The Zeer Blog

We are very proud to present our first ever iPhone app, Food Reviews on Zeer. Now all the great information on Zeer is available while you’re on the go — nutrition facts, warnings, and our stellar user reviews, plus a searchable database for 100,000 + grocery products.

Take a tour of the exciting features our app now!

From our press release:

“The Food Reviews iPhone App gives consumers access to the Zeer database of grocery products across 35 categories, ranging from bread and breakfast foods to pizza and beer. Consumers can easily search important information, including nutrition facts in the standard FDA format, consumer reviews, ingredients, and manufacturer warning labels.

The first-of-its kind application also allows consumers to filter searches by average rating to help discover high quality foods while on the go. Consumers can easily keep track of their favorite foods and sync their favorite products automatically with Zeer.com. Shoppers preferring Organic or Kosher foods can easily filter their searches to see only these products. High quality images are also featured for each product, enabling easy identification while in the supermarket aisle and improving the overall shopping experience.”

We also created a fun 1 minute demo on YouTube featuring our very own CEO, Mike Putnam, showing you some our favorite features of our application. Enjoy!

It’s Saturday morning and your honey is still snug in bed when you come waltzing through the door with breakfast. Your happy Valentine smiles sleepily at you and eyes the tray hungrily before finally asking, “Well, what’s for breakfast?”

A.) My Valentine Loves The Earth Well, since you have it under good authority that your honey loves to eat responsibly, you’ve whipped her up some nosh that is high in delicious-ness, but low in environmental impact. Center stage is an organic omelet made with Pete & Gerry’s Organic, Grade A Large Brown Eggs stuffed with Earthbound Farm Baby Spinach , and Horizon Cheddar Cheese. If she still doubts that you think her passion for the earth is sexy, blend her up up a confidence inducing smoothie using ½ cup Cascadian Farms Organic Blueberries , ½ cup Wallaby Blueberry, Creamy Australian Yogurt, and ½ an organic banana.

B.) My Valentine Is Nostalgic Since your sweetie is simply a big kid at heart, you took a tip from Ian O. and whipped him up a nostalgic breakfast of Quaker Brown Sugar, Dinosaur Eggs Instant Oatmeal with a side of Green Eggs and Ham and little boxes of Juicy Juice Grape Juice to wash it all down. After your Valentine has stuffed himself silly, you present him with a handmade Valentine’s Day card you put together with construction paper, glitter and whimsical Kraft Spirals Macaroni. When he opens it and sees the words: “Will you be my Valentine? Check yes or no.” He will definitely check and double check “YES.”

C.)My Valentine Adores Romance There’s no doubt about it. Your lady craves passion and romance. That’s why you woke up early to make her caramelized banana and pecan stuffed French toast (made with Challah bread and topped with hand-whipped cream ). While your special lady dines, you pay special care to keep refilling her champagne glass with passion fruit mimosas made from Korbel Extra Dry California Champagne.

–

From the Zeer Better Buyer,  February 12, 2009

The Better Buyer is a newsletter that brings the best advice found in Zeer reviews straight to your inbox. With Zeer’s Better Buyer, you can see what products are buzzing in the Zeer community, check out the newest Zeer members, and glimpse a smorgasbord of new reviews. To make sure you receive Zeer’s Better Buyer, sign up for Zeer and double check that the newsletter box is currently in the “checked” position on your email settings page here.

Is your pet a Vegan or Vegetarian? Well, according to some people, yours might be.

A growing number Vegan and Vegetarian pet owners are turning to plant-derived diets instead of meat-based for their pets. For your average pet owner, this may seems like a gross offense that upsets the very fundamental nature of canines and felines. And I’m not surprised; in fact, I’d define many people’s initial reaction as being more shocked and appalled than intrigued. One friend I spoke to even called the practice “borderline abuse.”

Meanwhile, Vegan & Vegetarian pet owners seem to believe this is the healthiest and most natural way to feed your pet. Sites selling Vegetarian dog food claim that dogs are natural omnivores and can survive on a nutritious and well balanced diet of non-animal proteins and supplements, but other sites completely disagree saying that yes, these animals can survive, but they can not thrive.

Why Would You Feed Your Pet A Veggie Diet?

