An Amish Paradox

by Charles E. Hurst

  To some extent, the increase in wealth has accompanied the shift out of farming into varied businesses. Both of these have placed pressures on traditional lifestyles, especially in recent years: “Now, if you see their homes, you might see some difference. More so now than it used to be 20 years ago. Because that’s one thing that sort of amazes New Order people is the type of houses that [some of] the Old Order are putting up. Because they’ve got all this money.” Despite the inequality that exists within the Amish community and between its affiliations, three-quarters of the Old and New Order respondents in our survey considered the degree of wealth inequality within the Holmes County Settlement to be “about right,” with only a small percentage (7%) considering wealth differences unfair. In the opinion of one Old Order Amish source, there is occasional concern that Swartzentruber Amish are sometimes taken advantage of by other Amish who employ them to do their “dirty work.” Such employment, he thought, is fostered both by condescending views held by other Amish toward Swartzentrubers and by the Swartzentrubers’ own self-effacement and willingness to work for low wages.

  Thus far, the presence of inequality has generated only moderate awareness of distinct social classes in the Holmes County Settlement. Although some are rich while others are poor, and even though one can hear occasional references to “uppity” Amish and status-laden terms like “Swartzies,” “noodle pushers,” and “wooly lumps,” there is little recognition of a class system among the Amish. Nor does there appear to be any pattern of deliberate attempts to encourage children to marry individuals from families of similar wealth. As in English society, especially at the top of its class ladder, there is a conscious concern that one’s children marry one’s own “kind,” but it relates not to wealth but to beliefs. In Amish society the desire is to marry within one’s own religious affiliation. If the marrying persons are of similar wealth, this is an accident and “not by design,” according to a New Order leader. He also indicated that the attraction of wealth is greatly weakened because individual wealth in the Amish community is “diffused,” that is, dispersed, because of aid programs, mission work, and the mandate to live modestly.53 At least at present, terms like social class are generally not part of the mental framework of residents in the Holmes County Settlement. If anything, awareness of status-prestige variations is probably linked more to lifestyle and Ordnung differences than to economic-class divisions.

  The German social scientist Max Weber summarized well the secularizing threat that wealth can have within religious groups.54 The growth of wealth also intensifies the struggle to resist the temptations of individualism and self-aggrandizement that can come with it, and to remain humble and community-oriented in one’s lifestyle. In a 1979 Family Life survey of the magazine’s readers, wealth was seen as the principal danger facing the Amish community, and this view was echoed in our more recent survey. Nine out of ten considered the accumulation of personal material wealth to be a threat to the internal harmony of the community. Still, money’s effect depends on whether “you have the money or the money has you.”

  The Amish believe that wealth should never be sought as an end in itself and that it should be used primarily for the greater good of the community. Like the ascetic Protestants of old, the Amish hold that wealth is a source of moral breakdown when it is a temptation to idleness, waste of time, and indulgent living. Again and again, we were told by our study participants that wealth in itself was not evil if put to good use in the community. And the Holmes County Amish do readily share their wealth with others in need. As noted in chapter 3, they are heavily involved with a variety of aid and mission programs that actively work to improve the daily lives of individuals in different parts of the world.

  Is the Future in the Past?

  “And some people say, ‘Well you’re just 50 years behind society.’ That’s true but at least we have the benefit of looking back and seeing how some of these things are working in general society.” This comment by a New Order businessman is a demonstration of the care that the Amish take in considering and making decisions about what technologies to use and what the consequences of those technologies might be. In a real sense, many Amish are ahead of others because they are on the cutting edge of progressive farming and energy usage.

  Going back to their practices in Europe, the Amish have always been leaders and innovators in farming. Since farming has always been at the core of their identity as a culture, it should not be surprising that many in the Holmes County Settlement are concerned about the negative fallout for their families that has followed their exodus from farming. In response, some are making a concerted effort to reinvigorate small-scale farming as a central support of Amish culture. In 1997 there were no certified organic dairy farmers in Ohio. But in 2002 a group of about twenty men gathered to discuss the possibility of establishing a cooperative that would consist of farmers who farmed organically. It was an attempt to return to their agricultural roots. As a result of this effort, Green Field Farms was born. In 2008 there were more than one hundred members in the co-op, all of them Amish or Conservative Mennonites. Along with farmers, the coop’s board includes businessmen, who bring their marketing and financial skills to the operation. Most of the members are in Holmes County, but there are also a few in Wayne, Medina, and a couple of southern counties in Ohio.

  Green Field Farms (GFF) was set up so that small-scale organic farmers could compete more effectively against larger, technologically advanced, government-supported English farmers. Like the furniture business association, this farm association reflects the Amish belief in cooperation among themselves as a sign of brotherhood and as a method to meet outside competition. The association decided to focus its market on those who are willing to pay a premium for naturally grown farm products. GFF serves as the middleman between the consumer and the farmer by helping to work out the legal, accounting, banking, insurance, transportation, and other logistical issues that have to be addressed. The farmer thus can be left relatively independent to produce his products.

