At a recent county council meeting, a councillor was quoted as welcoming the reopening of so-called “wet pubs”. Nothing strange about that. The councillor is a life long pioneer. Nothing strange about that either. But it struck me that in arguing that rural pubs should’ve been allowed open earlier, “so there wouldn’t have been so many house parties”, the councillor who doesn’t take a drink was looking at the broader picture.

And the same goes for those concerned about the effects of alcohol abuse on society. You never hear public health experts expressing the simplistic view that a panacea for alcohol abuse is to shut all pubs. That’d be ridiculous. Yet when it comes to climate change and farming, that same sense of looking at the bigger picture doesn’t ring true.

I received a profoundly sad letter from a reader who explained how their life had been ruined by an alcoholic father and so they had little time for the joviality of the pub

As we grapple to tackle climate chaos, the incessant attacks on farmers borders on the absurd. In the same way alcohol contributes to alcoholism, food production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, yes. But we don’t say ban alcohol to stop alcoholism, but we do say ban beef and dairy to stop climate change.

Having once written here about the simple pleasure of meeting friends in the pub for a few pints, I received a profoundly sad letter from a reader who explained how their life had been ruined by an alcoholic father and so they had little time for the joviality of the pub. It was a personal account which I’ve huge sympathy for and I can only imagine the destruction which is caused in a household of children by an alcoholic parent. At the same time, the idea that pubs are the root of all evil because some people are at risk of alcoholism is binary. The law of unintentional consequence applies which is why the teetotal councillor saw fit to publically condemn the forced shutting of small bars. It’s because, aside from being liquor vendors, pubs play a myriad of positive roles in local society.

The same broad view doesn’t seem to apply to some campaigners when it comes to conventional small-scale beef and dairy farming in Ireland. And it’s doing a total disservice to the sensible and practical environmentalists and farmers who are intent on making the planet a better place.

I don’t recall defiance from farmers who want to engage in solutions

There are few agriculture conferences now which don’t have a sustainability or environmental angle. For example, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency was a panellist at the recent Agricultural Science Association virtual event a couple of weeks ago and she didn’t put a tooth in it in talking about what needs to be done by the agricultural industry to reduce emissions. I don’t recall defiance from farmers who want to engage in solutions. Nevertheless this doesn’t stop some environmentalists from sullying ordinary farmers with sweeping broadsides against what they do under the guise of being caring for the environment.

The two issues may be inextricably linked but they are separate discussions

Like getting in a sly kick in a stampede, the mask often slips and they can’t hide their contempt, using climate change as a handy vehicle on which to push their real agenda which is to rid the planet of animal farming altogether. The two issues may be inextricably linked but they are separate discussions.

No more than simply blaming pubs as a causation of alcoholism, to peddle the waffle that veganism is the solution to climate destruction antagonises farmers and understandably so. Consequentially it’s counterproductive and only hinders genuine efforts at farm level to be more environmentally and biodiversity friendly and so needs calling out.

A thrilling read

It’s not often I’d describe a book as “unputdownable”. But I make an exception for Champagne Football: John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football. It’s astonishing reading worthy of a Martin Scorsese movie.