Guinness faced with protesting farmers

by Shayna Glick, Posted Aug 15th 2008 @ 2:00PM

Black and white image of the top half of a glass of Guiness.

Farmers everywhere are being squeezed by high production costs and low prices for their products. Even malting barley farmers in Ireland are being hit, but they're trying to do something about it.

The Irish farmers, about 400 of them, converged on the famous Guinness brewery in Dublin to protest their situation. The farmers want the brewer to do more to support the industry (which I suppose means supporting higher grain prices?). However, Guinness maintains that they get their grain from an agricultural supplier and has little say in the prices the farmers are paid.

A company spokesperson says that the beer maker also has to do what it can to compete with other beverage choices in a poor global economy. I feel bad for Guinness being caught in the middle. They won't have the grain they need if all the farmers go under, but they also prefer the lower grain prices to keep their own prices down. What do you think about the situation.

Filed Under: Farming, Business, Drink Recipes
Tags: beer, farmers, Guinness, malting barley, MaltingBarley, protests

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-15-2008 @2:20PM Jay Fallon said... "the EU’s decision to cut down on subsidized grain production"

Aha!
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8-15-2008 @3:49PM Fox Dude said... I think someone should do something about it. I love Guinness and will sometimes splurge and just get a case of it, but I've been getting another brand that has somewhat cheaper prices and flavour just as good. Beamish is the name of it.
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