Ⓥ The Great Divide

I feel like one of the greatest divisions in the vegan community is between those who believe in natural health and those who support modern medicine. At times it seems there is this, sort of, war between the two sides. The medical side seems to be especially critical of the natural side; often accusing them of being irrational, uneducated, or downright crazy. They seem to think that people who choose natural health over conventional medicine give us a bad name.

I will admit, there are those who I believe take natural health a bit too far, putting too much stock in things that don't make a lot of logical sense. However, for the most part, I tend to side with them anyway, and here's why. First and foremost, the entirety of the medical/pharmaceutical industries are dependent upon animal-testing. I, for one, will do anything and everything to avoid supporting such a horrible and unnecessary practice. It is true that there are some natural health companies that conduct animal-testing as well but there are also many that do not, and there are quite a few of these companies that are entirely vegan, or at least vegan friendly.

The other reason is (and you don't even have to be interested in animal rights to understand this one) modern medicine, and the pharmaceutical industry especially, thrive because of illness. If people don't get sick, they don't make any money. That has to make you wonder "Who's best interest are they really focusing on here?" You see, medications in general aren't meant to make you healthy, they are meant to make you feel just healthy enough to keep coming back for more. They don't want to prevent illness, they don't even want to cure it, they just want to treat the symptoms so that you have no choice but to spend absurd amounts of money to keep buying more and more of their product.

If the drug companies were actually trying to help people, there wouldn't be commercials for their products on TV to convince people that they need to be medicated for things that are often just normal parts of being alive. If doctors were actually trying to help people, they wouldn't be pushing these products on everyone who comes into their offices. The companies that make these drugs and the doctors who prescribe them are both working to keep us all just sick enough to think we need the medications and just healthy enough to believe they're working.

Obviously, the people who sell natural health products are also trying to make money, but there are a few distinct differences. First of all, there is not nearly as much money involved. I don't know about you but, from my experience, the more money is on the line the more immoral people tend to become. Second, most natural health products are designed to actually prevent or cure health problems, not just lessen the symptoms. Even the ones that are used to simply treat symptoms are usually, at least, intended to also make the symptoms less severe over time, whereas medication often requires progressively higher doses to keep the symptoms under control.

So yes, maybe some of the proponents of natural health are a little out there, and some of them believe in things that don't necessarily make sense. I believe their intentions are good though. Besides, what harm can it really do to believe in things that may or may not work? Even ineffective herbs and vitamins are probably not going to due any real harm. So, personally, I'll trust the people who I think are actually out to help me to stay healthy not just help themselves to stay rich.

So what if some of us are a little crazy?