Guest guest Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 Hi, I have been considering going back to school to study herbal medicine - probably for many of the reasons all of you practice - a love of Chinese medicine in general, wishing to go deeper in my understanding, and connecting the issues of healing our bodies and minds as we utilize the gentle healing medicine from the earth. But this last idea is slightly erroneous according to some. One friend and respected practitioner in the community said that in fact, herbal medicine is responsible for widespread ecological damage in China due to the mass harvesting of herbs which may be disrupting the natural environment in many ways - habitat encroachment or despoilment, and consequent loss of biodiversity, etc. Can any of you address this question fairly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 , " jordanvv2001 " <jordanvv@h...> wrote: > > One friend and respected practitioner in the community said that in > fact, herbal medicine is responsible for widespread ecological damage > in China due to the mass harvesting of herbs which may be disrupting > the natural environment in many ways - habitat encroachment or > despoilment, and consequent loss of biodiversity, etc. Can any of you > address this question fairly? This may be true. The chinese government does not have much respect for the environment. I know the issue of endangered species in herb products has mostly been hype, but this scenario you describe seems very credible to me. It is a problem here and in europe. I only assume it is worse in china. If it is any consolation, only a minute fraction of those herbs are consumed outside asia and we probably have very little clout over the production issues, except for some big sellers like ginseng. So do we boycott herbs that are not ecologically produced even if our boycott will have no impact? Or do we engage with the market in order to gain a larger share and thus the natural influence of the consumer over the supplier? History shows us examples of success in both approaches. Constructive engagement has worked with China so far, while boycott was necessary to change apartheid south africa and has clearly failed in Cuba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 Dear Group: Regarding the ecological issues: Aren't a lot of Chinese herbs being cultivated in farms these days? David Crow knows a lot about this issue, but I don't know if he is a member here. For those of you in the LA area, he will be teaching a Sunday seminar at Yo San University. You can email me privately if you want more info. Julie Chambers, L.Ac. > If it is any consolation, only a minute fraction of those herbs are > consumed outside asia and we probably have very little clout > over the production issues, except for some big sellers like > ginseng. So do we boycott herbs that are not ecologically > produced even if our boycott will have no impact? Or do we > engage with the market in order to gain a larger share and thus > the natural influence of the consumer over the supplier? History > shows us examples of success in both approaches. > Constructive engagement has worked with China so far, while > boycott was necessary to change apartheid south africa and has > clearly failed in Cuba. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 Subhuti Dharmananda at ITM has written a fair bit about this issue and has credible info. Y'all may want to check him out by either subscribing to his START group, or perhaps the info is available online at ITM's site. Mark - " Julie Chambers " <info Monday, July 29, 2002 9:38 PM Re: Re: herbal medicine and global ecology > Dear Group: > > Regarding the ecological issues: > > Aren't a lot of Chinese herbs being cultivated in farms these days? > > David Crow knows a lot about this issue, but I don't know if he is a member > here. For those of you in the LA area, he will be teaching a Sunday seminar > at Yo San University. You can email me privately if you want more info. > > Julie Chambers, L.Ac. > > > If it is any consolation, only a minute fraction of those herbs are > > consumed outside asia and we probably have very little clout > > over the production issues, except for some big sellers like > > ginseng. So do we boycott herbs that are not ecologically > > produced even if our boycott will have no impact? Or do we > > engage with the market in order to gain a larger share and thus > > the natural influence of the consumer over the supplier? History > > shows us examples of success in both approaches. > > Constructive engagement has worked with China so far, while > > boycott was necessary to change apartheid south africa and has > > clearly failed in Cuba. > > > > > > > > Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including board approved online continuing education. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 , " Mark Reese " <tcm2@r...> wrote: > Subhuti Dharmananda at ITM has written a fair bit about this issue and has > credible info. I am not sure he has much on the overharvesting issue, but ITM is the best place to look. He definitely has written much on other cultivation issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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