How much fat and alcohol would you like with your wine?
Sure, booze carries the typical fine-print warnings from the government about operating machinery, driving a car or birth defects in unborn children. This, we all know (now, whether certain people follow it is their own damn fault.) But check this out: The U.S. Treasury Department is now considering a new rule that would require wine, beer and other alcohol-producing companies to label not just the alcohol content on their bottles and cans, but the serving sizes and nutritional information!!
This means that next time you pour yourself a big glass of vino, a big old nutrition label could be staring up at you, screaming out facts like calories, fat, carbs, protein and more. It means those who do drink will be forced to contend with the fact that alcohol DOES have calories (very empty ones at that) and that like cereal and chocolate, a serving size is, sadly, much, much smaller than what one might think. No more nights of mindlessly blowing through a glass of merlot with a girlfriend as if it were water without the guilt of knowing you (OK, me too!) just drank what is essentially liquid fat (alcohol has seven calories per gram, versus fat’s nine calories per gram and protein’s mere four calories per gram). It also means facing up in a much more real way to the fact that we are putting alcohol in our bodies. A drug. (According to an Associated Press story, labels on all liquor and wine bottles (but not typically beer) with more than 14% alcohol by volume would have to disclose at least the alcohol content; however, if a brewer wanted its beer to be labeled "light," the label must show its caloric content and the percent of alcohol per volume.)
Guy Smith, EVP of the company Diageo PLC, which sells Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo, Guinness, and more said in the AP article that "Overwhelmingly, people want this kind of information on the package.”
FitSugar.com is conducting a poll on the topic and is finding the same thing - so far, a mass majority (92% as of the time of this posting) of respondents said they like the idea. Check out some of the comments here.
What do you think? I must admit, I’m all for the reality check. People who drink alcohol in a healthy way can use it to tailor their intake. Unfortunately, those who abuse booze will likely ignore the info but in the event in wakes them up a bit…really, what’s the harm?
Comments
Great article! I applaud this move and agree with you that people neglect to consider calories in wine or any alcoholic beverage. For example, having a flavored martini or sweet drink made with a sugary mix is as much, or more, than dessert. Also, wine calories vary. A dry red can have as little as 85 calories a glass. A rich after-dinner wine such as sauterne ... well, I don't want to think about it. If you're lucky enough to be offered sautern, drink up!
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One thing; whatever the brand, beer or wine, there is no fat in either.
The petition drive that the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has opened for public comments ends October 31. It will take at least as year before this Treasury Department will come to any sort of conclusion. If they do decide to mandate nutritional info on beer, wine and booze labels, there will be a three 3-year period in which to do so. All in all, this entire cycle might not conclude for another 4-5 years.
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The TTB was just extended the petition deadline to January, 2008. I knew they would, that's why I expect the whole process to last 4 to 5 years (more like 5-6) before you see any action on nutritional values on beer, wine and booze.
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