Cheers for Black Isle Brewery beer Silent Spring that helps environmental cause championed by American scientist Rachel Carson in tandem with eco trailblazer Ecosia
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A German environmental group named Ecosia and the Highland’s Black Isle Brewery have teamed up to give fresh life to the decades-old hope of a pioneering American scientist.
Marine biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962 detailing rampant disinformation by the chemical industry contributing to the devastating use of pesticides that harmed the environment and contaminated the food chain.
The book was credited with being a decisive factors that led US President Richard Nixon to establish the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 – but Ms Carson never lived to see it as she died of cancer in 1964.
“So you have lots of people who go into a supermarket and fill their trolley with organic fruit and veg but by the time they get to the beer aisle, they're just not thinking about that anymore. That really leads me on to the partnership with Ecosia and trying to get our message out there and get people thinking about the whole spectrum of food and drink." – Lawrie Wotherspoon
But such was the influence of her book that 60 years after its publication the Highland brewery issued a new beer named Silent Spring.
It is doing so for 50 per cent of the proceeds going to Ecosia – which uses ad revenue from online searches to plant trees and restore agricultural land.
That means every time the beer is purchased, half the cash will go replanting trees.
Launched at an event at the Black Isle Bar in Inverness and attended by dozens of fellow environmentalists the new Organic Pale Ale proved a hit and was cheerfully chugged by all which did not distract from the underlying message.
Business development manager Lawrie Wotherspoon explained the inspiration for the beer with 50 per cent of all profits going to Ecosia stems from how people think about purchasing beer.
“We have this problem where, for most people you have beer on one hand and then you have sustainability and environmental issues and organics and the two things exist in separate spheres,” he said.
“So you have lots of people who go into a supermarket and fill their trolley with organic fruit and veg but by the time they get to the beer aisle, they're just not thinking about that anymore.
“That really leads me on to the partnership with Ecosia and trying to get our message out there and get people thinking about the whole spectrum of food and drink.
“With Ecosia we just kind of winged it, we just phoned them up and said do you fancy doing something and I am delighted they did. And we said, how about Silent Spring as a celebration – it was written 60 years ago, in September 1962 which is why we're doing this now. It was written by Rachel Carson who was a marine biologist.
“She focused on the use of pesticides and other chemicals in the US at that time, the widespread use and the damage it was causing the environment and in the food chain to humans.
“And came under huge pressure not to publish from the chemicals industry but went ahead and became one of the most successful influential books in 20 Century as far as climate is concerned.
“So it's a book which is very important to us and very much part of our philosophy and something which we're very happy to have Ecosia on board with just to help us link up those dots really – that food and drink really matters as much as much as planting trees and all the other things that the people are doing.”
Ecosia’s head of policy UK Sophie Dembinski said: “We were thrilled to support this project and from my side, one of the things I loved about this project was that it was about Silent Spring. And also we like to collaborate with people doing really meaningful things on the ground.
“A lot of you will know Ecosia and if you don't know it is a search engine that plants trees, essentially but we've been involved with reforestation for quite a long time now. But we also really look at the sources of deforestation as well and that's why in the last few years we have been involved in regenerative agriculture.
“And secondly, when this came along, I really loved the message not only about what they are doing with the farm itself but also the message and that breakthrough they had 60 years ago and the need to really slow down.
“Unless it is perfect that she's kind of saying apart from the kind of need to advocate on a global level and the policy level and so on. But actually to really slow down and listen to the warning signs.
“Some of the messages that are coming from nature and also to recognise that what we can hear today is just a tiny piece of what existed before and we're facing mass extinction of species around the world.
“So to really be aware of what we all still have to lose and what else we need to still really be fighting for so thank you very much for what you're doing and your vision and your idea for this beer which is also incredibly tasty.”
Dingwall farmer and land management consultant Richard Lockett who was at the event said “This is a really positive initiative. The beer – Silent Spring – is excellent. “The fact that it is inspired by Rachel Carson’s book, a book that had a big impact on the way we think about the natural world, is important.
“We are living in a time of significant change and to see our local brewery come together with other organisations to support efforts to restore damaged ecosystems is something I’m sure lots of beer drinkers would be keen to support.”
