For filmmaker Ed Brown, one glass of bad-tasting water was a wakeup call about the hundreds of chemicals found in products we use everyday–from food and personal care to household cleaners and clothes. To quench his curiosity about the implications of these chemicals and their potential role in his wife's two miscarriages, Brown set out to film the documentary, Unacceptable Levels.
"We’re supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day, but this thing smelled and tasted like a swimming pool. I thought, ‘How could this possibly be okay?" said Brown. "Then I read that there are ‘acceptable levels’ of chlorine and other contaminants in water. I forgot about it until my wife had her second miscarriage, and that’s when my mind went back to that glass of water. I started thinking, what could conceivably be in that? Could there be something that causes adverse health effects, or at least adds to them?”
Through his journey, including interviews with experts such as Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, and activist Ralph Nader, Brown discovers why awareness about these problems can lead to long-lasting change. Organic Connections, the magazine of Natural Vitality, has more.
