Farm-related suicides; the quiet epidemic
We clearly have a much greater awareness of the epidemic of veterans committing suicide at a rate of greater than 20 every single day.
What seem to be less visible on the radar are farm-related suicides, which have now surpassed the rate of veterans. Six years ago I had Michael Rosmann, a clinical psychologist from Harlan, Iowa, on my Rural Route Radio program to talk about this dilemma. Since then I really don’t see a lot more open discussion about the crisis. In the past three months, this epidemic has hit close to home on several occasions, and that stirs me to do my part in bringing greater awareness and hopefully opening a discussion that can lead to solutions.
On Sept. 18, 2018, 21-year-old Maryland farm girl Jackie Bauer left us here on earth by taking her own life. Jackie was about to graduate from Oklahoma State University and she was so full of life. I got to know her quite well in the past couple of years because she was a junior board member for the Team Purebred swine association.
This past summer at the Summer Type Conference in Springfield, Illinois, my daughter Landri was sitting next to me in the office while I finished up some radio work. Jackie walked in and engaged in a conversation with my 13-year-old like she was one of her best buds. She made Landri feel so good about herself because that is just what she did for all the folks around her. As the celebration of the life of Jackie Bauer continues today, tons of stories have been shared about how she lifted so many others around her.
Jackie’s mother, Leslie Bauer, from Dayton, Maryland, joined me for an hour on Rural Route Radio to discuss the life and tragic death of her daughter. She worked with Kim Brock at the OSU pig farm and left work that day at the same time as Kim and said, “See you tomorrow.” That day she purchased an airline ticket to fly home for Christmas in December, did some grocery shopping, promptly wrote a couple good-bye letters and then took her life.
Why? Jackie’s parents, Ricky and Leslie Bauer, will never stop trying to find the answer to why this otherwise “with it” young lady made this choice. Nobody knows and that is very clear. However, I do make observations every day that concern me greatly, particularly with young women and girls.
The peer pressure about body image is extremely unhealthy. I only recently learned that Jackie felt that pressure but had not shared her struggles with anyone but her mother. Proper nutrition is far from adequate for most teenage girls because they are so determined to achieve an unrealistic body size and appearance. I don’t know much about Jackie and her diet other than her folks were greatly concerned after looking at the food receipts she purchased in recent months.
The information is very clear about diet and the absence of proper fats and proteins from the human diet. In 2008 the National Institutes of Health published a study called “Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337).
When we take a close look at the diet of depressed people, an interesting observation is that their nutrition is far from adequate. They make poor food choices and selecting foods that might actually contribute to depression. Recent evidence suggests a link between low levels of serotonin and suicide.
The nutrition restrictions we have placed on the school nutrition program have put our kids on a path of starvation and deprivation. I continue to see folks using old data about the removal of animal proteins and fats from the diet. This isn’t just unhealthy; it is dangerous!
I have doubt no that diet is not the only contributing factor for the high number of farmer suicides, but I do know that I have two fewer friends than I did three months ago because of issue. I know that we must follow the lead of Leslie Bauer and not sweep it under the rug. We must have vigorous national and personal discussions about seeking mental health help in our rural communities. While it is too late for some, and I deeply regret that, our efforts could help prevent future deaths.
Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].
