Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Another reason to brew your own beer...



Beer: a magical mixture of hops, barley, and tiny pieces of plastic

A study done by a German research firm tested 24 German beers, including the ten most popular beers in Germany (Oettinger, Krombacher, Bitburger, Becks, Warsteiner, Hasseroder, Veltins, Paulaner, Radeberger, and Erdinger).  Researchers found the 100% of the beers tested contained micro-plastic particles. These are the same kind of plastic particles found in the Pacific Garbage patch, which is not actually an island as many people believe, but a collection of microscopic plastic particles that will not biodegrade for generations.  

Researchers wrote in the latest edition of  

Food Additives and Contaminants:

“The small numbers of microplastic items in beer in themselves may not be alarming, but their occurrence in a beverage as common as beer indicates that the human environment is contaminated by micro-sized synthetic polymers to a far-reaching extent.”

To read more:

  http://grist.org/list/beer-a-magical-mixture-of-hops-barley-and-tiny-pieces-of-plastic/

 

 

This VICE documentary on the Pacific Garbage patch does a great job of explaining the garbage vortex.

VICE News: Garbage Island: An Ocean of Plastic

Check out the three part documentary here:

 http://youtu.be/D41rO7mL6zM

 http://www.alexhoffordphotography.com/temp/files/AlgalBloom-07(1).jpg

 







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