Budweiser Vetos Genetically Modified Rice

fishdan writes "Anheuser-Busch the makers of Budweiser and other beers, has stated that they will not buy rice from Missouri if genetically modified crops are allowed in the state. Budweiser is claimed to be the best selling beer in the world Bud Light is the second best selling. I wonder about the stats of Tsing Tao I'm not sure what they're afraid of from genetically modified rice. Do they think their beer could get any worse?"

Re:But does it taste different?

[tOaOMiB]

If you RTFA, you'd notice that this is not about genetically modifying rice to have to grow better or faster. This is about a drug company that wants to use rice to produce human proteins to be used at drugs--not rice for consumption! The fear here (from Anheuser-Busch) is about cross-pollination with normal rice strains.

Real Beer has no rice

[gvc]

Where I come from, beer is made from barley, hops, yeast and water.

Not rice, corn or potatoes.

Another Misleading Story...

[tOaOMiB]

Please do note that this is not a story about Budweiser not using GMO. In fact, there is nothing that says they are even against GM rice--just rice being modified to produce drugs grow outside, where it can potentially crosspollinate with rice meant for consumption. While the summary states that Anheuser-Busch "will not buy rice from Missouri if genetically modified crops are allowed in the state," the article clearly states they "won't buy rice from Missouri if genetically modified, drug-making crops are allowed to be grown in the state."

The trolling summary then continues on with links to the popularity of Bud and the uprising Tsing Tao for no obvious reason.

Re:They are afraid...

[sagekoala06]

AFAIK lactoferrin and lysozyme are both in production by every single person who would be able to read this sentence. Lactoferrin and lysozyme are really nothing but enzymes that kill bacteria that are already found in our spit, snot, tears, and just about any other mucus that comes from our bodies. I wonder why they would produce these enzymes in rice for consumption because the instant they would hit the stomach (with a pH ~2) the protiens would denature and be rendered into useless macromolecules. A more likely use would be to prevent some bacterial rice disease caused by a gram positive bacteria.

Re:Real Beer has no rice

[Guido von Guido]

How did this get modded informative? First, even the Germans make plenty of wheat beer. Last I checked, malted wheat ain't barley.

Second, the quality of the finished product has little to do with whether or not the brewer uses rice, corn or potatoes. Budweiser sucks because they use less malt and hops than in a traditional pilsner, and because they go to extraordinary efforts to remove whatever flavor they do add to the beer.

For that matter, I've had some excellent beers made with all three of your verboten grains (yes, including potatoes), and some of the best beers in the world are made with added sugar.

For an example of a classic beer made with corn, check out the Classic American Pilsner [brewingtechniques.com]. This is a style of beer brewed in America before Prohibition, and which was revived in large part through the efforts of homebrewer Jeff Renner. Unfortunately, it is true that there aren't any good commercial examples.

Budweiser is Tasty.... IF...

[Wandering Wombat]

... you buy it in Canada. Budweiser brewed in Canada is brewed by Molson (I think... or Labatts)... using Molson's techniques. In a recent taste test, 3 out of 5 people couldnt tell Canadian beer from Budweiser brewed in Canada. 5 out of 5 knew EXACTLY when they had tasted the American Bud.

I just think it's funny that Budweiser, knowing that not a single damn Canadian would buy THEIR Beer, just brew Canadian beer and stick it in Bud cans. There's a metaphor there, but I can't quite get a grip on it.