Anti-Vaxxers Are Idolizing the Amish, Inexplicably

by Olga Khazan - the Atlantic

Health • January 2015 • Views: 2,681

But it’s the very premise of the article that’s bizarre. If you’re going to hype a community as “never getting sick,” use a place that’s actually remarkably healthy, like Minneapolis. Not only do Amish people get sick, they get some of the worst diseases in the world.

Almost all of the roughly 250,000 Amish people in the U.S. can trace their roots back to a few hundred Swiss farmers who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 18th century. The centuries of isolation and intermarriage has forged tight-knit communities, sure, but it has also caused widespread genetic problems.

More: Anti-Vaxxers Are Idolizing the Amish, Inexplicably - the Atlantic

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4 comments

EiMitch Jan 6, 2015 1:17:29pm

Emphasis added:

The first tip, according to this article, is not getting vaccinated: “In spite of constant pressure from the government, the Amish still refuse to vaccinate.”

Nope. Most Amish parents vaccinate, but even then, the relatively low overall vaccination rate in the community fueled a massive measles outbreak in Ohio’s Amish country earlier this year.

…

However, its suggestion that Amish food contains no GMOs is bunk—some Amish farms do use genetically modified crops for financial and efficiency reasons.

Basically, Olga Khazan is shooting fish in a barrel. For all intents and purposes, she is Fisking an anti-vax/anti-gmo puff piece so delusional that it deserves to be painted with the same brush as climate change denial and creationism.

nines09 Jan 6, 2015 2:30:00pm

re: #1 EiMitch

All Amish are not as you think. Many sects and many Bishops and much money to be made. The inbreeding does take it’s toll, and some communities who shun vaccination do get hit. They are not all one.

EiMitch Jan 6, 2015 3:07:41pm

re: #2 nines09

Where/how did I say or imply otherwise?

nines09 Jan 6, 2015 6:00:22pm

re: #3 EiMitch

Did I say you did? I was attempting to point out that “Amish” means one thing to one and another to others. I’ve dealt with, worked with and talked with every stripe of Amish between Pennsylvania and Ohio and Indiana. Met Nebraska “Amish.” Broke bread with former “Amish.” They are as varied and the same as we are. I did not read the article, it means nothing to me. Everything they sell is not always their own. They will use chemicals. They will pollute. They will be just as fallible as we. Folks who hold the Amish up as one thing usually miss the mark and do not see the price they pay for that “freedom” others perceive.

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