What are bourbon side effects and benefits (if any) every ethical consumer must know? Here are bourbon pros and cons and how buying it will impact your health, the environment, animals and laborers.
Food is something we consume every day and if you’re like me, you do all the research you can to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, the planet, animals or others when shopping. As an ethical consumer myself, I am giving you all the info I’ve found on bourbon benefits and side effects.
You are going to learn all about bourbon benefits and side effects. This will include bourbon benefits for your health and potential risks, bourbon water footprint and bourbon carbon footprint, bourbon sustainability, if bourbon is vegan or impacts animals in other ways, and much more.
After learning if bourbon is good or bad for you, the environment, animals and human rights, you will be prepared to make the best choices you can the next time you buy food.
This post is all about bourbon benefits and side effects that every ethical consumer should know.
Must-Know Bourbon Side Effects And Benefits
Health
Bourbon side effects for health may include:
- addiction
- alcohol dependency
- dehydration
- depression
- disrupted sleep patterns
- impaired brain function
- cancers
- deadly accidents
- dementia
- early death
- high blood pressure
- liver damage and liver disease
- dry skin
- weight gain
Bourbon benefits may include:
- temporary anxiety relief
Additionally, bourbon is…
- Acidic 4.5 pH level once digested
- Gluten Free when distilled and Not Gluten Free when non-distilled
- Not a Common Food Allergen
Environment
Water footprint: unknown
Carbon footprint: high, 3.5-3.3 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of alcoholic beverages, a car driving equivalent of 8.75 miles or 14 kilometers
Destruction: high, bourbon production is unsustainable, alcohol production negatively impacts the planet with the process of growing the ingredients necessary to produce alcohol, grains, potatoes, rice, botanicals, sugar cane, and agave are all significant ingredients in the alcohol industry, which require a significant amount of fertilizer, land and use of machinery to produce beverages that aren’t necessary for human survival, resources could be diverted to providing food and beverage aid for those in need
Bourbon is…
- Unsustainable
Animals
Kills: none, bourbon production does not require any animals to be killed
Harms: none, bourbon production does not require any animals to be used
Indirectly kills or harms: unknown
Bourbon is…
- Vegan
- Not vegan if honey flavored
Laborers
Health and safety: varies, overall, agriculture continues to be one of the most dangerous industries, farmworkers may be subject to dehydration, heat stroke, unprotected exposure to harmful, toxic chemicals and pesticides, unsafe machinery and clean drinking water may not always accessible
Living conditions: varies, laborers are often exploited, they may face tough working conditions including long hours in the sun and heat performing physically exhausting tasks, labor laws and rights may or may not be in place, even if worker protection exists, employer violations may go unreported, refugees and migrant workers are especially vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, fearing consequences of job loss or deportation
Wages: varies, generally farmworkers earn meager wages, there are many cases of underpaid agricultural workers, wage theft and no overtime payment or benefits
Bourbon…
- May have labor issues
Formula with L-Theanine, GABA, Vitamin B6, and Glycine, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Vegan
Where does most bourbon come from?
Most bourbon comes from Kentucky, USA.
bourbon is acidic. bourbon side effects include not fitting into an alkaline diet.
Is bourbon alkaline or acidic?
Bourbon is acidic.
What is the pH level of bourbon?
Bourbon has a 4.5 pH level, once digested. Hard liquor is an acidic group.
When you eat food, it breaks down to an ash residue that can be neutral, acidic or alkaline. Minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, silver, copper and iron produce an alkaline ash; whereas sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine and iodine, which are found in meat, coffee, dairy and alcohol, leave an acid ash.
Going alkaline easier than ever with this: Acidic and Alkaline Foods List
bourbon is gluten free when distilled and not gluten free when non-distilled.
Is bourbon gluten free?
Bourbon is gluten free when distilled and not gluten free when non-distilled.
