Yesterday I watched a movie about a woman I'd never heard of, who I now consider one of the most inspiring people I've ever not yet met. Diagnosed at age 4 with autism - not Asperger's, but full-on, spinning in circles, extremely worried about change, afraid of sliding glass doors, autism - nevertheless, Temple Grandin went on to become one of the world's experts in her chosen field, as well as showing people that they had seriously underestimated and failed to understand children with her condition. She is a living hero who also happens to be a professor at Colorado State University (in my very town, no less!).
Apparently, her different perspective allowed her to see with fresh eyes how animals reacted to the practices slaughterhouses and cattle stockyards employed, and to completely redesign them to allow animals the most possible dignity through the process from field to um, freezer. She has been quoted as saying, "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be," - a profound and true statement if I ever heard one. I can't find the quote now, but I believe that the movie said that 60% of slaughterhouses now use her methods. I wonder what she thinks of the practices employed by big meat processing operations these days, like Tyson, and others - like the sort of factory farming that leaves cattle pumped full of antiobiotics and penned in narrowly side by side, never seeing the sun - the kind of thing that the movie Food Inc. brought to the public consciousness. I do know though, that to find out what Ms. Grandin thinks on many other issues, including some very sensible autism/parenting advice, you have only to look at her website.
If you haven't seen it yet, I invite you all to watch Temple Grandin. It's an excellent film, and a real eye-opener.
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