403 Comments

I don't think that reality is binary, either good or bad, but rather all shades of all colors so that there can't really be a perfect answer to this dilemma any more than most. Alcohol is a legal commodity. Your farm is helping your community and sad as it is, addicts will always find ways to support their addictions regardless of what you do. That isn't to say that your work to highlight their plight has no effect; I'm sure it does. I understand your dilemma very well as I deal with a very similar one. The mantras of AA help in this regard. To the person concerned about the addiction of others: You did not cause it. You cannot cure it. You cannot control it. This idea extends to the product of your farm. Addiction will not be solved by making access to the substances more difficult. If it did, the war on drugs would have worked. Prohibition would have worked. Enjoy your farm. Support your community. Help those you can but not in a way that keeps them from helping and saving themselves and continue to highlight those in despair and possible societal solutions.

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Do you also make a non-alcoholic version of sparkling cider?? That seems appropriate as well.

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I'm not seeing a conflict as long as you promote responsible consumption and support organizations that help with addiction.

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I grew up in a rural former logging town in Oregon, so Tightrope obviously hit home in many ways. One of the things that became apparent in your book is that many social ills we attempt to problem solve in isolation, whether it's addiction/substance abuse, untreated mental illness, suicide rates, etc. are symptoms of bigger issues, namely varying degrees of trauma resulting from difficult home lives, abuse, poverty and more. Knowing that you and Sheryl are aware of and actively working on ways to address these foundational problems, the rural economic benefits of cider and wine grape production seem to be well within the bounds of your values and your desired impact on the world.

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i am among your many admirers, but find this question disingenuous.

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I think that people have to eat (which dispels the rich sauces argument) but they don’t have to drink. If your farm can produce grapes, they didn’t need to be turned into an alcohol product. If you hadn’t spent years writing about addiction issues and trying to run a campaign on deaths of despair, I’d say, hey - you do you. But you established a higher ethical ground with your own work.

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Your comments are well thought and heart felt. Complex questions don't have simple solutions.

First, I think you should grow the grapes, produce the wine(s), and make the cider. Wine is a nectar to be enjoyed. Some will have a problem with alcohol. It is not your problem to solve, and nobody can. Help is available to those who want it. Of three friends who have the problem, only one is effectively dealing with it.

Let me come at this from a different direction. I'm a retired, professional biologist and a now-deaf musician. As an amateur, I've made wines that were terrible, so I switched to making ales that ranged from terrible to very good. I gifted that ale-making equipment and my notes to my son in law. So far, no ale has been gifted back. It is not that he would not provide a bottle on occasion, he has a young family, a job, yadda, yadda.

I likely lost my hearing via a combination of nature and behaviors. Using a cochlear implant, I get by. Listening to loud music and playing the blues in a band for 17 years is likely the major cause of my hearing loss. Do I think other musicians should stop playing music? Absolutely not. It is now my role to adjust to the world, not the other way around. My friend who is dealing with her alcohol problem feels the same. Our gourmet group stopped using wine at just one gathering before my friend came down on us to keep enjoying wines with our meals. It was up to her to deal with her problem and not up to us to accommodate her problem. She was emphatic about that. I do caution friends and relatives about loud music, and when I played in the blues band, I would caution folks about sitting to close to the speakers.

I have a bum knee. It is likely from multiple sporting activities and lots of running. Should sports be eliminated to prevent bum knees and other injuries. No, I don't think so. And I'm not a sports fan. I don't watch sports, just played some and ran a lot.

I take responsibility for my hearing loss and my bum knee. Would I go back and change what contributed to each? Only in part. I'd be more cautious listening to and making music, but I'd still partake of the art. Ditto sports, but bad stuff happens in sports, and while some injury prevention is available, nothing is 100%.

So, enjoy your new adventure. I see it as a positive contribution.

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Your narrative is disturbing as you add fuel to dangerous propaganda. No, you don’t need alcohol for social connection. Similar to rich French food? Seriously? How many times have car accidents or domestic violence occurred as a direct result of coq au vin? Surely there are other forms of agriculture you could engage in - you’d probably make a fine NA apple cider. This is the most disappointing thing you’ve ever written. If you want to produce hard cider, do it. Just don’t hide behind a harmful narrative.

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Personally, since you asked, I do think there is a conflict and that you would be more true to your values if you sold grapes or cherries as food or made non-alcoholic sparking beverages. Or grew something else, perhaps?

I sort of get the sense that you are asking the question hoping that you will be supported so you can feel good about what you do. (NOT accusing you of hypocrisy, but suggesting that you hope to feel OK about the conflict.) Because nearly everyone who does drink alcohol will say what you are doing is just fine. It is a bit like the "guns don't kill, people do" argument -- NOT that intense or hypocritical, but still flavored that way to me. I have seen far, far too many people on the paternal side of my family suffer from severe alcoholism. I drank once and decided I didn't like to have my mind altered by a substance. And what about the genetic susceptibility of certain populations, which is well documented?

But if you are asking because you really do feel conflicted about it, then I would say to listen to that intuition and look for other options.

Best wishes to you....

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I believe that since you have to ask the question, you already know the answer. While you are clearly not your brother/sisters keeper, you have staked out a strong position on the ravages of alcoholism and addiction. While it is perfectly legitimate to produce wine and hard cider, and addicts will find their poison, it would appear that you are rationalizing a decision you and your family have made. As pointed out by others, there are other products that would be less harmful but perhaps less profitable for you to grow. In the final analysis, it yourself you need to convince.

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Jun 14, 2022·edited Jun 14, 2022

I was waiting to be seated in a restaurant and heard a man talking to his alcoholic friends on the phone. My son was an alcoholic so I knew something about it. The man asked me if I was an alcoholic and I said I didn't know. He asked if I could have one glass of wine and then be done with it for the night. I said I could. He said I am not an alcoholic. An alcoholic, he said, would parley that one glass of wine into a bottle and then switch to vodka and go on a bender and wake up in an unknown bed or another state. He said that to me wine was just a beverage but to an alcoholic it is a trigger to extreme consumption and oblivion. The problem is not with the beverage, it is with the gene or whatever it is that triggers the alcoholic. I don't see an ethical problem.

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Being a recovering alcoholic my question is, why do you need to do this? Why not produce non-alcoholic products? Certainly you can find other ways to utilize the abundance of your crops.

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I honestly believe intention matters. Your motivation to better your community is a good one. Stay with that!

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Tough question. Everyone in my nuclear family of origin were alcoholics. I am very mindful of my risk. But I drink alcohol. I am conflicted about it. I believe I would enjoy better health if I didn’t drink at all, (and enjoy zero risk of over-indulging) but I also enjoy a lot of conviviality over a glass of wine. I wonder all the time if I should never drink.

On the other hand, the wine and cider industry provides good jobs! Good for your family for providing some. I always wonder why people of means don’t make job creation a priority use of personal wealth. I guess, given that most truth is found in paradox, I think you are doing good, not harm. As you have always done with your gifts! Thank you.

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You are not your brother's keeper. I presume you don't market your alcoholic products to children, or feature some fallacious hooks to romanticize them. I do not see any ethical problem.

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You say that cider or wine can nurture friendships and build connections. It's hardly necessary to the process. Isn't it true that people will get together with or without it? I've always felt that people who find alcohol necessary to a social situation have an alcohol problem. If anything, it detracts from social situations by taking the place of an actual connection to the people you're with. Having drinks with someone doesn't mean you're friends; having a conversation might.

You can probably think of something better to do with your land that will still employ people and help the economy.

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