After the pet food crisis in 2007, more pet owners turned to making their own pet food at home instead of turning to supermarket chain pet food, which means, more people are thinking about the food that their pets are actually consuming. Animal Rights group, PETA, who has looked deep into the more gruesome side of the pet food industry, reveals on their site that most supermarket chain pet food is usually made up of the biproducts of animals unfit for human consumption.

If you’re Vegan or Vegetarian and don’t usually handle meat, I could imagine it would be very difficult to feed your pet not only food considered unfit for human consumption, but food that is made up of animal parts you’d never consume yourself. If one will not consume another animal because they’re against the unethical treatment of animals, is it therefore right to speak for your pets by allowing them to eat a diet that may go against their evolutionary needs?

Is It Healthy? The Answer May Differ From Pet To Pet.

Ethical questions about treatment of animals strike at the very heart of this issue, but what it comes down to is the health of your pet. People want to know: Can dogs and cats live healthy, natural lives while subsisting on a vegan or vegetarian diet?

There are many books which claim that a vegan or vegetarian diet works for their dog or cat. A quick search on the internet reveals many sites that advocate for animal rights also advocate for vegetarian & vegan diets for dogs and cats. After reading much of this information, I found it difficult to deduce if anyone in the Veterinarian industry had made a claim recommending the diet more-so than a meat-based diet.

There was an abundance of websites selling Vegetarian dog food or cat food, that had this kind of information, but I had difficulty finding appropriate, unbiased sources from which to pull from.

However, I did find one gem among the rough. It turns out that the AVAR (Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights) published a position statement about this very topic in August of 2006. Though they don’t come out and say that Vegetarian and Vegan diets for pets are not good for your pets, they do seem to imply that without proper knowledge of your pet’s nutritional needs it is impossible to have them sustain on a Vegetarian or Vegan diet. They also seem to imply that this kind of nutritional discipline and understanding is beyond most average pet owners.

On the whole though, the AVAR is much more optimistic about dogs being about to achieve their nutritional needs through a plant derived diet than cats. Cats are carnivores by nature, where as dogs are considering omnivorous, therefore cats “require a number of nutrients in their diet, including taurine, carnitine, and arachidonic acid, which normally are derived only from animal flesh.”

The continue on to say that “ in light of recent studies that have proven two commercial vegan diets to be nutritionally deficient, nutritional adequacy of plant-based cat food diets cannot at this time be reliably assured and are, therefore, not recommended. “

Even PETA issues a steady warning to those attempting to convert their cat or dog to a meat-free diet: it won’t and shouldn’t happen overnight. Though their stance is completely against commercial pet food industry, they seem to imply that no one should convert their pet to a diet or lifestyle that in the end, is not good for the health of the animal. Before making such and important decision, they first recommend reading the book Vegetarian Cats & Dogs to learn about the proper nutrition guidelines for their pet. The next step is understanding what supplements they’ll need for their pet and then, once that key research and understanding has been achieved, then the pet owner should slowly making the diet adjustment by mixing vegetarian food in with their regular diet.

Ethical Pet Food

For those of you who find a Vegetarian or Vegan diet doesn’t agree with your pet, there are other options and diets for your pets that don’t use commercial meat-based industry. Sundance’s Treehugger channel recommends trashing the “Junk Food” and replacing it with “Natural and organic pet foods use meats that are raised in sustainable, humane ways without added drugs or hormones.” Ideabite totally agrees and even gives a list of green and organic pet foods that aren’t derived from animal byproducts.

Other pet food diets on the rise are the BARF diet (Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods) – many believe this is the most appropriate diet to feed their pet because they believe it’s the diet they evolved to eat which consists mostly of whole, complete raw meat, just like the kind of food they’d eat without human intervention. By choosing minimally processed, grass fed meat, you can keep your animals diet as natural as possible.

Conclusion

For those of you considering a Vegan or Vegetarian diet for your pet, keep in mind that though you may choose to feed your pet a diet that you find ethically sound, it will destroy your pet’s natural preference. As Janet Tobiasen Crosby also notes in her article, Roadkill Versus Asparagus, “despite your best cooking efforts, they might choose a day-old dead rabbit on the road.”

So, listen to your pet carefully if and when you transition them to a Vegetarian or Vegan diet. Ask yourself — what is my pet’s fur, dietary tract, weight, sheen, and attitude saying about the change?

Together, if you’re both listening to one another carefully, you can make the right decision about what is right for your pet in the long run.

As a huge fan of Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel, I couldn’t help but compile all the food myths I’ve been hearing about through the show and on the internet.

If you’ve never seen Mythbusters, it’s an off-beat science show that features former special effects dudes, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman who take on urban legends and myths to find out if they hold water. After their (often crazy) experiments, they debunk or “bust” a myth or prove it to be true.

So, here on the Zeer Blog, I decided to bring you 7 Grocery Store Myths that have been “Busted” by modern scientists and even the Mythbusters team.

Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by milk. – CONFIRMED

On Mythbusters, Tory, Kari & Grant tested out various cures that have mythically been described to cure pain from eating hot peppers and rate them between 1-10. Both parties claimed milk was a 5 possibly due to the fats that milk contain which helped to reduce discomfort. Some of the other cures were water, beer, tequila, and toothpaste, petroleum jelly, and even wasabi all were not effective as milk.

A person can stop a sulfuric acid leak with chocolate and hot water. – CONFIRMED

On a MacGuyver Myth promo, Kari & Grand demonstrate how the myth was possible because the chemicals and sugars in the chocolate work react to plug up the leak

A beef steak can be tenderized … in a laundry dryer – CONFIRMED

In Episode 103, Adam & Jamie test all the ways that you can tenderize a steak including explosives, shooting it with explosives, and … in a laundry dryer. All three methods were confirmed, but in the laundry dryer experiment they used protective shells to protect the steak as well as steel ball bearings, dry ice kept the steaks cool overnight in a running dryer. Their tenderness was tested by cutting several steaks in half with one half being the control and the other half being exposed the three tenderizing processes. The tenderness was then tested using an USDA approved pressure-sensitive cutting device. They were all found to be significantly more tender than the control half of the steak.

Vodka Can Cure Foot Odor – CONFIRMED

On Mythbusters, Grant smells Adam’s bare feet as the control, then gives it a number on a scale from 1-10. Both were a 7. Then, Adam’s feet were washed by Kari. One was washed with commercial foot wash and the other was washed with vodka. Then Grant smelled his feet and rated the one washed with commercial soap a 5 while the vodka washed foot smelt significantly better at .75.

Fresh Vegetables Are Better Than Frozen Vegetables - BUSTED

New research suggests that fresh vegetables aren’t as good for you as frozen vegetables if they’re flash frozen right after they’re harvested, which means that vegetables are frozen quickly and nutrients are not likely to degrade. Meanwhile, fresh veggies start losing their nutrients the minute they’re exposed to air. The FDA even recommends that you mix canned, frozen & fresh vegetables so that you get the 5 nutrients you need in a day.

It Doesn’t Matter What Carton of Milk You Pick - BUSTED

Supermarkets like to push the milk forward in the grocery store so that they get rid of it faster, so if you’re patient, take the time to dig to the back of the grocery store case to get the freshest milk they have. It’s the same price either way.

All Products Labeled Organic are made with ONLY Organic Materials – BUSTED

As I talked about in article one of my Zeer Green Team series, that little USDA label only means that the product was made with 95% organic materials and there are 38 approved un-organic materials that manufactures can use and still call a product simple “organic.” However, only products that use 100% organic materials will say so, but if they have a black or green USDA label, they may only 95% organic. Title: —- Five S

For more fun grocery shopping myths, be sure to check out:

10 Myths on Saving Money at the Grocery Store

10 Diet & Nutrition Myths

10 Grocery Shopping Myths

Words like organic, green and local have celebrity status in the blogosphere these days and Treehugger is definitely the TMZ for all the greenest gossip.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing shallow about the green movement and I totally support eating organic food, buying greener products and choosing locally made products over those shipped vast distances, but sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the changing tides. So, this is part one of series I’m doing to help consumers see all sides of the picture and help get closer to the meaning of these loaded words.

Today I’m focusing on one word “Organic” specifically, organic food.

