I thought you were actually being serious talking about Hedge Balls from the Osage Orange tree. Those trees are quite common in this part of the U.S. and are usually used in Hedge tree rows to protect from the wind, and were particularly used in the 1930's during the dust bowl to help prevent against wind erosion.

To cover a few of your points:

1. I agree with Annestacey somewhat in the basic premise of her argument, but speaking from a scientific point of view current research shows that many chemicals display positive attributes to human health. While I agree that some chemicals have a negative impact on human physiology, I don't see much evidence to conclude that they all do. In fact, there are some synthetic chemicals found in medicine that have a better physiological effect than many natural ones. On top of this the human body has the amazing ability to filter out a great deal of chemicals that are consumed on a regular basis, and many of the chemicals you or I consume are not able to pass through cellular membranes which almost negates any potential risk.

2. I understand people's frustrations with the FDA, but I cannot comment on anything more than the research and science behind the approval process. I try not to get too involved in the politics of such things as those arguments usually end in hearsay, and I am a firm believer that any claim must be supported by evidence.

3. Western medicine is primarily an industry based on science, clinical research, and peer reviewed studies that end in the culmination of the Pharmaceutical products we now have to treat disease. There are many branches of medical science that all deal with differing parts of the human experience. One area of medicine may specifically look at treatment options, another will be looking at diagnostic implementations, and another might look for the cause of disease. The point being that some Physicians may look to treat the patient based on symptoms, but leave everything else to someone who better understands how to find the root cause of the problem. The process can be long and arduous in many cases as the patient will see specialist after specialist with no end in sight. However, diagnosing a problem is much like detective work in that the medical professional may not always find the right "suspect", or have enough evidence to "convict" a certain disease.

O.K. I have to throw this in:

I used to live in a small community (8,000 population) in a very rural area of the state (just north of Jazzerman actually ). I was talking to a nurse that worked at the clinic there. She told me that one pharm company paid to have coffee and rolls driven to the clinic every morning from a town 160 miles away. Now obviously the town I lived in had places to get coffee. She also said another pharm company sent in booze for after hours, yet another food for lunch, another food for after hours supper, etc. Add to that all the pens, notepads etc. and you have quite a bit of money spent on these docs. She said, "If you want to know why your prescriptions cost so much, that's the real reason." Now this is just a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Imagine what they spend and do for all the hospitals and clinics nationwide. Are some docs getting vacations or prostitutes? Not only does this make prescriptions expensive, but it's a huge conflict of interest, IMO.

On the other side:

Most people I know are struggling to get by day-to-day. I again live in a rural area and organic foods are impossible to come by (unless it's summer and you have room for a garden or raise crops). As a matter of fact, I'd have to drive a considerable distance to even be able to purchase them. Between the cost of travel and the products themselves, it would be too expensive to switch my family to all organic. I think there are a lot of families nationwide who just wouldn't be able to do it, even if they wanted to.

Oh, and on the horse apples.....
I knew what the "slang" term meant, and also that they are real apples, so watching that play out was pretty funny.

And to add to what Jazz was saying:
I know that without penicillin, my dad would have died as a child. And without certain aspects of "Western" medicine, I wouldn't be here either. So, while I think we are getting screwed by Big Pharma, I also believe a lot of good has come from the research and medications they provide.

Icarus, I'm very sorry to hear your prediciment with the insurance company. People often question why pharamceuticals cost so much, but don't understand how much research goes into each medication, and how many clinical trials are conducted on it just to get it past the trial stages. In fact, it costs between $500 and $700 million just to get one drug through these phases, and that is before the drug is even approved safe. The Pharmaceutical companies, like any capitalist driven company, want to reap as much profit off there expenditure as possible in a society driven by supply and demand. It should be up to a persons medical insurance to cover much of this cost in my opinion.

In lieu of this, I am not a fan of Insurance companies and never have been. If people are looking for a good conspiracy they would have to look no further than these providers that make the Pharmaceutical industry look like angels sent from Heaven. I'm not just talking about Medical Insurance providers either...auto, home, etc.