Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 3.11 Health: Medicinal Herbs and Appalachian Sustainability, Natural and Human
Session Abstract or Summary
Medicinal herbs have long been an important part of Appalachia’s economy as well as its culture and ecology. Today, the business of medicinal herbs is growing—and has potential for playing a leading role in a transition toward greater sustainability in the region. This session is premised on a broad definition of “sustainability,” including human and economic factors as well as ecological sustainability of both cultivated and wild medicinal plants. Its presenters are four individuals who have extensive experience with diverse aspects of Appalachian medicinal herbs: director of a school of herbal medicine who is also a medicine maker and a clinical practitioner, proprietor of a homestead farm that specializes in value-added products handmade with medicinal herbs, owner of a southern Appalachian herbal extracts business that strives to source its herbs both locally and responsibly, and a mountain crop researcher whose work aims at both ecological and economic sustainability for medicinal herbs and their producers in this region.
Presentation #1 Title
Traditional Health Care as a Model for Modern Health Care.
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Throughout the 19th and early part of the 20th century, the southern Appalachian mountains were the source for many of the herbs used in pharmacy, at a time when herbalism was a major part of mainstream medicine. As modern medicine becomes more expensive and less accessible to everyday people, we can provide a sustainable alternative by returning to our roots. Many of the herbal remedies currently popular can be either grown or wild harvested in our region, made into products by local businesses and then sold across the United States, or used by knowledgeable herbal practitioners. Herbal medicine provides a useful alternative to modern medicine by providing gentle and preventative remedies that are also affordable.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
CoreyPine, RH (AHG) is Director of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, President of Pine's Herbals, and a Professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. He has an active clinical practice using many Appalachian herbs, many of which he harvests himself. He has taught at many national and international herb conferences, and written extensively on herbal medicine. CoreyPine believes that laughter is an essential part of any medicine chest, which is why he is a part of the “Wise Guy” school of healing.
Presentation #2 Title
Building an Herb Business That's Good for Land, People, and our Economic Future
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
Appalachia has many natural and cultural advantages for making a successful transition to a sustainable economy; growing and marketing of medicinal herbs can and should be in the vanguard of that transition. Sustainability, in both ecological and human terms, looks different in different places, depending on the natural and human resources and constraints characteristic of each place. A transition to “sustainability” for any economy as a whole thus requires many smaller-scale transitions, as people find and implement patterns of life and work that are sustainable for themselves and for the specific local natural and human communities where they live. Hap Mountain Herbal, an intentionally small business that grows and processes medicinal herbs and sells the resulting products mainly at farm markets in western North Carolina, will be presented here as a work-in-progress case study of finding a sustainable pattern for specific ecological and economic circumstances, with emphasis on: farm markets as a key venue, value-added products of vertically integrated small enterprises as key elements, and careful attention to scale and diversification as key requirements for developing sustainable patterns for both buyers and sellers of medicinal herbs.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Tricia Shapiro grows medicinal herbs at her small homestead farm in western North Carolina, uses her herbs to handcraft various herbal products, and sells those products along with other farm produce, mostly at area farm markets. She is also the author of more than 20 books, including “Mountain Justice: Homegrown Resistance to Mountaintop Removal, for the Future of Us All.”
Presentation #3 Title
Joys and Challenges of Being Wild with an Herbal Extracts Business
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
Red Moon Herbs has made herbal extracts, oils, and vinegars over two decades by harvesting common and wild plants in peak season. Founded on the Wise Woman Tradition of medicine making in small, fresh batches with local plants, Red Moon Herbs now faces some challenges of acquiring enough fresh material from local sources, predicting growth trends, and planning annual inventory. In an effort to scale up at a healthy growth rate while maintaining the quality and freshness that Red Moon customers expect, Red Moon has developed some new relationships with more area farmers and wild crafters. In the past, on a smaller scale, it was very simple for the staff to harvest and process themselves, but with growing trends the hurdles sometimes mount to obtain best quality, consistency, volume, and harvest times. Red Moon Herbs Director Jeannie Dunn will discuss personal challenges faced and ways they've successfully handled growth while encouraging the proliferation of at-risk plants in forests and meadows.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Jeannie Dunn grew up among relatives who once farmed tobacco in Orange County, NC. Her back-to-basics mother, Rose, ate dandelions, and Jeannie began to understand the power of plants often discarded as weeds. Jeannie has been ethically wildcrafting common plants for herbal extracts and elixirs for over a decade. To proliferate at-risk woodland species, Red Moon also practices seed scatter, root division and plantings of species such as Black Cohosh, American Ginseng and Goldenseal.
Presentation #4 Title
Growing and Marketing Woodland Medicinals
Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
The demand for native forest medicinal herbs such as ginseng, goldenseal, and black cohosh has never been greater. Currently, most of these herbs are wild-harvested from public and private forests. Combined with habitat loss and climate change, many of our precious native medicinal herbs are in serious trouble. Cultivating woodland medicinal herbs is one way to help conserve these plants. For this to truly have an impact, more research needs to be done to create commercially and economically viable production systems. Ways to effectively prevent and discourage poaching must be developed, particularly for ginseng. The availability of more cultivated herbs should benefit manufacturers who must satisfy increasing federal regulations concerning plant identity, composition, and contamination. Through public education about the plight of these plants and how they can help, consumers will request cultivated raw materials in their herbal products which will help drive demand. There are small-scale growers scattered through our mountains growing and selling some of these plants. Their customers are mostly ginseng dealers, small herbal product manufacturers, and herbalists. With time the markets and production will expand.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Jeanine Davis is an associate professor and extension specialist with North Carolina State University located at a research and extension center in the southern mountains near Asheville. Her program is focused on helping farmers and forest landowners derive income from their land while protecting natural resources. She is the lead author of the recently revised and expanded book "Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals."
Traditional Health Care as a Model for Modern Health Care.
Throughout the 19th and early part of the 20th century, the southern Appalachian mountains were the source for many of the herbs used in pharmacy, at a time when herbalism was a major part of mainstream medicine. As modern medicine becomes more expensive and less accessible to everyday people, we can provide a sustainable alternative by returning to our roots. Many of the herbal remedies currently popular can be either grown or wild harvested in our region, made into products by local businesses and then sold across the United States, or used by knowledgeable herbal practitioners. Herbal medicine provides a useful alternative to modern medicine by providing gentle and preventative remedies that are also affordable.