What Is Organic Food?

The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) defines organic food as:
Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled “organic,” a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.

So, if you’re trying to go organic, it should be easy right. Organic means all products that don’t use antibiotic, growth hormones, conventional pesticides…it sounds positively Utopian. However, with only a small percentage of the farms growing products that are up to the USDA standard, it’s difficult for huge chains like Walmart (who recently realized that buyers will pay a premium for products they consider organic) to get all the materials needed to produce these products– organically.

As MSNBC’s article on What Does ‘Organic Really Mean’ One of the misleading problems with organic foods is that unless the product is labeled 100% organic, it could contain up to “5 percent non-organic ingredients by weight — if those ingredients are on the USDA’s national list of approved non-organic ingredients.”

One of the questions looming for me personally is, if you’re paying a premium for an organic product, why would you want to settle for a product that is mostly organic? Though you might be supporting and ingesting 95% organically produced products, that %5 is made up of the exact materials you’re trying to escape. Though your beer may be labeled organic and all the other materials are organic, but the hops are not, isn’t that somewhat misleading?

How Can I Tell if a Product is Organic?

Certification is a beautiful thing. When wondering if your product is organic or not, look for the USDA Certified Organic label. Keep in mind that some products may claim their product is organic, but if they don’t have the seal, that means that no one can back up their claims. Perhaps it’s partially organic or some materials are Organic. The USDA seal means that the product is 95% to 100% organic.

Also, USDA can change their guidelines at anytime. In 2007, Epicurean covered the USDA’s decision to issue standards on “grass-fed” animals. Before the ruling, animals could be fed a grass fed diet for a certain part of their life, before being shifted to a conventional one. So, be sure to keep abreast on organic issues so you know what you’re getting, how it’s being produced, etc because rulings are changing everyday.

Also, keep in mind that a product is NOT 100% organic unless it says so on the label. Also familiarize yourself with the 38 ingredients that could be put in “USDA organic”-labeled foods even though they are not grown organically. Right now a petition is circling the internet to try to get the USDA to reconcider its decision to allow the 38 non-organic ingredients. If you believe that only products made with 100% organic ingredients should be considered USDA grade, consider signing this petition.

Why Do Organics Cost More?

When I consider the option of eating food treated with pesticides to organic food, I tend to lean toward “no pesticides please” but the cost of organic food in a sinking economy with high gas prices well – that leaves a lot of “swing eaters” (like myself, unfortunately) who eat organic only sometimes but as soon as the prices shoot through the roof – well, they’ll sacrifice their $5 free-range eggs for good ol’ Stop and Shop Brand.

Organic food is more expensive because it produces far less yield (10%-20% less than conventional farms) and because there are fewer organic farms in practice today that are considered USDA approved. However, studies have shown that with certain yields, an organic farm can produce more for less in the long run and are better for the environment. When you consider the cost of food prices vs the cost supporting farms that damage human health and the environment, the answer seems clear, but it’s hard to negotiate all the benefits when you’re holding a $12 bag of grapes in your hand.  Another thing to consider is the labor differences when comparing organic to conventional farming. To avoid using her herbicides, organic farms turn to old fashioned manual labor because certain vegetables like carrots, onions must be weeded by hand. This process may be yield healthier benefits for you and the environment in the long run, but it comes at a price and simply put all this manual labor is time consuming. And the thing about time? It’s money.

So, when you’re trying to decide between a $7 pack of organic strawberries and a conventional batch that costs far less, it can be difficult to know how to proceed. On one hand, you have conventional farming which uses synthetic fertilizers, synthetic hormones, and pesticides — on the other hand, you have $4 extra dollars in your pocket. If people knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that organic food could put years on their life, those $4 extra dollars would be nothing compared to what you’d gain. The problem right now is, no one study can guarantee it for sure and medical institutes like Mayo clinic won’t lean one way or another on the topic.

If you’re looking for a little reprieve from the cost of organic food, organic moms and organic enthusiasts have a few tips including Organic Mania, that suggests replacing high cost grapes with lower cost plums and Chicago Mom suggests joining a community farm or food growing program to alleviate cost.

Is Organic Food Better For Me?

