Drink green wine says Greenpeace
Greenpeach launch Alcoholic Drinks Edition of the True Food Guide to GE free shopping.
Award-winning wine-maker from Margaret River, Vanya Cullen, and wine writer Max Allen will help Greenpeace launch the first Alcoholic Drinks Edition of the True Food Guide to genetically engineered (GE) free shopping in Sydney this week.
The guide, which aims to help consumers avoid buying GE alcoholic drinks, has been welcomed by the majority of Australia’s popular wine, beer and spirits makers.
Wine journalist Max Allen says, “Genetic engineering of grape vines and yeasts, currently being researched, is not the answer to the challenges facing Australia’s wine industry. The Australian wine industry would be taking a huge risk by choosing to adopt GM technology. Ethical and environmental issues are becoming increasingly important for consumers.”
Beer brands Toohey’s, Hahn, Heineken, and James Squire, and spirits like Bacardi are listed as “green” in the GE-free Alcoholic Drinks guide and do not contain ingredients derived from GE crops. Australian wines by De Bortoli, Tyrrell’s and Yellowtail are free of GE ingredients.
Michelle Sheather, Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner says, “Just like the food industry, Australia’s wine and beer industries want to stay GE-free. State governments must do a better job of protecting these industries’ right to be GE-free, and ensure crops and harvests remain free of GE contamination. And the federal government must improve our food labelling laws. Without proper labelling laws, the True Food Guides are the only way to protect consumer choice and help shoppers choose GE-free brands.”
The pocket-sized GE-free shopping guide also provides information about alcoholic brands, which may contain GE-derived ingredients”. Absolut, Cascade, Cooper’s, Crown, Foster’s, VB and Strongbow are some of the “Red” listed brands.
Rob Glastonbury, spokesperson for De Bortoli Wines says, “Aside from the unknowns in the use of GE products, the concept that the food chain can be tied up in patents or intellectual property rights is repugnant”.
The guide can be downloaded for free at the True Food Guide »
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In the early 1960's detailed climatic studies of various regions in Southwestern Australia revealed that during the winegrowing season, Margaret River's climate ... read more
Max Allen is the wine columnist for The Weekend Australian Magazine and G (Australia's first 'green lifestyle' magazine), wine editor for Australian Gourmet Traveller ... read more
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