Great Lakes Green Pages

Knowing where your products come from and what is in them is key to making an impact on your carbon footprint. When it comes to food and drink, it is more than just the foods you buy, it is in the things you drink! So whether you like to booze it up, have a glass of vino with dinner or pound a few brewskis with your buddies, you can have an impact on the planet. Here are some things you should know:

To reduce carbon, buy local! Most states have local breweries and wineries these days. Buying an all organic wine from the Chile, or an organic beer from across the country is great, but to reduce carbon, you should see what is being done in your own neighborhood. Right here is Cleveland, we have the Great Lakes Brewing Company. They are a sustainable company with a great mindset. While all their ingredients may not be organic, most are. They use local ingredients in the brewing process as well as at the brew pub restaurant. They have a zero waste initiative, and use bio-mimicry to create closed loop systems to reduce waste, while growing and promoting growth of ingredients. Nearly every state in the union has some form of winery business. While quality varies from state to state, vineyard to vineyard, by buying the nearest selection, you will promote local economies and farmers while lowering your carbon output. When it comes to liquor, seek out the nearest distiller of your favorite beverage. We distill many types of liquor right here in the US, and spending a few extra bucks could make you feel better in more ways than one.

Go Organic! Unlike a mere 10 years ago when I was selling wine and beer at retail, there are a multitude of choices for organic beer and wine these days. None too soon, either, as alcoholic beverages may be a big sector of the supply chain that uses a lot of pesticides and herbicides. According to the Beer Expert, the hops used in the fermentation of beer are estimated to be sprayed up to 14 times each year with around 15 different pesticide products. Furthermore, in order to have that perfect color, nice frothy head, or long legs beer and wine are often treated with chemical preservatives to keep them in their best shape for your consumption. Once again, buying local helps eliminate the need for additives, as there is less need for preservatives. Liquor has joined the bandwagon as well. Organic distilleries are popping up across the spectrum. Among the things that can cause a hangover are the chemical additives in liquor, so by choosing organic, you may be lessening your chance of a rough “morning after.” While most pesticides and herbicides do not evaporate at the lower temperature of alcohol, and thus do not transfer easily into most alcohols in the distilling process, it is what is added after the distilling that concerns me.

Read Your Labels and Know Your Terms! If you want to make an impact, you need to read the labels of the items you purchase. Look for sulphites added. They occur naturally, but are added (mostly to wine) as a preservative and can be the cause of headaches for those who are sensitive. When buying wine, know that they come in 4 stages of organic-ness. Contains organic grapes means that less than 70% of the grapes are organic and sulphites can be added. Made with organic grapes mean there is more than 70% organic grapes, but may still have added sulphites. Organic wine has at least 95% organic grapes and 100% organic wine means just that. These last two cannot have any added sulphites. Another term that is popping up everywhere is biodynamic. This means that vineyards (and even some breweries and distilleries) are working to not harm any aspect of the environment-water, soil, wildlife-and perhaps even improve it. Certified Organic beers can still have up to 5% non organic ingredients, but that has been limited to hard to source ingredients in the brew.

Consider the Container! The less packaging the better! It is always better to buy a magnum of wine for a dinner party that 2 regular bottles. Same with fifths and gallons of liquor. Does the packaging contain recycled material? Pound for pound, corks are still better for the environment that plastic corks or screw tops. Aluminum is more quickly and easily recycled than glass.

So you can do some good, even while getting your drink on! Just drink responsibly!