How the Government Almost Killed the Apple

Published

1 year ago

March 26, 2024

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Prohibition’s 14-year span in the early 20th century caused a boozy brain drain as droves of American bartenders shuttered their watering holes and moved abroad. With them went America’s Golden Age of Cocktails. Reason’s Peter Suderman in 2017 brilliantly laid out the backstory behind how the federal governmentalmost killed the cocktail. But the government’s anti-alcohol tantrum also nearly killed off another product further up the alcohol supply chainthe humble apple. America’s Apple Exceptionalism

Today, the produce section of your average American grocery store is dominated by a small handful of commercial apples. A mere 510 varietalssuch as the ubiquitous Red and Golden Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisprule the country’s apple market. In my humble opinion, other than the flavorful Honeycrisp (developed via cross-breeding at the University of Minnesota in the 1960s), these varietals are largely bland, flavorless, and uninspiring.

It wasn’t always this way. In the 18th and 19th centuries, America was home to well over10,000 apple varieties, more than any othernation on earth. The names were as wide-ranging and extraordinary as the species diversity, with monikers like Yarlington Mill, Spitzenburg, Northern Spy, and Winter Banana.

America’s apple exceptionalism camelong before the Department of Agriculture doled out millions of dollars in annual grants to farmers, and even before land grant colleges were established to advance the nation’s agricultural knowledge. Instead, it was almost entirely a bottom-up, grassroots groundswell that solidified the country’s apple hegemony, with nearlyevery farm in early America containing an apple orchardand nearly every American (nine out of 10)living on a farm.

To understand the story of the apple, one must first understand the story of cider. Nowadays called “hard cider,” cider’s American bona fides ironically far outstripthat of apple piewith alcoholic cider’s roots tracing back to the very birth of our nation. Heralded by some as the “fuel of the revolution,” cider was not only allegedly passed out to both colonial and British troops duringlulls in the action at the Battle of Concord, but it helped propel George Washington’sfirst election to the Virginia House of Burgesses by ensuring his voters were well-lubricated. John Adams drank a gill of ciderfor breakfast before his daily five-mile walks, Thomas Jefferson made cider at hisMonticello orchards, and Ben Franklin famouslyquipped: “He that drinks his cyder alone, let him catch his horse alone.”

Given its role as cider’s irreplaceable ingredient, the apple rose hand in hand with cider as a sine qua non of early American life. Needless to say, cider is only as good as the apples that go into it, which is why the nearly endless variety of apples found in 18th and 19th century America produced some of the most unique and flavorful ciders the world has ever known. In the words of cicerone Michael Agnew, these early apples were “cultivated for their tannins and acidity, [and] produced complex quaffs with flavors that rivaled fine wine, quite unlike the sweetened, alco-pop or non-alcoholic juice-in-a-jug that passes for cider today.”

Early Americans consumed anaverage of 35 gallons of cider per year, in part because it wasmuch safer to imbibe than water. “Up until Prohibition, an apple grown in America was far less likely to be eaten than to wind up in a barrel of cider,” as author Michael Pollannoted. “In rural areas cider took the place of not only wine and beer but of coffee and tea, juice, and even water.”

Proverbs 27 intones: “If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit.” But America didn’t care for its orchards. At the very moment cider, and the apple, were becoming hard-wired pieces of Americana, everything began to change. First, the European revolutions of 1848 spurred awave of German immigration to the United States. Unsurprisingly, more Germans meant more beer, which provided a ready challenger to contest cider’s heavyweight title as America’s alcoholic beverage of choice. Around the same time, the Industrial Revolution led to America’s first greaturbanization pushand German immigrants themselves were part of this trend, choosing to settle in Upper Midwest cities like Milwaukee.

This provided a natural competitive advantage for beer over cider, as grains like barley and wheat were cheaper to grow, easier to haul into urban environs, and less perishable than the apple. “Beer was made in breweries, which are like factoriesthey’re modern,” asWilliam Kerrigan, author ofJohnny Appleseed and the American Orchard: A Cultural History, pointed out. “Beer seemed cleaner and a more efficient, modern drink.” Prohibition Enters the Picture

As cider declined in prominence, the bucolic rural apple orchard became less important to the American lifestyle. But while the apple was already declining across the nation’s cultural landscape, it was the U.S. government that delivered the coup de grce to this noble fruit.

