Teaching about the Herb Industry

Herbalists often talk about nettles as Nettles, as if all nettles are equal. They aren’t. Yet we rarely talk about those differences and how or why they matter. How do the different places and ways that nettles are grown, sourced, and processed matter? 

How are nettles grown on a small organic farm in Vermont the same as and different from nettles harvested by aging collectors from meadows in eastern Poland? What differences does it make when we buy nettles from these different places?  

The Sustainable Herbs Initiative was started to explore the role that stories play in how medicinal plants work. See The Business of Botanicals for the story of this journey.

Key Questions

How does the cultural, economic, and ecological context of where and how plants are grown and harvested impact the products we purchase? How might understanding these stories help heal not just our own bodies but the connections the market economy has broken?

We are developing a more comprehensive curriculum which we will share later in 2024. The website is also in the process of being updated and so we apologize for any buggy-ness!

The outline below can be used as a guide to begin using resources on the SHI site to incorporate lessons on the botanical industry into herb classes.

Our goal in sharing this is so to help make sure that the issues involved in sourcing and manufacturing herbal products on a global scale are integrated into learning about herbal medicine. 

Teaching Objectives

  • To connect teaching about medicinal plants not just to the healing qualities of particular species, but also to learning about the place of the plants in the larger ecosystem (culturally, ecologically, economically).
  • To educate students about the botanical industry overall and issues of sustainability, quality and equity.
  • To provide and develop resources and action steps for students, practitioners and consumers to help improve the industry overall.

  1. What is Sustainable Herbal Medicine?

The herbs we ingest are inextricably connected to the processes that produce them. This is true for all herbs – and it is especially true for herbs we take for our health. Sustainable herbal medicine simply means herbs that are produced and consumed in ways that sustain human and environmental health – in ways that are good for people and good for the planet.

This video touches on the key themes in sourcing and manufacturing high quality, ethically and sustainably sourced medicinal plants. Begin the journey by hearing what leaders in this work have to say about what matters and why. 

Discuss:
  • What conditions need to be in place for herbal products to be the environmentally responsible choice?
  • How do you define sustainable herbal medicine?

  1. How Sustainable is the Herb Industry?

To know what needs to change, it is important to first understand how herbs are handled in the open market. 

  1. Following Herbs Through the Supply Chain

Discuss:
  • What are the specific relationships between the quality of the finished product and how the plants are handled along the way? 
  • Can you talk about quality without considering ecological, economic, and cultural sustainability? Why or why not?