Edward Slingerland and James Iranzad Make the Case for Moderate Alcohol Consumption

Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to speak with UBC Professor Edward Slingerland regarding his then-new book, Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (take a listen to the June 16th, 2021 episode here). If you haven’t already read it, Drunk is a fantastic and sometimes hilarious examination of drunkenness, how being drunk enables us to trust and cooperate, and how alcohol consumption has influenced human development over the course of history.

Since then, Health Canada has developed new drinking guidelines for Canadians, amounting to a complete shift from their previous recommendations. For many (myself included), this has caused confusion, apathy, and rigorous discourse – including from Professor Slingerland, who recently published the article Making the Case for (Moderate) Alcohol Consumption (Medium). In it, he argues that Health Canada’s new guidelines overlook many of the causal benefits (moderate) drinking provides and how it factors into the hospitality industry. With the help of James Iranzad (Gooseneck Hospitality), we revisit Professor Slingerland’s book and column to give our thoughts on how the hospitality industry should respond moving forward.