North Michigan News

The office of State Sen. John Damoose (R-MI-37) said the senator is looking into potential federal dietary guidelines changes that could impact the Northern Michigan wine industry.

"Our office has not had any outreach about this issue, but we are looking into it," a spokesperson from Damoose's office told North Michigan News. 

Damoose's statement follows a recent North Michigan News story in which Sherri Fenton, managing owner of Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay, said the North Michigan economy would suffer if if dietary guidelines were changed to recommend “no safe level” of alcohol consumption.

"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 Fenton. "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," Fenton said. "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."

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.

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. 

Attorneys with the Holland & Knight law firm wrote a blog post earlier this year that said the new WHO "no safe level" guidelines could lead to litigation that impacted the tobacco industry several decades ago, reported Legal Newsline. 

“It remains to be seen how the WHO’s guidance will impact the alcohol beverage industry in the U.S., but it could be analogous to another highly restricted product: tobacco," wrote attorneys Jessica M. Brown and Ana Dragojevic, in a post titled, “Alcohol Consumption Guidelines: A Warning Shot for the Industry.”

"In response to public outcry about the negative effects of tobacco usage, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act banned advertising of cigarettes on television and radio starting on Jan. 2, 1971, and, since 1984, cigarette companies have been required to place U.S. Surgeon General warnings on all cigarette packs and advertisements with the passing of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act,” Brown and Dragojevic wrote.

“These impacts are apparent in the production level of tobacco in the U.S., with the number of tobacco farms decreasing from 180,000 in the 1980s to about 10,000 in 2012," they wrote. "Sales of tobacco products, such as cigarettes, have also declined in recent years. In 2017, about 249 billion cigarettes were sold in the U.S. – a 3.5 percent decrease from the 258 billion sold in 2016.”

The Michigan Craft Beverage Council told Great Lakes Wire last week that the council had not yet taken a position on the potential dietary guidelines changes. 

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.