With Prohibition’s advent in 1920, not only alcohol but also the ingredients that made alcohol became public enemy No. 1. As Smithsonian Magazine recounts, FBI agents took tochopping down acres and acres of backwoods apple orchards, “effectively erasing cider…from American life.”

Even if they escaped the G-men’s axes, orchard owners had little incentive to maintain their orchards in the absence of cider. “[Prohibition] caused orchards to stop growing cider apples altogether, dealing our cider traditionand the apples themselvesa death blow,”writes Jonathan Frochtzwajg of Modern Farmer.

Whether at the foot of an ax, or via the headwinds of the temperance-induced gutting of the apple’s highest and best economic use as a progenitor of cider, the American apple would never be the same. “Among the causes that contributed to the demise of cider in the United States, without question the Temperance Movement belongs near the top of the list,”according to David R. Williams of George Mason University.

By the time Prohibition ended nearly 14 years later, America’s cider and apple culture had been decimated. Part of this is attributable to the fact that mechanized urban breweries were betterpositioned to weather Prohibition, given that the factory setting allowed for a more ready transition to other product lines like soft drinks or selling ice during the country’s dry spell.

An additional factor is inherent to the apple itself. Barley and wheat grow as annual crops, which allows their production to be curtailed or ramped up on relatively short notice, thereby allowing breweries tospring back into action quickly once Prohibition ended. In contrast, planting a new orchardmeans committing to a 25-year investmentone which, quite literally, takes at least three to six years to bear fruit. “When prohibition ended in the 1930s, there was neither the desire nor the means to resuscitate the cider industry,” notes Williams.

To the extent the apple maintains its titular banner today as America’smost popular fruit, it is only in the form of those aforementioned, depressingly bland grocery store varietals. These homogeneously boring modern apples are a poor substitute for their pre-Prohibition ancestors. By the 1990s, commercial orchards weregrowing fewer than 100 types of apples, with a mere 11 varietals constituting 90 percent of grocery sales. Over 10,000 apple varieties are believed to have goneextinct since Prohibition. Apples Bounce Back

Were the story to end there, we would likely be forever condemned to a never-ending conveyor belt of Galas and Granny Smiths in the produce aisle. But just as the apple’s fall came at the very moment it reached its apex, its resurrection began only once it hit its nadir. For while the government nearly killed the apple, the free market is saving it.

As America’s modern craft cider boom took hold in recent decades, cidermakers began scouring the countryside for those unique, flavorful, spectacularly named apple varietals of yesteryear. Often called “spitter apples” since they are less sweet than the standard grocery tore offerings, thousands of heirloom apple varietals thought to be lost are being rediscovered, and saved, by American cidermakers.

Stories abound of Appalachian appleenthusiasts who havesaved thousands of “lost” apple varieties and now work closely with craft cidermakers. Famed cidermaker Diane Flynt of Foggy Ridge Cider, whom many consider the founder of today’s craft cider movement, hascredited cider’s modern rise as being built “on the backs of these old fashioned apples…. If I didn’t have these apples, my cider wouldn’t taste very good.”

Flynt, who won a James Beard Award in 2018, recently took things even further by shuttering Foggy Ridge toconcentrate solely on apple growing. Other Virginia cideries, like Blue Bee Cider and Albemarle Ciderworks havehelped save the Hewes Crab applea favorite of both Washington and Jefferson. The Hewes Crab was presumed to be extinct before asolitary tree was discovered near Williamsburg in the 1990s. Other heirlooms are similarly enjoying arenaissance, such as the Arkansas Black, another beloved cider-making apple.

Slowly but surely, the epicnames are reentering the American lexicon: Bitter Buckingham, White Winter Jon, Royal Lemon, Candy Stripe, and Black Winesap. For that, we can thank Adam Smith’s invisible handwhich, a hundred years later, has finally stayed the hand of the government’s apple ax.

American ’76 Recipe

A patriotic spin on the French 75, this libation celebrates cider’s irreplaceable role in the American story.

3 ounces of craft cider

2 ounces of bourbon

an ounce of lemon juice

an ounce of maple syrup

Heirloom apple slice

Shake bourbon, lemon juice, and maple syrup in a shaker filled with ice. Double-strain into a rocks glass containing fresh ice; top with cider and give a quick stir. Garnish with a slice of your favorite heirloom apple varietaland save the Red Delicious for the fruit salad.

