Wednesday, October 25, 2006

How Microbrew Can Save the World

AlterNet: How Microbrew Can Save the World: "How Microbrew Can Save the World

By Chris O'Brien, Foreign Policy in Focus. Posted October 25, 2006.

Small-scale, homebrew beer production plays a vital role in sustainable development throughout the world.

The world's cup runneth over with living beer traditions. But this vast repository of cultural brewing capital is under attack by global corporations. The top five brewing companies, all of which are American- or European-owned, control 41 percent of the world market. Perversely, economists and politicians calculate the conquest by industrial breweries as economic growth while the value of small-scale traditional brewing goes uncounted. Much will be lost if this global 'beerodiversity' is lost to the forces of corporate-led homogenization.

The globalization of beer not only destroys the social, spiritual, and health-related benefits of small-scale ho"

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