Everyone wants to know, is organic food better for me – is it worth the cost – that my dears, is up to you. We all want easy answers, but I’m afraid in the case of organic fruit, that assurance doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon thanks to recent study that claims that Organic Food has no more nutritional value than food grown with pesticides. I found this study shocking, especially since a few other studies in the past years have made completely opposing claims. A study done in 2003, right before the boom of the health food movement, announced proudly that organic food has more cancer-fighting antioxidants than food treated with pesticides. While a study as recently as 2007 said that organic kiwis had more “health-promoting factors” than regular fruit grown with pesticides.

How heavily effected fruits and vegetables are affected by pesticides, depends on the item in question. Delicious Organics, an organic food delivery service, has an interesting, easy to understand list of all the fruits and vegetables highly contaminated by pesticides. If you have an interest in going Organic in a slipping economy, this list is priceless because it offers some reprieve. You can still eat organic on the foods that really matter, and as gas prices slip down again and organic foods gain some leverage, we might be able to eat organic more confidently. I know I will.

If you’ve just been tuning into this series, since late August, we’ve been compiling the best product recommendations on the web. We’ve already covered new Allergy products and new Parent products for fall, but now we stere our vision toward Organic products that are getting some buzz in the blogosphere.

Organic Products

Apparently We Love Jam’s Apricot Jam is so good that people can’t help but go through one jar a day, and at $20 a pop that’s a pretty steady promise. But the makers of We Love Jam who have been in Food and Wine magazine and who started their business off of one very old, organic on one of the last remaining Blenheim apricot orchards, which explains the waiting list which can be months long, so buy at their shop now for a truly rare jam experience.

Yöghund: Frozen Yogurt for Dogs? Are you serious? Well, Barking Dog, LTD of Boston, is serious! Yoghound proudly claims that it’s product is organic, made with “real yogurt,” recyclable, and apparently dogs (an pet owners – especially those with dogs with bad digestive systems or allergies) love it.

Garofalo Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti has one over Kalyn over at Kalyns Kitchen saying that “If you’re one of those people who loves pasta tossed with a bit of butter or olive oil and parmesan, this spaghetti would be fabulous for that.”

Green & Organic Carnival Mentions:

In the past few months, several blogs have been showing our Green and Parent entries some love. Many thanks to Stefanie over at Focus Organic for including us in Eco Blog carnival # 13 for our blog entry Aluminum Vs Glass Beer Bottles – The New Paper Vs Plastic.

Our Earth Day post, Planning Your Eco Friendly picnic also got some recognition from Marie at Green Your Apartment’s awesome Seven Tips for Green Living Carnival.

Parenting Carnivals Mentions:

We also got mentioned within the Parents Helping Parents Carnival over at Modern Parent for our post about Mothers Keeping BPA Free. Thanks John for including us!

***

To all of the blogs who participated, “Awesome Job.”

To the bloggers who are supporting community on the web, “Thanks!”

Have you noticed all the new faces on Zeer today?

Time Magazine has selected Zeer as one of the Top 50 Websites of 2008 ! We’re up there alongside some other great up-and-coming sites. I’ve enjoyed the morning perusing their selections and picked a few favorites below:

1. Serious Eats is a cornucopia of mouth-watering fare that covers tours all corners of the globe. Foodies will delight in bright pictures and armchair eating. It’s one of the few food sites that does the culinary experience casually without a lot of fluff, but a lot of great food.
2. Worried about gas prices, food costs and financial planning? Mint is a free financial service that helps everyday people keep track of what their spending. Using easy to understand pie charts and graphs users can see where their money is going (food, travel, utilities) and read helpful advice that helps keep their finances on track.
3. Turn promises into actions with Carbonrally , a site where you can create environmentally-friendly teams (from your home or office) and challenge them obtainable eco-challenges like taking a 2 minute shower, eating less red meat, or saving 20 sheets of paper a day. I plan on challenging my Zeer team to a meat-free challenge very soon.
4. And of course, there’s us! Zeer . We help people obtain unbiased information about groceries. On our site you can examine product information, create shopping lists online, and share products and advice on food with friends.

We’d love it if you gave us your rating on the Time website. Just click the link below and use the sliding scale to rate Zeer between 1 and 100. (Fingers crossed for 100!)

