ECOLOGICAL HERBALISM

This handout is about the ecological impacts of industrial and plant based medicine and the radical ecological and social changes needed to support plant communities to flourish for generations. ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE Drugs, as compounds in their form, have not been encountered in the evolution of our ecosystems. 50-90% of pharmaceuticals are excreted into the environment chemically unchanged or unmetabolised. Many are not biodegradeable and continue having chemical effects forever. Pollution is also a major concern from hospitals and in production e.g. dyes, organic chemicals, carcinogenic materials. Antibiotics kill broad groups of bacteria, including beneficial ones, and now unique pathogenic bacteria are emerging. Massive amounts in our ecosystems. Hormones are not water-soluble and are affecting wildlife e.g. changing the gender of fish Millions of animals are killed in tests to sanction unsafe medicines as safe for human use. Western countries are hugely dependent on the import of plant material from the Global South, affecting land use patterns & native access to medicines that are exploited Even ethical wildcrafting will harm plant communities when realistically quantified With growing interest & re-discovery of herbal medicine, demand is outstripping supply, especially as herbalism becomes big business WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE? Conservation efforts in a capitalist system on a global scale are generally weak and ineffective Growing medicine can be economically unviable in our current capitalist society, growers may struggle to sustain livelihoods without community support and acess to resources needed to grow is limited e.g. access to land Our urbanised and industrial society effects our relationship with the land e.g. destroyed or dimishing habitat & biodiversity. Some medicinal plants are difficult to cultivate & many people lack basic growing skills through our culture of disconnect Regulation which minimises access to plant medicines will put stress on a small number of plants, while others become unviable to grow and sell GROWING CHANGE: SOME INSPIRING EXAMPLES ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF PLANT MEDICINES Overharvesting of plants populations has been accelerated by the need for phytomedicines, pharmaceutical drugs & other industrial applications We have genetically eroded plant communities, increasing the threat of extinction Habitat has been diminished and destroyed through industrial agriculture & other patterns of civilisation Industrial scale wild harvesting and cultivation practices have other impacts e.g. soil erosion. United Plant Savers is a grassgrouts group dedicated to preserving Americas native medicinal plants through education, research, creating & managing botanical sanctuaries, propogating plants & more. Goldthread Herb Farm in North America offers community supported medicine shares to sustain its organic farm as well as offering farm to pharmacy education & supplying local apothecaries & herbalists. They are an inspiring model of community-based ecological herbalism.

WHAT CAN WE DO? Grow your own medicine! Be a conscious consumer - be aware of at-risk plant communities (you can find lists of herbs from United Plant Savers). Prioritise those that are not wildcrafted & are organically cultivated as locally as possible. Wildcraft regeneratively and prioritise abundant herbs aka weeds. Design for biodiversity on land you caretake. Plant medicinal herbs & create habitats. Create a botanical sanctuary Support the establishment of regenerative models of agriculture, such as agroecology & permaculture, which benefit biodiversity while feeding communities & cultivating medicine Seed save & cultivate medicinal plants, steward areas to support plant populations If you teach herbal medicine or foraging ensure that you cover plant conservation & herbal horticulture, as well as alternatives to unsustainable wildcrafting & purchasing at-risk plants Organise in your community for food & medicinal autonomy. Start a community garden, CSA/CSM, teach herbal horticulture, propagate plants, resist industrial agriculture & capitalism, organise for access to land, social & ecological justice & in defence of plant medicines! RESOURCES
www.unitedplantsavers.org www.reclaimthefields.org.uk www.wildheartpermaculture.co.uk www.veganorganic.net The Lost Language of Plants, Stephen Buhner, Healing Wise, Susan Weed Planting the Future, Rosemary Gladstar & Pamela Hirsch Grow Your Own Pharmacy, Linda Gray The Medicinal Herb Grower, Richo Cech Herbal harvests with a Future, Plantlife International The Herbalists Way, Nancy & Michael Philips Growing Green, Jenny Hall & Ian Tolhurst