Recipe adapted fromGive Me Liberty and Give Me a Drink! by Jarrett Dieterle.

UK

Sir Keir Starmer could be ousted as PM within months, two senior Labour MPs tell Sky News

Published

2 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer could be ousted as PM within months, two senior Labour MPs tell Sky News

Two senior Labour MPs have suggested the prime minister may have to go within months if the government continues to perform poorly.

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates said his sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – have “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.

Both warned that, if Labour performs badly in next May’s elections across Wales, Scotland and London, it could mark the end of his time in Downing Street.

Coates added: “The level of unhappiness and despair in parts of the Labour Party is so striking that right now, on the first anniversary, I am hearing from ministers in government that Starmer might have to go in months.”

Reform UK is surging in the polls in Wales, while Labour faces a threat from left-wing parties such as the Greens in London.

It comes as the prime minister made it clear that Rachel Reeves has his “complete support” as chancellor and remains integral to his project, Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby understands.

She looked visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions, with a spokesperson claiming she had been affected by a “personal matter”.

A day earlier, Sir Keir’s controversial welfare bill was passed despite a sizeable rebellion from Labour MPs, with major U-turns meaning a new £5bn black hole has appeared in the country’s finances.

One senior figure told Rigby that the pair were as “as close politically” as any chancellor and prime minister have ever been.

“She is going absolutely nowhere,” they added.

Ms Reeves’s tears sent markets spiralling, with the value of the pound and long-term government bonds falling sharply.

Later in the day Sir Keir, said Ms Reeves will be chancellor for a “very long time to come”.

The prime minister said it was “absolutely wrong” to suggest her tearful appearance in the Commons related to the welfare U-turn.

“It’s got nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with what’s happened this week. It was a personal matter for her,” he said while speaking to the BBC’s podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson.

“I’m not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you about that. It is a personal matter.”

Asked if she will remain in post, he said: “She will be chancellor by the time this is broadcast, she will be chancellor for a very long time to come, because this project that we’ve been working on to change the Labour party, to win the election, change the country, that is a project which the chancellor and I’ve been working on together.”

He said Ms Reeves has done a “fantastic job” and added: “She and I work together, we think together. In the past, there have been examples – I won’t give any specific – of chancellors and prime ministers who weren’t in lockstep. We’re in lockstep.”

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also offered a strong defence for the prime minister and chancellor.

He told Sky News this morning that Sir Keir has been “consistently underestimated” and was “of course” safe as prime minister.

And he said Ms Reeves was a “tough character” who was ” resilient” and “here to stay”.

UK

Greater Manchester Police investigating grooming cases with more than 700 victims

Published

2 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Greater Manchester Police investigating grooming cases with more than 700 victims

Despite making “significant improvements”, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has lost the “trust and confidence” of some victims of grooming gangs, according to a report by the police watchdog.

Michelle Skeer, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said that since 2019, when GMP started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, “the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation”.

The document, published today, said police have live investigations into “multi-victim, multi-offender” child sexual exploitation inquiries, involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects.

Grooming gangs scandal timeline

But despite recording improvements, a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also identified:

• Various training gaps within the investigation team
• Lack of consistency in evaluating case files between social care, health and police
• Failures to initially support victims meant they had “lost trust and confidence” in police

The report was commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in 2024 to evaluate whether police, councils and health services can protect children from sexual exploitation in the future.

Its release comes days after Sir Keir Starmer announced he was launching a new national inquiry into grooming gangs after previously arguing one was not necessary,

The findings were issued as the final part of the CSE (child sexual exploitation) Assurance Review process which started in 2017. The first three reports examined non-recent child sexual exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.

Mr Skeer said that the force has been trying to improve its service to those who have experienced sexual exploitation, but previous failings have badly affected trust in GMP.

He said: “For some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences.

“It is vital that improvements are led by victims’ experiences, and if they do come forward, they are supported, protected and taken seriously.”

A recent report by Baroness Casey found a significant over-representation of Asian men who are suspects in grooming gangs in Greater Manchester, adding though authorities are in “denial” more needs to be done to understand why this is the case.

Inspectors also said there were “training gaps” in some investigation teams and issues with data sharing, with local councils sometimes not willing to provide detectives with information, leading to “significant delays in investigations” into grooming gangs.

