Manifesto of a Hog Farmer’s Daughter

Well, maybe my father is not really a hog farmer, but to most people these days the line between pork production manager and hog farmer is slight at best. And so, to many of the people who have asked about my family I am just that...a hog farmer’s daughter.

But the baby girl, who was almost delivered at the local Piggly-Wiggly in a tiny Georgia town, was born to two parents that refused to place ceilings on the dreams of their children. In this way, an occupation in agriculture, that is undistinguished to many of my peers, led me to seek two very distinguished career paths as a medical doctor and/or an environmental lawyer.

During my elementary school years, when my family actually lived on a farming unit, I often visited my father’s workplace to play with the baby pigs. I would pretend that they were sick and would give them my finger to suck on as if it was medication.

As I grew older, my continuing interest in medicine grew as I began to understand the anatomy and physiology of the animal. Eventually, I was given a job assisting a graduate veterinary student who was conducting research for my fathers company. Because of my strong background in the sciences and with the animals, I was given the responsibilities of a vet assistant at only sixteen years of age, conducting necropsies, drawing blood samples, and medicating the animals essentially unsupervised. It was during this summer that I realized the profound fascination I have for medical science. Actualizing the gratification that comes from helping others, whether animal or human, solidified my decision to used medical sciences in some capacity in my career.

While attending high school in Southeastern North Carolina, the state legislature set a moratorium on the construction of pork production units within the state. Clearly such a law affected my father and his company considerably, and so it was an issue with which I was quite concerned. Therefore, I researched the problem in order to understand the differing viewpoints and why my father spent several weekends protesting at the state capital.

What I discovered was the detrimental effects that some pork units have on the environment. North Carolina has experienced many lagoon spills that have contaminated rivers and streams all over the state. However, it was evident that one corporation was causing the vast majority of the spills, and so a moratorium was not the reasonable solution.

As I studied the state laws of North Carolina as they pertained to environmental issues, I began to understand the extensive reforms that could be made to both benefit the environment and the economy. I feel that a career spent improving state and national laws in order to improve and maintain certain environmental standards would be very appealing. As a biologist, I am quite aware of the significant environmental issues that the National Government seems to be ignoring.

Although my interests are somewhat dissimilar, I feel that both career goals are consonant with my desire to improve the quality of life for those people not just in direct contact with me, but all over the world. The dreams and aspirations that were never limited in any way by my parents have me the ultimate ambition and confidence.