Zeer on Time Magazine’s Top 50 Websites of 2008

Happy Belated Earth Day!

Now that the weather in Boston has grown considerably warmer and the sweaters have already begun their long summer’s sleep, I have begun to think about actually getting outside again. So this Earth Day, in honor of New England’s long-awaited return to the great outdoors, let’s take a look at how to protect mother earth while filling your belly at the All American Picnic.

Walk or Bike to your Picnic Spot

Biking and walking to your destinations not only a great chance to get needed exercise, it can be a great family outing or adventure. But, before pedaling off into your picnicking future, first research some parks near your neighborhood or scout out spots that might make a good picnic location within a comfortable biking distance.

One of the classic rules of travel is always make your group is well fed. If you’re traveling with your family, make sure to eat a sustainable breakfast before taking a long bike ride. That way, you can enjoy the bike ride at a more leisurely pace without cranky kids or friends in route.

If you destination is too far to bike and you’re traveling with friends, consider carpooling to your destination. Strap on some bikes to your car so that when you get to your area, you can get around without having to consume more fossil fuels just to get around.

Eat Local. Or Even Better, Eat Local Organic.

When making your famous fruit salad or spinach dip, be sure to select locally grown organics from your local farmers market, coop, or area Whole Foods. Not only will you be investing in the local economy and helping out the farmers that grow and raise the food, but you’ll also be investing in fresher, less expensive organics (as long as the food has been grown in season).

If you have trouble finding organic foods in your area, a recent study in 2005 claims that as long as you eat food within a 12 mile radius of yourself, your food might be greener than even certain organics. Keep in mind, even though some food might be organic, it doesn’t mean that it’s locally grown and organic. While organics use less pesticides and natural fertilizers, your non-organic local food puts fewer steps between you and the vine. With the rising costs of gas and the environmental impact that fossil fuel consumption puts on the earth, it’s easy to understand why shopping local sometimes trumps eating far away organics.

If you’re not sure what foods are in season, or what farmer’s markets are closest Local Harvest is a great way to find out what local food is available to you. Also, take a look at the National Resources Defense Council’s Eat Local tool to see what’s in season near you.

The people over at 100 Mile Diet also have some great tips on how to get started on eating locally.

Go Meat Free or Dairy Free

Whether you’re an animal rights activist or not, a meat free picnic will set the stage for eco-picnic. Not only are the health benefits high, but in many cases it can save money and also considerably help out the environment. Last year, No Impact Man shared some statistics about why eating less meat helps the environment.

If you’re like me, and you’ve vowed to go meat-free at least three times a week, premade vegetarian Picnic menus can be a lifesaver. Check out the Vegetarian Lunchbox might stir up some meat-free ideas to get your picnic really cooking.

Use Reusables

Instead of buying plastics that will just end up in littering more landfills, invest in some easy to carry reusable water bottles and food carriers that you could use again and again and again. There are also some eco coolers on the market now made out of wheat and canvas instead of plastic. Having a food carrier that seals tightly is important because then you can carry it back and wash it out in your home. It also doesn’t hurt having biodegradable trash bags at your house for which to throw out your waste!

Glass Beer Bottles photo uploaded by chris_carpenter

When I decided to become aware of the things I’m putting in my body and their effect on my world, I seriously underestimated how simple pleasures like enjoying a beer could dramatically change for me. Now, if I want to drink more consciously at home, I have to take into account not only where the beer was brewed and how, but, packaging is now a concern as well. Since I, like most average Americans, don’t want to say farewell to my annual backyard BBQ or my favorite brew, I decided to tackle this tough question myself and find a solution I can be comfortable with.

A few questions I asked:

1. What environment footprint do the two materials leave?
2. What are the health risks of Aluminum Vs Glass?
3. What is the cost difference between the two?

Consumption of Energy and Resources

The problem finding a decent brew in a sea of swill grows even more complicated when you attempt to factor in the environmental impact of the beer we drink, specifically the packaging.

