highly encourage you to check out fluoridealert.org, which has information and sources to help you understand all the issues regarding this form of mass medication.