  A variety of farmers are included in the co-op, producing eggs, cheese, vegetables, and fruits, which are sold in at least ten states. Specialties are neatly split among the different affiliations. The dairy segment includes mostly New and Old Order organic farmers, while Swartzentruber and Andy Weaver farmers are dominant in the produce area. Andy Weaver members compose the largest proportion of the produce farmers in the area. Neither the Swartzentrubers nor the Andy Weavers use milking machines or bulk tanks, and neither uses mechanical refrigeration. They are therefore unlikely candidates to enter dairy farming; and the Swartzentrubers cannot produce eggs for the co-op because eggs have to be cooled by refrigeration. According to one farmer, the Andy Weaver members of GFF made an exception for egg coolers, which they will use if the GFF owns the cooler rather than the farmer himself.

  Less than 10 percent of the produce in Wayne and Holmes Counties is organic, whereas 15–30 percent of all the dairy farmers in the area are organic farmers. The unique challenges of raising organic produce, coupled with the continuing success of farmers’ markets, and especially produce auctions, have weakened the incentive to “go organic” in this area. To shift from chemical farming to certified organic farming takes about three years.

  According to one Amish organic dairy farmer, organic farming really started growing after grass-based farming gained in prominence. Using grass rather than grain eliminated the need for chemical fertilizers and reduced the number of row crops, which drain nutrients from the soil. Moreover, grass does not need to be seeded every year, as other crops do. In his words, “Once you’re in grass-based, you’re not in row crops, why, organic is a picnic.” The cows are out on the grass, moving around, exercising, not eating “highfalutin’” feed, and as a result, veterinary costs drop dramatically. Not all organic farmers are using grass farming to an equal extent, but the number is growing. The average organic dairy farmer in the area has thirty-five to fifty cows.

  In an effort t
o continually improve the quality of their products and the efficiency of their operations, grass-based farmers in Holmes County get together regularly on certain mornings to walk each other’s pastures and discuss problems that arise. This interaction grows naturally out of the heavy emphasis on cooperation in the community. Organic farming has other benefits. According to its practitioners, in the long run organic farming is more economical and more environmentally friendly than chemical farming. Most of the food for animals is grown on the farm, manure is used as a natural enricher of the soil, and the need for artificial fertilizers is eliminated. Organic farmers also use less fossil fuel energy. There is less harmful chemical runoff, because with sod and grass the soil is held in place more effectively. “Seventy years ago, everyone farmed organically,” said an organic farmer. Perhaps part of the future lies in going back to the past.

  One measure of the resurgence in small-scale organic farms has been the publication of Farming Magazine, which was developed and is edited by a local New Order individual. Its focus is to encourage small-scale, environmentally sensitive farming practices and to nurture a love for stewardship of the earth. Inaugurated in 2000, the magazine had about twenty-five hundred subscribers in 2007. Its readership extends across the United States. The editor estimates that no more than one-third of the magazine’s readers are Amish, meaning that the rest of the readers are non-Amish persons who are drawn to Amish cutting-edge practices.

  The ingenuity involved in finding ways to use resources while minimizing waste is evident not only in organic farming, but in other ways as well. One of the new agricultural products being turned out is “maple water,” which is the natural distillate created during the production of maple syrup. The Maple Tree Distillate currently produced by Green Field Farms is sold in health and natural food stores in central and northeastern Ohio. Maple water is considered by some to have medicinal value and reportedly is being used in a local city hospital with patients who have kidney problems.55 Further niche marketing in small-scale gardening is also a possibility for the future. One Amish man who works in a factory but gardens on the side raises organic garlic and then produces tinctures of reputedly high quality, which are then sold by organic pharmacists.

  In addition to these areas, many Amish have been ahead of the national curve in their use of renewal energy sources such as solar energy. Again, the focus is on a natural, renewable technology. The Amish have the highest per capita rate of solar power use in Ohio. Green Energy Ohio estimates that 13 percent of Ohio’s solar production comes from the Amish. Just three contractors installed 1,000–1,500 solar units in Amish homes in the past few years.56 Some among the more conservative orders, such as the Swartzentrubers, still frown on the use of solar power, however. It is used to charge batteries for buggy lights, flashlights, sewing machines, blenders, sweepers, copiers, fax machines, and washing machines. There is thus less reliance on the use of gasoline-powered generators, as gasoline has become more expensive. The most common use of alternators is to charge battery-run floor lamps in homes.57

  Solar panels are used extensively by the Amish as a source of energy. Photograph courtesy of Charles Hurst.

  Solar power fits with many Amish values and beliefs: it is natural, economical over the long run, accessible, “free,” renewable, efficient, convenient, and safe; it also fosters self-sufficiency and, so far, can supply limited voltage power. It’s not that the more progressive Amish reject electricity out of hand; what they reject is being tied into the power grid, where electricity is unlimited. A very small group of New Order Christian Fellowship Amish is an exception. In contrast to Andy Weaver and Swartzentruber Amish, who do not permit use of solar power at all, an estimated 80 percent of Old and New Order Amish families in Holmes County have photovoltaic panels.58 They are leaders in “green power” in Ohio.

