After reading this, kicking back with that beer may seem a little less relaxing.
Isn't beer one of nature's purest gifts?
Unfortunately, some environmental scientists believe that this is becoming less of a reality. As one U.S. state attempts to enact more vital water pollution rules, some scientists are looking into what's in your beer. According to recent Great Lakes studies, your beer may be more polluted than your water.
Microplastics are a growing concern these days since research shows that much of the water we drink, mainly bottled water, includes minute plastic particles that humans (and animals) consume regularly. According to experts, these tiny fragments of plastic can enter the water in various ways, including through contact with the air, through plastic bottles, and during the water-packaging process itself.
According to a new article from the regional Michigan website MLive, California's position as the most populated state draws increased attention to the issue as lawmakers attempt to adopt legislation to minimize how much plastic ends up in the state's drinking water.
Meanwhile, groups of scientists have spent the last few years investigating how detrimental this is to your health... In any event, this information should be enough to make you nervous.
According to Sherri Mason, a sustainability coordinator at Penn State Behrend who studies microplastics in the Great Lakes, beer drinkers should be especially true. Mason performed a 2018 study that discovered 12 consumer brands of beer manufactured with Great Lakes water contained microplastics.
Mason implies that this discovery is not insignificant.
This is because samples of beer produced using Great Lakes water contained more microplastic particles than tap water. Mason and her colleagues discovered that "any contamination within the beer is not solely from the water used to manufacture the beer."
Another source of microplastics in beer, according to Myron Erickson, a public utility director in Wyoming, Michigan, is "... workers and humans creating, handling, and bottling the beer."
Choosing beer in a glass bottle may be one approach to assist regulate your consumption of foreign elements. According to some researchers, going with glass may also help mitigate any health risks associated with beverages packaged in aluminum cans.