After reading Ann's post I had to share this with you. The more I think
about the following situation, the more I agree that my "revelation"
probably started in my heart. But a few years ago you could not have
"argued" me into changing my mind for anything!
I've recently had a major "revelation" that I feel reflects what we are
seeing in agriculture. I have a bachelors degree in nursing, and worked
for 6 years on a labor & delivery unit. (I was able to quit my job after
the birth of our second child 2 years ago.) I had heard all sorts of
horror stories about lay-midwives and had witnessed their worst case
scenarios during my years at the hospital. I recently had a conversation
with a young couple that had their first baby at home, delivered by a
lay-midwife, 6 months ago. The wife is my age, and although she doesn't
have a college degree, I find her to be an extremely intelligent person.
She pointed out to me that the pharmaceutical companies have a large stake
in the medical research that is done. This really didn't come as a shock
to me, I just had never thought about health care in those terms because I
was a part of that "industrialized" system. I was very impressed with the
amount of information that the midwife had presented to this couple. The
midwife also stressed the importance of such simple and natural things as
nutrition and exercise. This midwife had more common sense regarding
pregnancy and delivery than any OB doctor that I ever worked with! (After
all, just how "natural" is the traditional birthing position used in
hospitals? The only position worse than having a woman's legs up in
stirrups would be to hang her by her toes from the ceiling.)
Doesn't this all sound somewhat familiar? We are very disappointed with
the "influence" that chemical and equipment companies have on agricultural
research. We have found ways to decrease our off-farm inputs by working
with nature. We've found that if you have a healthy environment, you can
pretty much eliminate the need for chemicals and antibiotics.
I guess that my 2 years away from the "conventional" health care system
gave my mind a chance to open up. Unfortunately, how many people involved
in agriculture have the option of getting away from farming for 2 years?
Sincerely,
Lei
Gunthorp's Pasture-ized Pork
LaGrange, Indiana
visit our farm at www.grassfarmer.com
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