Can You Buy Amish Products?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I don't personally buy any of their things, I have however gotten some gifts that were Amish made. I don't like supporting them for 2 reasons, the first being because of how they treat animals. (Though I realize they don't ALL disrespect animals a lot do.) The second reason is because I don't see it as just a faith or lifestyle, but rather as a cult. I just don't feel right about supporting them.

[pomtzu]

The second reason is because I don't see it as just a faith or lifestyle, but rather as a cult.

Cult??? Holy cow - do I ever disagree with that statement!!!!

But that would definitely be a "discussion" for the Dog House at some later date.

[chocolatepuppy]

The second reason is because I don't see it as just a faith or lifestyle, but rather as a cult. I just don't feel right about supporting them.

Wow, I don't believe that, no way! I know enough of them personally. My husbands family taxis many of them (my husband did years ago) and I also worked with a few of them.

[sparks19]

Sorry... I'm not goign to stereotype an entire culture based on the media.

I live around them and they aren't horrible sick people.

It's WRONG to stereotype them based on what the media tells you. and I will BUY from them. they grow AMAZING crops and make some amazing crops.

i will buy from them anytime

[BarbinRI]

As I see it, the issue is not buying Amish-made products or visiting the area, the issue is that by doing these things we are supporting the political environment that allows puppy mills to exist. Lancaster County is referred to as the puppy mill capitol of the east. Obviously these mills exist because they are allowed to, regardless of laws already on the books. Most of us are not residents of Lancaster County, or of Pennsylvania, so we can not vote to change things there.
We CAN vote with our pocketbooks though. We can refuse to go on that bus trip to Pennsylvania Dutch country, we can refuse to go to the giant quilt shows in the region, we can book our organization's convention elsewhere.
We can also educate ourselves and others. We can post links on our blogs and social networking sites. We can urge our friends not to shop at pet stores that sell animals. We can change things.

[pomtzu]

As I see it, the issue is not buying Amish-made products or visiting the area, the issue is that by doing these things we are supporting the political environment that allows puppy mills to exist. Lancaster County is referred to as the puppy mill capitol of the east. Obviously these mills exist because they are allowed to, regardless of laws already on the books. Most of us are not residents of Lancaster County, or of Pennsylvania, so we can not vote to change things there.
We CAN vote with our pocketbooks though. We can refuse to go on that bus trip to Pennsylvania Dutch country, we can refuse to go to the giant quilt shows in the region, we can book our organization's convention elsewhere.
We can also educate ourselves and others. We can post links on our blogs and social networking sites. We can urge our friends not to shop at pet stores that sell animals. We can change things.

None of us here support puppy mills, but to paint the whole Lancaster County area, and the Amish in particular, with the same brush, is quite unfair. As was said in previous posts, there are many hard working Amish folks who do not support these mills either, and there will be bad apples in every barrel, but you don't throw the whole barrel full out. If we boycotted every area in our country and the rest of the world where there were less than upstanding citizens and practices, we would never leave our homes!

[CatsMeow]

The only thing I purchase Amish is their Potato salad. Yum. But I do not like amash people because they run puppy and kitten mills... sad.