Free Republic

Dwindling supplies of carbon dioxide from ethanol plants is sparking concern about shortages of beer, soda and seltzer water — essentials for many quarantined Americans. Brewers and soft-drink makers use carbon dioxide, or CO2, for carbonation, which gives beer and soda fizz. Ethanol producers are a key provider of CO2 to the food industry, as they capture that gas as a byproduct of ethanol production and sell it in large quantities. But ethanol, which is blended into the nation’s gasoline supply, has seen production drop sharply due to the drop in gasoline demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic....

LA PAZ (Reuters) – A pale green energy drink made from coca leaves has given Bolivian President Evo Morales a boost as he tries to persuade the United Nations to scrap a ban on the traditional Andean practice of chewing the leaves. Coca is the raw material for making cocaine, but Bolivians have chewed the leaves for centuries for it mild stimulant that reduces hunger and altitude sickness. The coca leaf was declared an illegal narcotic in the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, along with cocaine, heroin, opium and morphine and a host of chemical drugs. Tuesday's launch...

Carbonated fresh fruit soon may hit the market, thanks to Oregon State University scientists who have perfected technology to put fizz in apples and pears. The product, known as “Fizzy Fruit,” was discovered by accident when Galen Kaufman, a Texas neurobiologist, left some pears in a cooler chilled with dry ice. Carbon dioxide gas from the dry ice entered the fruit.