Latest from Food Politics: Weekend reading: The alcohol-free trend: it's hot!

I subscribe to Beverage Daily,  an industry publication, to learn about current trends I might otherwise miss. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the alchohol-free trend, other than to notice the astonishing rise in the number of flavored water ...

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By Marion Nestle February 13 2026 Weekend reading: The alcohol-free trend: it’s hot! I subscribe to Beverage Daily, an industry publication, to learn about current trends I might otherwise miss. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the alchohol-free trend, other than to notice the astonishing rise in the number of flavored water options in supermarkets. With the new dietary guidelines arguing for less alcohol, this is a trend worth watching. Here is a good place to begin: Five emerging trends in the alcohol-free category: January puts the spotlight on alcohol-free drinks. What has this month taught us about the direction of the category in 2026 ?… Read more The discussion of the five trends is aimed at beverage companies trying to sell products. Sober-curious consumers are complicated, meaning they want to try lots of drinks. They “zebra-stripe” (a new term to me), meaning they alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the same occasion. Beverage companies need to come up with innovate ways to attract customers. Non-alcoholic drinks should be functional (meaning containing something that can do something special) to attract customers. Companies need to find new ways to attract customers to their brands. Judging from what I’m seeing at supermarkets, introducing a new beverage is not going to be easy.  There are already loads of options out there. Here are a couple of additional items on the alcohol-free trend: The most popular alcohol-free brands in the US this month, according to search data: Tracking January’s search data reveals the rising stars in the US alcohol-free category…… Read more Drinking less but drinking better: Understanding the moderation movement: Consumers want to be healthier; so they’re cutting back on alcohol. But is it really that simple?… Read more Alcohol-free beverages become part of the wellness diet:  From Dry January to everyday routines, alcohol-free beverages are integrating into wellness diets with functional, mood-enhancing ingredients… Read more IFT’s Food Technology: That’s the (Zero-Proof) Spirit: The worldwide movement to reduce alcohol consumption is inspiring a creative and technological revolution in zero-proof spirits and mocktails with an expanding array of ingredients, from whiskey and gin alternatives to tropical fruits and botanicals.Read More How GLP-1 drugs are playing into the alcohol moderation trend: The last decade has seen a steady decline in alcohol consumption. GLP-1 drugs add a new dimension… Read more  Building the best alcohol-free brands: The next step in the category’s evolution:  Brand loyalty in the alcohol-free category is still low. That means its all to play for…… 5 things we’ve learned about the alcohol-free category this January: January is the month when alcohol-free drinks really have the chance to shine. What have we learned about the direction of the category in 2026?… Read more Dry January is dead. Long live intentional drinking:  Elimination has evolved into moderation and it’s a preview of how changing consumer preferences affect year-round demand for alcohol and non-alcohol brands alike. The post Weekend reading: The alcohol-free trend: it’s hot! appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts The MAHA Dietary Guidelines V. The Alcohol Non-Recommendation Industry-funded study of the week: artificial sweeteners and cancer risk USDA grants SNAP waivers to 6 new states   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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Latest from Food Politics: Is the Dietary Guidelines' prioritizing of meat about industry lobbying or personal ideology?

In my post last week, “The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake, ” I said The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans actively promote meat and dairy intake, especially full-fat dairy.   The USDA has long acted as a marketing arm ...

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By Marion Nestle February 12 2026 Is the Dietary Guidelines’ prioritizing of meat about industry lobbying or personal ideology? In my post last week, “The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake,” I said The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans actively promote meat and dairy intake, especially full-fat dairy.  The USDA has long acted as a marketing arm of those industries through its research and promotion (checkoff) programs. I then noted that this government takes promotion to new levels through its milk mustache ads and pronouncements that we have ended the war on protein (protein has long been understood as a euphemism for meat). I ended with this comment: “I chalk all this up to the extraordinary lobbying power of the meat and dairy industries.” Whew.  Did that ever get a response. Readers raised two issues: I.  The guidelines and inverted pyramid give equal weight to plant foods. That’s not how I read them.  I see them as giving lip service to plants but prioritizing meat.  They visually present meat most prominently in the interactive graphic at realfood.gov.  Subsequent statements of the USDA and HHS secretaries also support this view.  And then there are the authors with financial links to beef industry groups who wrote the scientific reports relevent to meat. II. This is not about meat industry lobbying; it is about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s ideology.  Well, yes.  That too.  “Ideology” refers to belief systems that structure views of the world.  Everybody has them. I, for example, am ideologically in favor of the dietary guidelines’ advice to eat real food and avoid highly processed food, but ideologically opposed to advice to prioritize animal protein over plant protein.  I would argue that the vast preponderance of research supports that view. People holding other ideological views disagree, evidently.  They pick different studies to read and come to different conclusions. Two members of the nine people writing scientific reviews for the guidelines assure me that their reviews are unbiased.  But those reviews invariably reflect the ideology of the people who wrote them. As I often point out, nutrition research is impossible to control rigorously, unless you lock people up for extended periods of time.  That is why the best controlled studies, those done in monitored metabolic wards, can only be done for a few weeks at most.  Diets are complicated; eaters are complicated; research is complicated.  Complicated research requires interpretation.  Interpretation depends on the interpreter’s particular ideology. That is why appointing a diverse committee to look at research questions has its benefits; people with differing ideologies have to work out points of agreement. I will say this for RFK, Jr.  He makes his ideology clear.  It prioritizes personal experience over science. My ideology: We need science to distinguish anecdote from fact. Let’s agree that on the meat priority issue, RFK Jr’s ideology fits well with meat industry objectives. The meat industry has a long history of lobbying around dietary guidelines (see my book, Food Politics). I have not seen specific reports of meat industry lobbying around the new dietary guidelines.  Apparently, no lobbying was necessary. The post Is the Dietary Guidelines’ prioritizing of meat about industry lobbying or personal ideology? appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines: Some preliminary speculation The MAHA Dietary Guidelines IV: Eat more meat! Industry-influenced conference of the week: reducing methane emissions   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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