Drink locally brewed beer
Why This is Green
Drinking locally brewed beer not only supports your local breweries, but also helps reduce the pollution caused by the transportation of beers brewed far from where you live—domestic or international.
Most food items, including beer, travel over 1,000 miles before they reach our frosty mugs. Diesel exhaust from trucks transporting these goods across the country contains at least forty chemicals believed to be toxic to humans and the environment. And carbon monoxide from vehicles accounts for 56 percent of total emissions nationwide. Buying local (and organic if possible) means reducing emissions and overall carbon footprint. Keep in mind that just because something is brewed locally doesn’t mean all of its ingredients are local.
Another sizeable eco-impact of beer brewing is the manufacturing and disposal of bottles, cans, and containers. Transporting (heavy) glass produces more emissions than (lighter) aluminum cans. One way to minimize emissions when drinking an imported beer is to choose cans. This is a tricky decision; can linings often contain BPA, a controversial chemical that has been linked to multiple health issues and is banned from use in children’s products in some states. To avoid cans and bottles altogether, reduce solid waste and the energy involved with all of those empties, drink the beer on tap at your local spot.
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How To
Buy local beer.
Frequent local breweries and pubs. And talk to your bartender. If local beers are on tap, it’s highly likely she or he will be excited to have you taste them all.
