Great Lakes Wire

The Michigan Craft Beverage Council said it has not yet taken a position on potential changes to federal dietary guidelines that could recommend "no safe level" of alcohol consumption.

"The Council is aware of this issue but has not taken a position,” Jenelle Jagmin, director of the Michigan Craft Beverage Council, told Great Lakes Wire.

The Michigan Craft Beverage Council is a program within the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. It supports the state's craft beverage industry, including beer, wine, cider, spirits, and mead. The council provides research grants, education, and promotion efforts to enhance the growth of Michigan's craft beverage sector. It is funded through fees paid by the industry and promotes collaboration between growers, producers, and suppliers. The council also focuses on agricultural advancement and market development to strengthen the state's economy.

Jagmin's comments to Great Lakes Wire come after two Michigan craft beverage business owners said that if dietary guidelines were changed to recommend “no safe level” of alcohol consumption, the state's economy would suffer. 

"For three decades, my family has been growing grapes and producing fine wine, while also employing nearly 100 people annually in Grand Traverse and Leelanau County," said Sherri Fenton, managing owner of Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay, reported North Michigan News. "Now, those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are considering implementing this “no safe level” philosophy into next year’s U.S. Dietary Guidelines."

"To be clear, I agree the negative effects of excessive and irresponsible alcohol consumption are not up for debate," she wrote. "However, suggesting that any level of drinking for anyone, however responsible or low, is harmful and overreaching for the millions of Americans who enjoy drinking in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle."

Cliff Denha, owner of Wine Palace in Livonia, also expressed concern about the potential dietary guideline changes.

"Now the Biden administration and unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., appear to be taking notice of WHO’s claims as they work to create a new set U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which will come out in 2025," Denha wrote in an article on Crain's Detroit. "As a Southeast Michigan liquor store owner who serves thousands of people and creates jobs, what does that mean for my business, those jobs, and our customers? Nothing good," said Denha, reported Northwest Wayne News.

"Here in Michigan, our culture and economy are notably intertwined with moderate and responsible drinking in the form of countless — and very popular — wineries, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, and retailers, to name a few," Denha said. "Making sweeping statements like “no safe level” not only disregards the nuanced reality of consuming alcohol and its role in our culture and entertainment here in Michigan, but also poses potential harm to small businesses and our state’s economic fabric."

The USDA and HHS have plans to conduct a review on alcohol use, which would impact their suggestions for the federal guidelines on alcohol consumption. In August, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States sent a letter to the agencies to inquire about the goals of the review, according to Wine Spectator. 

The HHS's current guidelines for alcohol consumption are one or fewer drinks per day for women, and two or fewer drinks per day for men. 

A recent study by Wine American reported that Michigan is home to 196 wine producers who work on 1,448 acres of vineyards. The state's industry supported 46,769 total jobs in 2022. The winery industry also generated $6.33 billion in the same year.  

"It is also the seventh largest wine producing state in the nation, with Northwest Lower Michigan growing 60% of grapes needed," Fenton wrote in her article.

The World Health Organization (WHO) led an initiative in 2019, called A World Free from Alcohol-Related Harms (SAFER), which aimed to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10% by 2025. WHO released a statement in January of 2023 saying there was "no safe amount that does not affect health" in regards to alcohol consumption.

A June 2024 study from WHO announced that between 2010 and 2019, there was a 20% decrease world wide in alcohol related deaths.