UPDATE X1: Jay Brooks over at Brookston Beer Bulletin has posted a lengthy response to Foodbabe’s petition demanding Anheuser-Bushch and Miller Coors list ingredients they use in making there beer. Brooks article is a solid read and raises several valid points related to Foodbabe’s potentially misleading campaign. The T-Room encourages folks to read his article so as to gain a balanced perspective on what appears to be a growing concern in internet advocacy journalism, especially related to listing food/beverage ingredients –
Her first salvo was last year when she sensationally claimed to expose The Shocking Ingredients in Beer. Almost every one was as un-shocking as it gets, especially if you understand the brewing process. But that’s the new yellow journalism, and unfortunately you see it all over the internet. A provocative headline to grab page views, link bait or something just overly sensational is all you need. It’s happened so many times since I’ve been writing online that I’ve lost count. And it works. The beer community rushes in to correct egregious mistakes, faulty reasoning, uninformed opinion while the hit count spikes, advertisers smile and websites raise their advertising rates. It rarely matters that what’s written is often wrong, sometimes so utterly wrong that it should be embarrassing for not only the author, but the publication, too. And yet curiously, it’s not. And for me, that’s why it’s yellow journalism. It’s not intended to be factual, or well-researched or reasoned. It’s sole purpose is to get eyeballs on the page. And facts apparently are boring. The truth is somnambulistic. Controversy, even the manufactured kind, is what brings the traffic.
We’re keeping the petition up and linking to her site only because The T-Room is a staunch supporter of all food and beverage labeling no matter who is making the request or how they are making it.
The T-Room encourages our readers to support Foodbabe’s petition asking “Anheuser-Busch and Miller Coors, America’s largest beer brands to disclose their full set of ingredients online for all consumers to see.”
“Nearly every other food and beverage provider is legally required to make this information available—yet these two companies, which collectively sell more than $75 billion in beers each year, have not. I grew concerned about the beer after discovering there is a long list of additives the government has approved for use in beer during an investigation last fall. High fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, stabilizers that are linked to intestinal inflammation, artificial colors – like caramel coloring, ingredients found in airplane deicing liquid, genetically modified ingredients, and even fish swim bladders are allowed in beer. ”
Read more – http://foodbabe.com/2014/06/11/anheuser-busch-miller-coors-tell-us-whats-beer/#more-16950