  Some Amish businesses are using multiple natural energy sources to power their enterprises. One local company owner told us proudly that his company had been “green certified,” noting that, like other Amish, he had been “taught to leave at least whatever we inherited or used … in better shape than when we got it.” In the new addition this owner is building, everything will be run using solar, air, and hydropower. Moreover, resources continue to be recycled—sawdust is used for animal bedding, wood chips for mulch, engine heat for heating the air. Biofuel will also be used increasingly in the future.

  Assessing Economic Change and Its Effect

  Over the recent past, the economic changes that have been wrought by the enormous pressures facing the Amish in Holmes and surrounding counties have been widespread and diverse. On the public front, these pressures have altered where many of the Amish work, the way they work, and with whom they work. They have also created a large number and a wide variety of additional ties with groups and societies beyond the community borders. In the private sphere, economic and technological shifts have affected family relationships and sometimes even private attitudes about work and the meaning of individuality. The movement into different kinds of businesses has often pushed differences between and within the affiliations into the foreground and has frequently accentuated them. At the same time, tourism and increased commerce with outside society have also served to highlight Amish sameness and solidarity, underscoring the boundaries between the outside world and themselves.

  As for the future, the increasing introduction of new technologies and wealth encourages (or, according to one’s viewpoint, threatens) more individualism, even as the members of the Holmes County Settlement are cognizant of and work to maintain a strong sense of community. Wealth can serve both as a badge of individual success and as a resource for the community. Walking the tightrope between individualism and a sense of community may become increasingly difficult as change and prosperity continue to infiltrate Amish life. Personal wealth may promise to give more individual freedom, but perhaps at the expense of a reduced sense of reliance upon others, tempting one to believe that security comes from personal wealth and resources rather than from dependence upon the community.

  When compared to their English counterparts, the Amish are less dependent upon gasoline, making them less vulnerable to fluctuations in its availability at a reasonable cost. Reprinted by permission from the Dayton Daily News.

  Moreover, the “traditional” Amish way of life has attracted millions of “modern” outsiders, as evidenced in the appeal that “hand-made” Amish furniture holds for tourists. Attraction to Amish life is also based in part on the group’s advanced use of more natural, in some ways more traditional, forms of energy. The result is a curious reciprocal interchange between the two worlds, with the traditionalists borrowing from the “modern” society and the modernists seeking to learn from the traditionalists.

  CHAPTER 7

  Health along the Life Cycle

  They don’t come in every time they sneeze.

  —A local physician

  As Amish individuals confront health decisions throughout their lives, they, like everyone else, are guided by a variety of considerations. Among the most important are moral values and beliefs, cost, knowledge, and accessibility. Whether the person is a member of a New Order, Old Order, or Swartzentruber church can also make a difference. All these factors enter into decisions about how and where to give birth, how to address physical illnesses and injuries during adulthood, what to do about psychological problems and issues of well-being, and how to deal with fatal diseases and near-death dilemmas. In this chapter we explore how these considerations affect health decisions of the Amish at different stages of the life cycle.

  Overviews of Amish health care attitudes and practices are already available,1 but we hope to add to those discussions by focusing more thoroughly on the health care dilemmas faced by the Amish because of (a) new knowledge about alternative techniques, (b) variations in practices of the several orders, (c) pressures exerted by the state and by health care professionals, and (d) increasing health care costs. We also discuss Amish health care f
rom both internal and external vantage points, that is, from the points of view of Amish respondents as well as the various professionals who treat them. In addition, we explore end-of-life issues more completely than previous studies have done and look at the lessons that might be learned from the Amish approach to health care.

  It should not be surprising that the distinctiveness and insularity of the Amish community are reflected in their perspective on health care. The differences from English society in Amish cultural beliefs and history and the structural arrangements in the Amish community create “culture care diversities” that are distinctive in some ways when compared to dominant care preferences in English society and also vary within the Holmes County Settlement itself.2 These factors make it crucial for the health care professional to possess a sympathetic understanding of Amish culture. As members of a “high-context” culture, Amish individuals are deeply connected to each other socially, culturally, and historically. There are mutual understandings that are often unspoken and taken for granted, and nuanced behaviors and language connotations of which outsiders are usually not aware. Being a tight-knit community, the Amish carry a heavy concern for the care of others; they consider themselves first of all members of a close community to which they are accountable.3 This cultural context and the diversities within the Holmes County Settlement inform health care approaches throughout the life cycle.

  Giving Birth

  Pregnancy, though a frequent occurrence among the Amish, is not an event that is baldly advertised in local media like the Budget. Rather, the subject of giving birth is handled in a more guarded, toned-down fashion. The Budget, a newspaper that serves the Amish population and has a national edition with a circulation of about twenty thousand, is made up mostly of letters from Amish people about events in their families. Letters are a major form of communication in the Amish community, and those in the Budget come from Amish all over the world, including the nearby population. The editors told us that the term pregnancy would not be used in letters; a phrase like with child is considered more appropriate. This caution is especially prominent among Old Order and Swartzentruber Amish and appears to be tied to concerns about modesty and privacy. Discussions on the nature of a birth (for example, a Caesarean section) are also frowned upon, as are advertisements of products considered highly personal, such as underwear.