The French consumer group "60 million de consommateurs" tested 48 varieties of beer and found that only 11 brands showed no traces of pesticides, all the others having traces of widely used chemicals, including the herbicide glyphosate. Strangely beers often criticised as being too "chemical" such as Heineken were pesticide free.
The quantities were very small, but did surpass the limits prescribed for water. As the report pointed out beer is not usually consumed in the same quantities as water and it would take 2000 litres per day to constitute a health risk from the pesticide residues. But it is an indication of the omnipresence of the chemicals used in agriculture.
With the shortage of carbon dioxide threatening beer supplies and what there is contaminated with chemicals, it is clear that we will need to "consume with moderation" even more than usual. Nice glass of rosé please!
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