FDA Battles Beer Brewers To Stop Them From Giving Grain To Farmers (VIDEO)

By Julia Morriss

Should the government be able to regulate your occupation? It does it all the time, from florists to tree trimmers, mandating licenses and requirements before allowing people to make an honest living. And now the government wants to intrude further, and mandate even more requirements that hurt and restrain small business owners.

Breweries around the country often give their spent grain, what’s left over after the brewing process, to local farms that use it to feed livestock. It is a win-win because it saves the breweries from having to pay to haul the grain away to landfills and gives the farms a low-cost way to feed their livestock. But the FDA wants to step in and regulate these transactions, which could cost some farmers and brewers their businesses.

In a press release, the FDA stated that if the brewers want to give the grain to farmers, they should have to follow a series of regulations to make sure the grain meets FDA standards before it can go to the animals. The stated goal, to prevent disease and contamination spreading among animals, is worthwhile. But breweries already bring their grain up to high standards because they are making products for human consumption. The added regulations would be both expensive and redundant.

Farmer Rick Olufs estimated that it would cost him an extra $300-400 a day if he had to purchase feed instead of picking it up from the breweries. Breweries that cannot afford the facility changes or do not have the space for the added equipment would need to pay for the grain to go to landfills, causing it to sit around their facilities much longer than if they could give it straight to the farmers. This could cause health risks since the spent grain would attract insects and rodents if left sitting for too long.

In the name of public safety, the FDA is harming small business and stepping in where it does not belong. Unfortunately, this is not the first time government regulations affected business operations and deprived people of their economic liberty. The Institute for Justice’s License to Work report lists the 102 low and moderate income occupations that are regulated by the government.  In some states, hair braiders cannot braid without a cosmetology license and interior designers must complete years of school before they can earn a living. None of this protects public safety and all of it hurts economic liberty.