Psych 101, Freshman Comp., Intro. to Shakespeare, and now–Wine 101?
Ah, the French.
A report commissioned by Valérie Pécresse, the Minister for Higher Education, recommends that French university cafeterias hold wine-tasting sessions to teach students the virtues of moderate consumption.”Why is there sexual education and not viticultural education? You can learn wine too,” said Jean-Pierre Coffe, who co-wrote the report. “Drinking is not drinking a bottle. Wine is pleasure. It’s like love. It’s the same.”
Some believe lunchtime tastings would provide a good opportunity for students to learn a sense of responsibility. After all, wine is part of the French national heritage.
Others are concerned because binge drinking is a fairly new problem in France, where children grow up drinking watered-down wine. In November, the Paris city hall launched a campaign aimed at 15-25-year-olds, warning of the dangers of “le binge drinking,” which increased by about 10% between 2005 and 2008.
Alain Rigaud, president of the National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction, was shocked by the proposal, calling it naive. He said it was “marketing for the wine industry.”
Seems to me such a course is in the same vein as the parenting courses some have suggested in the U.S.. Also in the U.S., an organization called Choose Responsibility has advocated that we teach responsible drinking to kids, instead of raising the drinking age.
Why not learn practical and life skills in college?
Other questions: Do you think moderation can be taught? Or are wine tastings just adding more fuel to the college binge-drinking fire?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Some interesting data to look at is Binge drinking by teens is not limited to the United States. Source: Hibell et al. 2004 (data from European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs, 2003). Data calls into question the suggestion that having a lower minimum legal drinking age, as they do in many European countries, results in less problem drinking by adolescents. Excerpt found at http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espadusa2003.pdf. The US Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking 2007 can be found at: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking/