MEPs for beer

BeerNut

The European Beer Consumers Union have created a website to help drinkers decide who to vote for in the European election. Candidates were asked how much they agree with five statements on alcohol policy and you can browse the results by candidate or by party, or fill in the survey yourself and measure the candidates' responses against your own.

Sadly we only got four responses from Irish candidates, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless. Apparently these surveys are quite common in Finland, which is where the idea for this one came from.

Here's the link.
Thanks to the mods for letting me post this.

expectationlost

if you click through to ireland then dublin then emer costello's details on the right him, she seem's to have picked neutral each time and got 100%

eamon ryan has somewhat agreed with the proposals and got 77% ?

mark deary the green party publican has mostly fully agreed with you and got 57%

Jan van de Ven fully agreed with you and got 50%

the question don't really interregate the persons view, the propositions are hard to disagree with, you could only really be a bit hesitant to fully agree because you are not sure what you are endorsng.

BeerNut

The percentage score is based on your preferences which you set in the left-hand column, and which default to the middle. Emer Costello seems to have opened the site and clicked submit without actually reading anything, so all of her answers are the default middle position, hence a 100% agreement with your default position.

Select different answers in the left-hand column and you'll see the percentages change. It's a bit more meaningful then.

expectationlost

ok but who would disagree with this "Consumers have the right to know the ingredients from which the beer is made, the alcohol content, the producer and where it is brewed."

BeerNut

expectationlost wrote: »

ok but who would disagree with this "Consumers have the right to know the ingredients from which the beer is made, the alcohol content, the producer and where it is brewed."

Drinks manufacturers, their lobbyists and the politicians who believe them. They are why you don't currently have all these rights.

Amirani

83% agreement with Eamon Ryan is my highest. 77% with the other Green.

expectationlost

BeerNut wrote: »

Drinks manufacturers, their lobbyists and the politicians who believe them. They are why you don't currently have all these rights.

believe what?

Eamon Ryan chose one notch down from full agreement on that, what does that tell me??

BeerNut

expectationlost wrote: »

believe what?

Believe the drinks manufacturers and their lobbyists.

expectationlost wrote: »

Eamon Ryan chose one notch down from full agreement on that, what does that tell me?

That he almost entirely agrees with it, but not quite.

expectationlost

BeerNut wrote: »

Believe the drinks manufacturers and their lobbyists.

I didn't ask believe who I asked believe what?

BeerNut

expectationlost wrote: »

I didn't ask believe who I asked believe what?

That not telling customers what's in their drink or where's it's made is a good thing.

expectationlost

BeerNut wrote: »

That not telling customers what's in their drink or where's it's made is a good thing.

who is saying that? and who in Europe is believing them?

BeerNut

expectationlost wrote: »

who is saying that?

The wine industry has been the main driver behind the exemption to ingredients listing granted to alcohol as well as precise provenance, though Brewers of Europe, representing big beer, have been content to go along with this.

expectationlost wrote: »

who in Europe is believing them?

DG Health and Consumers, which is the relevant Directorate of the Commission, and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety which provides Parliamentary scrutiny.

The current review of these issues being carried out under Regulation 1169/2011 gives us the opportunity to try and change the law here. Having MEPs on-side will help enormously.