The culture wars have come for beer

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     July 5, 2023 I have a confession to make: I love the Fourth of July. I've heard a lot of chatter about the harms of fireworks, the [polluting effects of charcoal grills,]( and the questionable ethics of celebrating a country whose Supreme Court seems intent on [stripping us of our long-established rights](. I hear all that, and I raise you the inalienable joys of hot dogs and beer. Beer has, weirdly, been at the forefront of the culture wars lately. If you've somehow missed out on all of the Bud Light discourse, the long and short of it is that the company sent some beers to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, prompting a conservative boycott. That prompted some predictable outrage from [predictable corners](. But the drama didn't end there: Two Anheuser-Busch executives [took a leave of absence](, and Mulvaney criticized Bud Light for failing to stand behind her as the spectacle escalated. What has made the boycott especially ridiculous is that Anheuser-Busch has sponsored Pride events for decades. And it's not just conservatives who have been upset. In 2002, we noted backlash to the corporatization of Pride, including by Anheuser-Busch, in [this very magazine](. But conservatives don't seem to care that the company's support of gay rights, even if it is performative allyship, is nothing new. Their boycott likely contributed to Bud Light's decline in sales, which recently resulted in the company being [supplanted]( by Modelo as the bestselling beer in the US. I am not the first person to point out that Modelo is the [tastier beer](. Really, taste is the only measure by which we should be deciding which beer to buy. As Mulvaney's [rebuttal]( to Bud Light showed, these companies don't actually care about LGBTQ people. Budweiser and Target are simply trying to make a buck. What's more American than that? —Abigail Weinberg Advertisement [House Store Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Top Climate Groups Took Millions From Billionaire Oil and Gas Investors]( Their hedge fund, Quadrangle Capital, holds stakes in 45 fossil fuel companies. BY KIRAN STACEY FROM THE MOTHER JONES STORE   Mother Jones Store T-shirts, books, back issues, and new merchandise! Go to the official Mother Jones Store and show your support beyond the pages. [Check us out!]( [Trending] [It sure was hot yesterday]( BY INAE OH   [A massive UPS strike is imminent]( BY EAMON WHALEN   [Civil rights groups challenge Harvard's legacy admissions]( BY ARIANNA COGHILL   [Fox News agrees to pony up $12 million to former Tucker Carlson producer alleging coercion]( BY MADISON PAULY Advertisement [House Donations Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [The Perils of Farming Salmon in a Warming World]( “A lot of the impacts are not visible until you are in a state of big crisis." BY JESSICA MCKENZIE [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755