The Sustainable Herbs Program Podcast Ann Armbrecht

In this webinar, Jane Franch of Numi Organic Tea and Kayalin Akens-Irby of Planet FWD discuss the importance of getting accurate data on carbon emissions as a foundation for taking action to reduce those emissions. They discuss available tools, what the tools do and do not measure, and what to look out for as both a company and a customer trying to decide what claims about carbon impacts to trust.

This session introduces a ground-breaking new report by TRAFFIC, FAO, and IUCN SSC Medicinal Plant Specialist Group, entitled WildCheck: Assessing risks and opportunities of trade in wild plant ingredients. The report aims to inspire and support responsible sourcing of the hidden wild-harvested plant ingredients found in everyday beauty, health, and food products, such as shea butter, baobab, Brazil nuts, and licorice.

The discussion explores various aspects of the report through discussions with stakeholders who interact with wild plant ingredients in different ways. What is the demand for these ingredients and how has it changed in recent years? Why is urgent action needed towards responsible sourcing, and who is responsible? What are the key risks to look out for, and the opportunities for businesses to seize? These topics are further illustrated with real-world examples from frankincense supply chains.

A conversation with Arko Chatterjee, Founder and CEO of NaturaYuva, about his company’s work to source high quality natural ingredients from regenerative agroforestry small holder farms. We will talk about what Chatterjee observed on his recent trip in rural India meeting with farmers who supply raw materials for NaturYuva and his vision for, as he says, “disrupting the natural ingredients market” for the benefit of people, plants, and the planet.

Are you really what you eat? David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé take us far beyond this well-worn adage to deliver a new truth: the roots of good health start on farms. What Your Food Ate marshals evidence from recent and forgotten science to illustrate how the health of the soil ripples through to crops, livestock, and ultimately all of us.

David Montgomery and Anne Biklé speak about their research into the relationships among soil health, crop health, and human health that form the basis of their book, What Your Food Ate. This book is the third in a series of books they have written about soil health, microbiomes, and agriculture, including Dirt, The Hidden Half of Nature, Growing a Revolution, and most recently, What Your Food Ate.

For What Your Food Ate, Montgomery and Biklé selected 10 paired farms across the US, a conventional farm compared with a regenerative farm in the same region growing the same crop in the same year. They measured soil health and conducted microbial tests in the soil and then compared the ratios of minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals. We will talk about the research and what they found, and about the implications for agriculture in general and for growing botanicals in particular.

Luke Manget, assistant professor of history at Dalton State College, comes from a family of root diggers and herb gatherers in eastern Kentucky. In this webinar we will talk his recently published book: Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia, which is based on extensive research into the business records of mountain entrepreneurs, country stores, and pharmaceutical companies.As the production of patent medicines and botanical pharmaceutical products escalated in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, southern Appalachia emerged as the United States’ most prolific supplier of many species of medicinal plants. We talk about this history and the unique relationship between Appalachia and the global trade of medicinal plants.

Ethnobotany webinar: "From the Garden to the Research Lab: A Conversation with Nadja Cech", Feb. 17, 2022.

Sustainable Herbs Program Director, Ann Armbrecht speaks with Nadja Cech about Dr. Cech's research on medicinally useful plants. Dr. Cech grew up off-grid in a counter-culture community in Williams, Oregon, where herbal medicine was a primary form of healthcare. She talks about her journey to becoming a research chemist, and how her different perspectives of plants (as an illustrator, chemist, gardener, nature lover) inform the research that she does. What is the role of science in understanding how plants work as medicine? What do we learn from scientific study, what do we miss when it comes to understanding the wholeness of plants?