Posted on 11/23/2015 4:57:09 PM PST by Kaslin
Obamacare's menu labeling regulation promises to be a disaster for the food and restaurant industries, as its implementation is both costly and extremely onerous. While its deleterious effects on the pizza, restaurant, and grocery industries have been most well known, it also has the potential to shutter an industry near and dear to Americans' hearts: craft beer.
Since beer has a few too many calories for bureaucrats, the health law dictates that all brewers include a detailed calorie count on every type of beer produced. Failure to do so, according to Americans for Tax Reform, "means craft brewers will not be able to sell their beer in any restaurant chain with over 20 locations."
The Cato Institute estimates the Obamacare calorie labeling requirements will cost a business as much as $77,000 to implement. For larger beer companies, this is a drop in the bucket, but for small, local craft brewers it represents a substantial cost that they must pay. As a result, it creates a significant disadvantage compared to larger beer companies who can better absorb the cost of this new regulation.
According to Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association, "Most of the new [craft beer] entrants continue to be small and local, operating in neighborhoods or towns. What it means to be a brewery is shifting, back toward an era when breweries were largely local, and operated as a neighborhood bar or restaurant." The increasingly small size of craft breweries means they are faced with a tough decision in light of the impending regulations: cut costs and possibly lay off workers to pay for the calorie labels, or be shut out of one of the most profitable markets for their product. Either way, it is a lose - lose situation for the craft beer brewers and drinkers, an industry that grew 27.8 percent from 2013 to 2014 when it was left alone.
The most ridiculous part about the entire regulation is that menu labeling has little to no effect on consumers' purchasing choices, and studies demonstrating that menu labeling is linked to a reduction in obesity rates, the supposed benefit the FDA used to justify the regulation in the first place, doesn't exist.
Isn’t there a Republican in the Senate that has ties to a large brewing corp? I think he might have run for president even.
Most Americans pay no attention to the 'calorie count' so what would happen if a brewery said "Ok, I'll just do no testing at all and go with a ridiculously high number knowing that I'll be well underneath it." Is there any penalty to estimating high? Everyone buying it would just know that that the real calorie number was something less. Similar to the logic that drives people to go to the Heart Attack Grill.
Yeah I don’t know how that happened LOL
Annheiser Busch is Not Jeb’s Grandfather,...nope
We all know
LOL!
Lol! I was thinking of McCain.
Yes my foolish freeper. First you must contact an “authorized and certified” calorie crony capitalist on the list of the appropriate government agency. Then you must provide samples, your secret recipe, and a very large check. Based upon the samples, if there is no variance that requires extensive and expensive retesting, then you have your approved calorie count to be placed on your bottles. Inspectors and re-evaluations will be made periodically at your expense. If variations are discovered, you will be shut down until you can be retested. Inspection results will be given to government lawyers and product liability lawyers for separate civil fines and action to recover damages for class action suit for “product fraud”.
McCain certainly has drunk his share of beer...but I am not aware of any direct connection to a brewery....but ya never know....
Hereafter known as the Bud/Miller amendment.
Re the photo for this story. Is that a glass of Obama piss? If so, does it meet FDA requirements for its unhealthiness?
After all, can you think of one think Obama and his Marxist minions have done to improve the health of the majority of Americans?
Next, instead of meat hamburgers you will only be able to order a 1/4 pound pure 100% pasture patty on a whole wheat roll, with arugula, dill dressing, imitation cheese, and a side order of fresh bulls balls au gratin.
Bon appetite America. You are what you eat and Obama is serving it piled high and deep. Enjoy real hamburgers while you can. Obama’s food police, PETA, is “watching you”.
His wife inherited a major A-B distributor when her dad died.
This is abusive predatory regulation. If the calorie count is wrong or the labeling isn’t just right, there’s probably a big daily fine or per occurrence fine that would put a small brewer out if business. The big brewers can afford to hire lawyers, compliance officers and regular audits, so they don’t mind the competitive advantage. This crap has been going on since the New Deal.
The medical field is riddled with this type of obscure regulation that has nothing to do with quality of care; the misallocation of costs drives health care prices up. In fact, I would imagine that government regulation is a much bigger driver of costs than civil litigation.
Hereafter known as the Bud/Miller amendment.
These LIB asshat fascists love to ban things. Hey, you LIB moonbats...ban everything. We don’t need nothin’.
Actually beer is Haram.
At least from my own experience it is a rare thing for me to look at a nutrition label.
For me at least a nutrition label of on a bottle of beer would just piss me off. I really like the art that goes in to a craft brew beer bottle. A nutrition label would just spoil the effect of the art. It is bad enough that they have to put that warning on the bottle about pregnant woman shouldn’t drink. Might as well put a pair of Groucho Marx novelty nose glasses on the Mona Lisa.
The longer I live the more I hate what big government is doing to our country.
How can it be?
Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol.
I understand your humor but this is pure regulation no act of congress is involved.
Just some bureaucrat writing up some thou shalt do this and getting it approved by some appointed FDA board.
It might get some court action by the brewer's association but usually the courts side with their fellow government power brokers in the FDA, etc.
The congress has allowed itself to be neutered to the point of irrelevance.
Like Bud Lite, an alcohol delivery system.
From what I understand, it’s not that difficult to figure out calorie counts - just plug the ingredients into a program and the count comes out. It’s not like it has to be measured as actual calorie output when burned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.