[MPWG] QUESTION &Afrom an bioregional herbalist

[Stiki Niki]

Wow

I skimmed through many of the responses to the question and I am pretty 
fired up as well about the issue.  I come to this issue as an anarchist at 
heart and practicing herbalist and ecologist so here is yet another opinion. 
  I wildcraft and grow as many herbs as possible for my practice.  I have a 
hard time commodifying health and herbs, but obviously, I am stuck in a 
system down here in the bowels of the beast (occupied Mexico). I, like many 
others, attempt to make a living doing what I love, and I love plants and 
the healing arts.

The arguments brought forth have been very broad and outside of my scope.  I 
tend to think a little more practically.  I am one of the people who 
educates the others in my community about how to use herbs, where to get 
them and how to choose high quality preparations, as well as treating folks 
and seeing the direct effects of my herbal medicine.  In other words, I am a 
much smaller player, but there are many of us.  Most of us aren't on the 
listserves or members of any groups. I have many herbalist friends in the 
U.S. and in Mexico that want nothing to do with certification of plant 
material or our healing art.  We are the ones who are stewarding the wild 
stands of plants around the US and other countries.  We are also the ones 
watching large herb companies create the necessary scenario in order to 
decimate large stands of plants that cannot be replaced---ever.  We just 
mourned the loss this last year of a huge stand of Osha in Colorado some 
European company wanted to probably sell back to the U.S. later.  Who are 
the environmentally and socially responsible companies??  Good question.  
There is a lot more to a high quality herbal preparation than a bunch of 
letters on the label.  I am not saying there shouldn't be standards but I am 
the first to question whether all of the bureaucracy will bring us higher 
quality herbal preparations.

Who should set the standards?  Well, I believe that the direction herbalism 
and the herb market has headed in the last decade in the U.S. is not a 
direction that I personally support.  I believe that educated people who 
pick and use the plants should set the standards, and most people I meet are 
educated by retailers, instead of herbalists or ecologists, on the use and 
harvesting of herbs.  A few of the retailers may also be herbalists or 
ecologists, but many just learn catch phrases and trendy "substitutes" to 
pharmaceuticals.
In my ideal world, we would form local committees that set standards for 
medicinal plants and herbalists based on consensus from folks in the local 
community.  The local committees may then act as representatives to other 
communities that wished to trade and our local community may decide to 
empower this committee to make the decisions based on the local communities 
concerns and values.  A greater emphasis should be placed on bioregionalism 
in general so that folks create a stronger bond with their local 
environment, and have more of a reason to protect it.
I share concerns over where my plants come from and I do my best to 
decentralize my use of herbs by finding bioregional equivalents that are 
weedy and therefore create less of a strain on plant populations.  Sometimes 
I have had to buy herbs and as my business grows, I am now ordering more and 
more supplies and dried plant material.  I have great concerns over the 
quality of herbs grown in different areas of the world for a global 
medicinal plant market, as well as global food market.  Since my ideal world 
isn't here yet, then personlly, I would choose medicinal plants from places 
that could answer more of my questions on the phone with regards to ethical 
harvesting, where the plant matter came from, irradiation, etc.  I have yet 
to find a company that sells herbs to retailers and herbalists that can 
answer my questions sufficiently.  Therefore, after the hours and hours I 
have spent with larger, more affordable companies---many well known ones, I 
have decided to spend the extra money and go straight to the small companies 
like mine, who I can actually get some deep, thoughful answers from about 
their plants.  In Texas, I helped to create a small association of local 
herbalists who share plants and supplies.
Social equity is VERY important.  When people are getting what they feel 
they deserve for their work, the end result is a better product.  Plain and 
simple.  Fair Trade is another questionable term.  My friend from Mexico 
interviewed "Fair Trade" farmers and found many indications that there was 
nothing "fair" about fair trade.   It still depends on whose doing the 
trading but when it comes to large corporations I have no trust in them at 
all.

I decided after several years of training in herbalism to pursure bodywork.  
I went to get my Massage Therapy Registration in Texas.  The skills and 
ability of herbal practitioners who are not required to be certified are as 
variable as the Registered Massage Therapists.  The Midwives of my area 
decided to go for National Certification and are now kicked out of 
hospitals.  Certification of medicinal plant does not ensure high quality 
medicinal plants.  Certification of herbs may be helpful and effective for 
large companies, but not small ones. Therfore, maybe it is time to try to 
envision another way to get direct participation of local communities.  
Education and trust is key.  If I had more time and energy, or it was my job 
to do so, I would try to create better ways to educate and focus more on 
accessiblilty.   As it is, I am spending way too much time on this and I 
have a client soon.

I have tried to answer the questions put out to the listserve to show that 
there is yet another perspective alive and well on this listserve.  We need 
new ideas and new systems, not reform.  In holistic mediicne you have to 
think outside of the box to get answers.  I would like to see the same thing 
with the standards we create for medicinal plants.  I am on the side of 
people in their local communities being supported by their neighbors 
sustaining our local economies.  I understand that creating a market for 
herbs may be all that some people have in some countries, (another hour long 
essay) but I have to stay true to decentralization.  I am on the side of the 
beautiful weeds of various biorgegions being celebrated.  I respect and 
honor all of the work so many have put into such things as Organic 
standards, but as much as I'd like to, I just can't afford personally live 
an Organic lifestyle. I think more than give any answers, I have a lot more 
questions surrounding this issue.  I do believe that there should be 
standards but in order for them to truly work, they have to be able to be 
integrated in at a grassroots level.

Thanks for your time and remember to support your local herbalists!!!
Niki Telkes
www.wildspirit.info