Commentary

I only mention it because Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up, and you might drink a beer or two. If you happen to be in Brazil, watch out for those nasty GMOs! Brazil’s crop of second-crop corn is coming up as well, and it’s mostly biotech.

Brazilian law lets brewers list “non-malted cereals” on their ingredient lists, which, according to a recent study, means “corn.” That study by the University of Sao Paulo analyzed 77 brands of domestic and imported beer, and found that only 21 of those brands listed “pure malt” on the labels, according to a local article.

Here’s the problem, beer lover: Brazilian law allows for a maximum of 45% non-malt grains (like corn, rice, wheat, oats or sorghum) but many brands have 50% or more of such “non-malt cereals,” which, the article says, probably means corn, the cheapest, pound for pound, of all those crops. And something like 80% of Brazilian corn is biotech.

So be careful. You could grow an eye in the middle of your forehead.

And it’s a big deal. Brazil’s beer market generates about $24 billion per year in revenues, with people in the tropical country drinking 131 pints per capita. That’s about three billion pints per year.

And none of it carries the warning sign for the presence of biotech: a yellow triangle with a bold letter “T” (for transgenic) on the label. Technically, all foods and drinks containing more than 1% biotech ingredients have to carry the T-tag.

Despite the flap, there have been no reports of beer drinkers in Brazil suffering from genetic maladies as a result of tippling biotech GMOs in their favorite drink. And I suppose that’s reason to celebrate, even if you don’t hit your favorite Irish haunt on the 17^th.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Penton Agriculture.