It cites problems with intelligence provided by Manchester City Council, which took months to arrive and “was so heavily redacted that some pages contained only a few words”, the report said.

GMP is the only force in the country to set up a dedicated team to investigate grooming gangs. Called the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team (CSE MIT) it has about 100 staff and a ringfenced budget.

In October 2024, the force told inspectors there were 59 live multi-victim, multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations, of which 13 were being managed by the CSE MIT.

The report adds: “The force fully accepts that it made mistakes in the past.

“It has taken positive and effective steps to learn from these mistakes and improve how it investigates recent and non-recent child sexual exploitation.”

Separately, the Baird Inquiry published in July 2024 found officers at GMP were abusing their power – making unlawful arrests, unlawful and demeaning strip searches, sometimes treating victims as perpetrators, and traumatising those who have suffered sexual abuse or domestic violence.

UK

Wes Streeting defends chancellor and PM ahead of ‘seismic’ 10-year plan for NHS

Published

2 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Wes Streeting defends chancellor and PM ahead of 'seismic' 10-year plan for NHS

The health secretary has offered a strong defence of the prime minister and chancellor – ahead of Sir Keir Starmer setting out his 10-year vision for the NHS.

PM ‘might have to go in months’ – politics latest

Wes Streeting dismissed suggestions the prime minister could be forced out in months following the toughest week of his premiership yet, and described Rachel Reeves as “resilient” and would “bounce back” following her tearful appearance in the Commons on Wednesday.

Overnight, two senior sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that they had “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.

The health secretary, who was speaking as Sir Keir prepares to set out his 10-year vision for the NHS, said the prime minister had been “consistently underestimated”.

Asked by Kamali Melbourne on Sky News Breakfast whether Sir Keir was “safe”, Mr Streeting said: “Of course.

“Keir Starmer has been consistently underestimated. I wonder when people will learn.

“They said he couldn’t win the Labour leadership, but he did. They said he couldn’t change the Labour Party, but he did.

“They said he couldn’t take the Labour Party from its worst defeat since the 1930s to election victory last year. And he did and now the cynics say he can’t change the country, but he will.”

As for Ms Reeves – whose tearful appearance in the Commons spooked markets after the prime minister initially failed to back her, Mr Streeting said the chancellor was a “tough character” who was “resilient and she will bounce back”.

The health secretary declined to expand on why Ms Reeves was in the chamber at all yesterday, repeating that it was a personal matter.

“Rachel Reeves as chancellor is here to stay,” he continued.

“We need her to get the economy from strength to strength, to make sure that family finances are in better health than we were when we came into office.”

Speculation about the futures of the two most senior members of the government threaten to overshadow the announcement today, which the government says is “one of the most seismic shifts” in the health service’s history.

Sir Keir will pledge three main facets of the plan: moving care into the community, digitising the NHS, and a focus on sickness prevention.

The prime minister will announce neighbourhood health services will be rolled out across England to improve access to the NHS and to shift care out of overstrained hospitals.

Sir Keir has already promised thousands more GPs will be trained, and to end the 8am “scramble” for an appointment.

He also previously said his government will bring the NHS into the digital age, with “groundbreaking” new tools to support GPs rolled out over the next two years – including AI to take notes, draft letters and enter data.

And he will promise new contracts that will encourage and allow GP practices to cover a wider geographical area, so small practices will get more support.

Unite, one of the UK’s largest healthcare unions, welcomed the plan cautiously but said staff need to be the focus to ensure people are better looked after.

‘Reform or die’

Sir Keir said: “The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.

“But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.

“That ends now. Because it’s reform or die.”

Neighbourhood health services

The newly announced neighbourhood health services will provide “pioneering teams” in local communities, so patients can more conveniently access a full range of healthcare services close to home.

Local areas will be encouraged to trial innovative schemes like community outreach door-to-door to detect early signs of illness and reduce pressure on GPs and A&E.

The aim is to eventually have new health centres open 12 hours a day, six days a week to offer GP services as well as diagnostics, post-operative care and rehab.

They will also offer services like debt advice, employment support, stop smoking help or weight management.

More NHS dentists

Dentists will also be part of the plan, with dental care professionals part of the neighbourhood teams.

Dental “therapists” will carry out check-ups, treatments and referrals, while dental nurses could give education and advice to parents or work with schools and community groups.

Newly qualified dentists will be required to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, which they have said will be three years.