“The physician of tomorrow will study
mankind in relation to his environment,
will prevent disease at the source, and
will cease to confine himself to the temporary
alleviation of the miseries resulting
from malnutrition.”
Sir Albert Howard, 1947
THE SOIL AND HEALTH |
A message
from Jean Giblette
and Peggy Schafer
We’re two LOCAL growers of the bright and Qi-full Chinese medicinal herbs you may have seen at colleges and conferences. The Medicinal Herb Consortium has been introducing these beauties to the profession of Oriental Medicine through its “Sample Pack” of domestically and ecologically grown herbs.
The Oriental Medicine community in the U.S. has responded with enthusiasm and now we have many orders and not enough product! So, in keeping with our plan for a national, direct-marketed system to develop domestic production, we have created this new website. It’s a beginning, and you’ll be able to watch our progress right here.
Our purpose
People ask us how we can “compete” with China. The answer is, LOCAL values avoid the global commodity system. Oriental Medicine will continue to depend on herbs from China. Our respected suppliers (and friends) who serve the OM community are doing a good job of sourcing in China.
What LOCAL means is this. We are taking the first steps toward a long-term goal: the restoration of authentic plant medicine in North America. Since 1970, the theoretical base of Asian medicine, with its vast, detailed knowledge of plants and herb combinations, has taken root in our society. The medicinal plants of Asia and North America are similar. Many people now see the adaptation of Asian medicine as our big opportunity to get away from the simplistic drug model, to greatly broaden our diets, and to achieve self-sufficiency in medicine harvested from our fields, forests, deserts and wetlands.
And, most important, the Asian scholarship can be re-infused with the spiritual values held in trust by Native Americans for the past 500 years. If we learn to respect Mother Earth’s ways and the medicine she gives us, we are rewarded with abundance – and health. We realize this truth in our gardens every day.
How we can go back to the garden
Development of domestic sources of ecologically grown Chinese herbs (and their North American substitutes) will take years, even decades. It’s a process of applied science, best undertaken by growers and agricultural researchers working in cooperation with the Oriental Medicine profession.
Yes, in the short term you may be able to persuade your local organic farmer to grow some herbs for you. But no one bioregion can grow all the herbs OM practitioners need to make commonly used formulas. Ten years from now, will you or your supplier be willing to order herbs from a hundred different farmers? And your local farmer – how will he or she get the assurances needed to plant perennial crops on valuable land?
Historically farmers, suffering the vagaries of the marketplace, have been forced to compete against each other in a spiral of diminishing returns. Little incentive for quality and other values exists in the global commodity system. That’s why community-supported agriculture and other forms of direct marketing were created in recent decades. A return to LOCAL values is close at hand.
Cooperation is necessary for science, for economy, and to achieve our goal. We have put up LOCAL HERBS to begin enlisting OM practitioners and growers in support of our development process, and to build durable business structures for this long-term enterprise.
What you can do
- Make a tax-deductible donation
Right now we are supporting growers (including this website) through two nonprofit organizations, the High Falls Gardens Fund and the Sonoma County Herb Association. We hope to capitalize the growers group with at least $500,000 to:
- Underwrite contracts to enable farmers to plant perennial crops
- Pay mileage and other expenses for experienced growers to help the less experienced
- Fund farmer education and training programs
- Fund small-scale research on crop production
- Place an order for herbs grown to order
You may have to wait a season (two or three in some cases), but demonstrated demand for our herbs shows potential funders that this plan is real. We appreciate your faith and patience!
- Begin your own dialogue with the plants
The plants are calling you – from new gardens of Chinese medicinal plants growing in several places around the country. We each support internship and other education programs for the OM community. Opportunities to get connected are proliferating.
- Contact either of us. Let’s share the journey!
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