Plants at risk
To be a wise consumer, look for the word cultivated on the bottle
May/June 1999
By Jan Knight
WE’VE COME TO KNOW THEM AND TO LOVE THEM. Herbal remedies, which
were largely unknown to many Americans less than five years ago,
have become mainstays of our medicine cabinets. Echinacea keeps
colds away. Goldenseal steps in when you get hit with a full-blown
bug. Black cohosh provides women with natural relief from hot
flashes.
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But there is growing concern that we’ve come to love these
plants far too much. Many practitioners of herbal medicine enjoy
the increasing popularity of botanical remedies (Americans spend
$3.2 billion a year on herbal supplements, by some estimates), yet
these practitioners also recognize that the boom could deplete
precious medicinal resources.
To that end, members of United Plant Savers (UpS), a nonprofit
organization based in East Barre, Vermont, have identified twenty
plants that are at risk of survival and another twenty-two that
should be closely watched. Included on the at-risk list are
well-known herbal medicines such as echinacea, goldenseal, and
black cohosh, as well as lesser-known plants such as helonias root
and partridge berry. The UpS watch list includes arnica, mayapple,
Oregon grape, and yerba mansa.
Based in Rutland, Ohio, The National Center for the Preservation
of Medicinal Herbs is another nonprofit endeavor and one that works
closely with UpS and has a similar list. On it are fourteen herbs
that center manager Tim Blakley describes as “critical to
cultivate.” Cultivation provides the opportunity to leave wild
stands alone, he says, as well as consistently produce high-quality
herbs that are pesticide-free. Without cultivation, some herbs may
be lost forever.
“Native wild plants simply cannot be sustained and meet the
needs of the industry,” says Blakley, but adds that “not using an
herb is not a solution. What we have to do is cultivate these herbs
to have a sustainable supply. The consumer plays a major role in
that.”
What’s a concerned consumer to do?
Short of setting up a greenhouse and cultivating your own supply
of herbal remedies, how do you become a responsible consumer, one
who can enjoy medicinal herbs without worrying whether you’re
contributing to their depletion?
Blakley offers some consumer know-how:
Use purchasing power to the herbs’
advantage.
“As consumers, you can dictate quite a bit,” Blakley says. “Ask
store owners whether the herbal supplements they sell are
cultivated and whether they’re organically grown. For those who
don’t sell cultivated and organically grown products, keep asking.
Store owners will tell the manufacturers—and when consumers talk,
manufacturers listen.”
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