If you own a pet, or have read the front page of any American newspaper since mid-March, you know that there have been massive pet food recalls in the United States due to the use of imported grain proteins in the manufacture of pet food. At first conscientious pet guardians, like me, drew deep sighs of relief for shelling out the extra bucks on premium pet food. As the days and weeks went by, over 100 different brands were effected by the tainted wheat and rice glutens- many of these brands were premium or organic. Recent news articles indicate that adding chemicals to the grain proteins has been common practice for some time- as it is a cheap way to make the protein content appear more elevated than it actually is. In large amounts the added chemical, melamine, causes acute kidney failure in dogs and cats. I'm not sure what it does in smaller doses- but it is safe to say this practice deprives animals of the protein they need to live long, happy, healthy lives.
When several formulas in my premium brand landed on the recall list, I, like thousands of pet lovers, looked for home made options to feed my cat using food deemed safe for human consumption at my local grocery store. But a companion animal can't live on a diet of people food unless it is properly supplemented. I started to sweat- and look for solutions. Holistic pet care, waiting quietly in the corner for over twenty-five years- beckoned me to check it out. Apparently they'd known for years that junk lands in commercial pet food.
Wikipedia says the word "holistic" comes from the Greek root ὅλος- which, from my study of modern Greek, means "all". Holistic health care means looking at all the factors of our lives- the whole person, or the whole cat, as the case may be. Nutrition and environment play big roles in holistic health, as does spiritual and emotional well-being. Holistic health care is usually discussed in connection with homeopathy, chiropracy, yoga, acupuncture- alternative therapies I've used with good results in the past. Holistic health care can also be lumped in with crystal therapy, and people who talk to the dead- giving it, for the newbie uneducated like me, an air of unscientific mysticism.
I'm a science fiction writer. I love science and technology and am unlikely to solve my next headache with a smoky quartz. However, my brief foray into the world of holistic practice shows there is no reason to throw out centuries of wisdom and healthy practices gleaned from a variety of cultures simply because they aren't new, or don't come from the latest issue of Scientific American. I see no incompatibility in a modern lifestyle that takes the benefits of both cutting edge science and holism.
That doesn't mean there aren't drawbacks to holism.
As the word all implies, holism requires the practitioner to know all there is to know about everything. In the case of feeding my cat, I had to learn about bacteria found raw meat, lead accumulation in animal bones, calcium to phosphate ratios, what the heck nutritional yeast was, why kelp is something a sane person would feed to a feline, and how long cat poop has to sit in the litter box before toxoplasmosis becomes a risk.
Holism is more revolutionary that it sounds, because holism requires you to reverse the tide of civilization by becoming an expert in things unrelated to your profession. Since human society separated the hunters from the gatherers, specialization has been the cornerstone of civilization. See- I'm an expert in language and literature, and I normally leave calcium to phosphate ratios to people who make their living producing cat food. The simple act of figuring out what to feed my cat literally took weeks and weeks of study, research and decision making. That's a lot of work- so what do I get out of it?
I get to make my own decisions.
The power of holism is that the practitioner who knows it all can make the best decision for a particular individual. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment- everyone's diet, remedy, environment needs to be tweaked on an individual basis. At first I found this disappointing- I needed somebody to tell me what to feed my cat! The more I researched, the more I liked the idea of making more of my own decisions. When I'm in control of making decisions, I can take the needs of all my family members into account, and design a solution that's right for our special bunch.
For holism to catch on as a future American trend- and as a science fiction writer I see potential that it could- emphasis will have to be efficient, pain-free education of lay clients (like myself) so that they can know enough about everything to make their own decisions about how they live their lives, care for their pets and children, and treat their illnesses. Not only that, an attitude of independent decision making will need to be generated.
Independent thinking- isn't that a hallmark of the USA? Society, especially American society, is geared to accept the opinion of experts, people who have devoted their professional lives to knowing everything about one specific thing. It isn't until trust in those experts is broken (such as has happened with many pet owners and commercial pet food producers), that people exactly like me scramble to find the knowledge they need to know everything about everything- or at least enough about everything. Once that knowledge is obtained, we must find the wisdom needed to make important decisions. Then, once the decision has been carefully made, we need the courage to follow our determined path- with or without the expert's guaranteed seal of approval.
The holistic market today consists of educators and practitioners who have learned to put a leafy green stamp of approval on their treatments and products. What will the holistic educators and practitioners look like tomorrow?
