I am not going to talk about craft beer in this month’s firkin. Because I think it is important to step back and talk about all BETTER food and drink for a moment before rushing headlong into 2012.
If you are a true beer geek, you need to also be a wine geek, a cheese geek, a tangerine geek. You get the picture. All of us who write about beer and even those who evangelize in person need to be cognizant that it isn’t enough to love craft beer and then wolf down a McWich of unknown provenance. We are of a same tribe and we should give props to those who create something delicious.
Let me get two caveats out of the way first. One, everyone has bad frozen pizza now and then. A twinkie from the ’80s may pass our lips as well. That’s fine as long as it isn’t the normal routine. Second, you do not have to know “everything” and become the cicerone of each different food and drink. You can be a rank amateur. That is fine.
What I am requiring is that we use the same criteria that we do when we purchase beer, when we buy everything else we eat. To me that means looking for food that is “whole”, un-chemicallized (new word), and local. Your criteria may differ. Just apply your own beer rules when you are choosing between two different offerings at a store.
I think this is important because not only will you be healthier if you are eating a higher quality of food without so many chemicals but it will also send a financial ripple through the food system. Just think of your big ticket monthly expenditures. Groceries are probably up there in the top five. And if you take that money and spend it on better stuff. That impact will be felt. In my case, the big grocery chains have lost 80% of my business. Because I simply find ice cream that is made better and with less additives elsewhere. Same with fruits and vegetables. I get those at a Farmer’s Market.
If enough people make the switch, then more “good” foodstuff’s will be made and we will get more choices and lower prices due to competition. Maybe prices won’t go as low as Cheeze Whizz, but when you factor in the better for you angle and better tasting angle (as it is with craft beer), then the price may not seem so high anymore.
This doesn’t need to get all frou-frou either. You don’t need to be holier than thou and have a burger that is completely cruelty free with micro-arugla. Just make your own burger instead of getting a “fast” one. Instead of ordering a pizza from the Hut. Go to a local pizzeria that makes a fresh pie. Don’t call out ABInBev then buy cheap industrial vodka from a slick marketing campaign.
When faced with a choice. Remember WWCBD. What would Craft Beer do?