According to Slate’s recent St. Patrick’s Day drinking guide, that all depends on what beer your drinking, the brewery’s penchant for sustainability, and your location. Since I’m in Somerville, a city with a decent recycling program, and since regular brews I consume are usually local favorites like Harpoon’s Winter Warmer, my best bet is probably drinking beer out of a glass bottle since glass is made from silica (a more readily accessible mineral than the Jamaican and Austrialian bauxite most American aluminum is made from.) According to Slate, the mining of bauxite is what makes aluminum so flawed. It’s nearly twice as energy intensive as glass which only takes up 1.09 kilowatt hours for the bottle vs 2.07 kilowatt hours of electricity for a 12oz can. For me, the clear winner at first, obviously seemed to be glass.

Impact of Recycling

Of course, that’s before I took into account some data compiled by Planet Green about the value of recycling aluminum. Aluminum was the clear winner here, as that 40% of recycled aluminum goes into the average beer can while only 20% to 30% goes into a glass bottle. So, the trick here is to find out if the Aluminum that the brewery you patron uses a lot of recycled aluminum. Aluminum is much lighter to ship, too. Heavier items consume more fossil fuels, glass is heavier, therefore more greenhouse gases are produced when you ship a bottle vs a can, so if your favorite brewery is nearby and offers cans that contain 40%-50% recycled aluminum…aluminum might be your best bet, after all. That is, if your local community has a top of the line recycling program. The Portland Tribune claims that bottles trump aluminum in the recycling department solely because they’re considered more valuable and therefore, people recycle them more often.

The True Cost of New Aluminum Bottles

Two years ago in the beer world, new aluminum bottles appeared on the market that industry workers claim kept your beer colder longer. With a new, sleeker look, these bottles are quite appealing to sports fans and outdoor types who want to look cool while drinking their suds. Unfortunately for environmentalists who are trying to conserve precious kilowatts of energy and conserve greenhouse gases, these new aluminum bottles contain three times the aluminum of an average can. If you’re trying to keep your nose green, an aluminum bottle (not matter how slick) is probably not your best bet.

If the prospect of a beer that stays colder longer appeals to you, consider reading this study that disproves the marketing claims of aluminum bottle manufacturers that aluminum bottles stay colder than glassbottles over extended periods of time.

To fully understand the impact of aluminum vs. glass in the environment, here’s a great breakdown and a good spreadsheet to use to determine whether beer or aluminum might be right for you.

For me, the average American who just wants to enjoy a brew, the numbers can all be a bit overwhelming, and I haven’t even factored in health risks.

Alzheimers and Aluminum

For close to sixty years, Aluminum has been scrutinized as a possible risk factor to Alzheimer’s disease but after weighing evidence some experts describe as circumstantial, many believe that only certain people are at risk, particularly those who have trouble processing foods that contain metals like copper, iron, and aluminum. Since 1965, when the link between Aluminum and Alzheimer’s began to be explored, a menagerie of information has surfaces and most of it is so contradicting, it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed in the process.

The Alzheimer’s organizations in both Canada and the UK have issued statements about the possibility of a casual relationship between Aluminum and Alzheimer’s. Both of them seem to come to the conclusion that evidence in the matter is inconclusive.

However, a recent study claims that Spanish researchers have found that drinking moderate amounts of beer might help ward off Alzheimer’s disease. They’re claiming that the silicon content found in beer may help reduce the amount of aluminum absorbed in the blood stream. This helped put to bed some of my worries that drinking from aluminum cans (beer-wise) could be hazardous to my mental health.

Verdict

After some hard thought and weighing the evidence of there being an overwhelming amount of aluminum in landfills today, I decided that generally, most of my favorite locally brewed beers don’t come in cans, and anyway, there is a great deal more pleasure in drinking beer (guilt-free) from my local tap or splitting a keg between friends. Not only will I save money, but Kegs are reusable, too. When I choose to drink at home, I will drink out of glass bottles from local breweries who recycle more glass and of course, using the 100 mile diet like one nearby blogger suggests, could help reduct the environmental impact further.

My conscious is cleared further since I don’t own a car. Afterall, don’t ever forget, the best and only renewable energy source I could use to get to a frosty brew is biking or walking. Fortunately for me, I live in Boston which is just bursting with local beers for me to consume and unfortunately for my liver, they’re all a walk or short bike ride away.