While celiac disease may not be as rampant as many marketing trends lead us to believe, you may have a gluten sensitivity…
Celiac and gluten sensitivity symptoms are similar and may include:
- recurring abdominal pain
- chronic diarrhea
- constipation
- tingling
- numbness in hands and feet
- chronic fatigue
- joint pain
- unexplained infertility
- low bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis)
There are hundreds of potential symptoms, many of which are also symptoms of other conditions.
Going gluten-free easier than ever with this: Gluten and Gluten Free Foods List
bourbon is not a common food allergen.
Is bourbon a common food allergen?
No, bourbon is not a common food allergen. Some people may experience allergic reactions to bourbon but it is relatively rare by comparison.
A group of the eight major allergenic foods, AKA the Big-8, include:
Severe food allergies can be life threatening. Following ingestion of a food allergen, a person with food allergies can experience a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
Persons may still be allergic to and have serious reactions to foods other than the eight foods identified by the law.
Be aware of common dietary restrictions and food allergens with this: The Big 8 Most Common Food Allergens List
bourbon has a low carbon footprint.
Does bourbon have a high or low carbon footprint?
Bourbon has a high carbon footprint compared to other foods and beverages.
What is the carbon footprint of bourbon?
It takes around 3.3-3.5 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of alcoholic beverages, a car driving equivalent of 8.75 miles or 14 kilometers.
Food not only has a water footprint but also a carbon footprint, known as CO2e, which stands for carbon dioxide equivalent. Since carbon measurements are a bit more difficult to comprehend, it is common to equate CO2e to the distance which a car drives in miles or kilometers.
When calculating product emissions, some factors that may be included are… farm equipment, animal feed production, hothouses (greenhouses), food processing, packaging, transport, refrigeration, freezing, package waste, and more.
But that’s not all!
It’s best to keep the following in mind when grocery shopping:
- shopping locally reduces transportation emissions
- food without packaging reduces waste as well as the carbon footprint
- refrigerated and frozen foods increase carbon emissions
- seasonal foods reduce carbon emissions from hothouses (greenhouses)
- growing plant-based foods at home is the most environmentally sustainable method with zero carbon footprint
Find out how much carbon your food emits with this: Carbon Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
bourbon is unsustainable. bourbon side effects include environmental destruction.
Overall, is bourbon eco friendly? Is bourbon sustainable?
Bourbon production is relatively unsustainable.
A 2018 Oxford University study – which is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet – found that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ as animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of our farmland.
Consuming animal products and byproducts is not environmentally friendly and is one of the worst things for the Earth. Not only is meat production wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution. The industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change.
bourbon is vegan but can be flavored with honey.
Is bourbon vegan?
Yes, bourbon is vegan. Bourbon is a liquor and not an animal product or byproduct, therefore making it a vegan food. However, there may be some bourbon products that add honey flavoring.
Go vegan for animals!
It’s the best way to help animals and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Speak for animals with your actions, for they cannot speak at all.
Going vegan is easier than ever, at a glance with this: Vegan and Non Vegan Foods List
bourbon is a product that may or may not have labor issues.
Is bourbon a product that has known labor issues?
At this time, there are no known specific reports of worker mistreatment regarding bourbon production but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Bourbon may or may not have labor issues.
Did you know the single largest employer in the world is agriculture? The labor involved behind each and every product cannot go unrecognized.
Some known problems include workplace health and safety, child labor, gender inequality, inadequate pay, wage theft and exploitation. Workers can even experience harassment, humiliation and violence and unfair employers often fail to provide laborers with access to shade, drinking water, restrooms and breaks. Consequently, laborers can face nausea, dizziness, heat exhaustion, dehydration and heat stroke -the leading cause of farmworker death!
Such mistreatment is like modern day slavery. Workers are often afraid to report issues because they fear it will result in losing their jobs or deportation.
Fair trade organizations fight to ensure better social, environmental and economic standards.
We can improve people’s lives with foods we eat every day simply by buying products that are certified fair trade.
This post was all about bourbon side effects and benefits.
Sources:
Bourbon | National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Bourbon whisky/Bourbon whiskey/Bourbon
