First Cauliflower, Then Bananas - Now Beer!

Someone must put an end to this ever-growing foodie fad of screwing around with Mother Nature. The Associated Press has this sad turn of events to report:

Spurned across the continent by food-fastidious Europeans, the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest for converts to the ultimate ice breaker: genetically modified beer.

It's called Kenth (pictured above with its namesake brewmaster Kenth Persson). It was unveiled earlier this year in Denmark and Sweden. And, don't for a second think that the EU is gonna save us from this biotech brew. They came into the game too late:

The corn in Kenth was approved for use in 1998, before the European moratorium started, and is grown in Germany. The Monsanto-created corn seed is spliced with a bacterium's gene to resist the corn borer pest without the need for insecticides.

But, thank goodness for those beer-swilling, pure nature-lovin' folks at Greenpeace:

Greenpeace activists chased Kenth-ladened beer trucks in Sweden and Denmark, discouraging store and tavern owners from buying the brew, when it was first introduced, and Greenpeace continues to pressure big grocery chains to avoid stocking it.

Dan Belusa, a Greenpeace spokesman, said the protest encouraged ICA, a large Swedish grocery store chain, to remove Kenth from its shelves.

"Basically no GM foods are sold in Europe because consumers and retailers make a conscience choice to say 'no' to them," he said.

The brewer and Monsanto say Greenpeace's efforts haven't deterred their plans.

Kenth is now being sold through the Swedish state-owned liquor monopoly, Systembolaget, in southern Sweden and there have been no protests. But its availability is limited.

Limited indeed. Somehow, I think even Norm would pass up a pint of this "Frankenstein" brewsky.