Michael Moore, one of the greatest North American herbalists just passed away.

February 24, 2009

I know that eventually, those of you who have not yet integrated non-Asian

herbs into your practice must eventually. Chinese herbalism is not an open

and shut phenomena. I know there is such much to learn and master that it

will take not one but several lifetimes to get a grip on it, even if we

speak and read Chinese. Nevertheless, Chinese herbalism is not merely a

collection of herbs in a materia medica or of wonderful ancient formulas,

it's an exquisite medical system that aspires to encompass all foods,

plants, human experience and yes, even drugs into that system.

To that end, there is a treasure of botanicals on the North american

continent. In fact it was the search for herbs that was one of the

motivating forces for Europeans to sail into the unknown in search of.

So just as we have a legacy of great Chinese herbalists to look up to, there

is a legacy of great Western herbalists that we should become aware of.

Michael Moore was one of those. He passed away recently on February 20th and

I wrote a tribute in his honor that I would like to share with you all. You

can read it at:

http://www.planetherbs.com/index.php?option=com_myblog

<http://www.planetherbs.com/index.php?option=com_myblog & show=Michael-Moore-1

941-2009.html & Itemid=141> & show=Michael-Moore-1941-2009.html & Itemid=141

Michael Tierra

February 24, 2009

Hi, one of the most enthusiastic students I had years ago, in a TCM diagnostic

class for massage therapists I taught, said how much she looked forward to

studying with Michael the following year. Its fun to be a part of their

optimism. I bet someone like her is an integrator. So open.

I'm very sorry to hear of Michael's passing. I didn't know him, but I knew of

him.

--- On Tue, 2/24/09, Michael Tierra <mtierra wrote:

Michael Tierra <mtierra

Michael Moore, one of the greatest North American herbalists just

passed away.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 2:31 PM

February 24, 2009

thanks for the news Michael, though I am much saddened to hear of the

Great Herbalist's passing. I first met him in 1979, I think it was -

by chance during a trip to Santa Fe, when I wandered into Herbs, Etc.

There I heard he was teaching a course and so I signed up for the

number of days I could fit in. It was the excellence of his teaching

and the way he could pack in information that began my exploration of

herbal medicines. If he hadn't been so eloquent and generous in

imparting information, downright fascinating, I probably would not

have begun the study of them. But who knows? Many paths, but with

Michael all paths seemed to lead to a bit of medicine for something.

I often have thought of him and will surely continue to do so.

Peace, Michael,

Ann Brameier

On Feb 24, 2009, at 2:31 PM, Michael Tierra wrote:

> I know that eventually, those of you who have not yet integrated non-

> Asian

> herbs into your practice must eventually. Chinese herbalism is not

> an open

> and shut phenomena. I know there is such much to learn and master

> that it

> will take not one but several lifetimes to get a grip on it, even if

> we

> speak and read Chinese. Nevertheless, Chinese herbalism is not

> merely a

> collection of herbs in a materia medica or of wonderful ancient

> formulas,

> it's an exquisite medical system that aspires to encompass all foods,

> plants, human experience and yes, even drugs into that system.

>

> To that end, there is a treasure of botanicals on the North american

> continent. In fact it was the search for herbs that was one of the

> motivating forces for Europeans to sail into the unknown in search of.

>

> So just as we have a legacy of great Chinese herbalists to look up

> to, there

> is a legacy of great Western herbalists that we should become aware

> of.

> Michael Moore was one of those. He passed away recently on February

> 20th and

> I wrote a tribute in his honor that I would like to share with you

> all. You

> can read it at:

>

> http://www.planetherbs.com/index.php?option=com_myblog

> <http://www.planetherbs.com/index.php?option=com_myblog & show=Michael-Moore-1

> 941-2009.html & Itemid=141> & show=Michael-

> Moore-1941-2009.html & Itemid=141

>

> Michael Tierra

>

February 24, 2009

Michael was my first herb teacher at Santa Fe College of Natural

Medicine in the early 70's, then again he taught me herbal

pharmacology and pharmacognosy at International Institute of

Alternative Medicine (now Southwest Acupuncture College) in the late

70's. I still remember the herb walks we did. One of the greats, I

am sad to hear he has passed away. I know he had some serious medical

problems in recent years. A true pioneer.

On Feb 24, 2009, at 11:31 AM, Michael Tierra wrote:

> I know that eventually, those of you who have not yet integrated non-

> Asian

> herbs into your practice must eventually. Chinese herbalism is not

> an open

> and shut phenomena. I know there is such much to learn and master

> that it

> will take not one but several lifetimes to get a grip on it, even if

> we

> speak and read Chinese. Nevertheless, Chinese herbalism is not

> merely a

> collection of herbs in a materia medica or of wonderful ancient

> formulas,

> it's an exquisite medical system that aspires to encompass all foods,

> plants, human experience and yes, even drugs into that system.

>

> To that end, there is a treasure of botanicals on the North american

> continent. In fact it was the search for herbs that was one of the

> motivating forces for Europeans to sail into the unknown in search of.

>

> So just as we have a legacy of great Chinese herbalists to look up

> to, there

> is a legacy of great Western herbalists that we should become aware

> of.

> Michael Moore was one of those. He passed away recently on February

> 20th and

> I wrote a tribute in his honor that I would like to share with you

> all. You

> can read it at:

>

> http://www.planetherbs.com/index.php?option=com_myblog

> <http://www.planetherbs.com/index.php?option=com_myblog & show=Michael-Moore-1

> 941-2009.html & Itemid=141> & show=Michael-

> Moore-1941-2009.html & Itemid=141

>

> Michael Tierra

>

February 25, 2009

, " Michael Tierra "

<mtierra wrote:

>

> I know that eventually, those of you who have not yet integrated

non-Asian

> herbs into your practice must eventually. Chinese herbalism is not

an open

> and shut phenomena. I know there is such much to learn and master

that it

> will take not one but several lifetimes to get a grip on it, even if we

> speak and read Chinese. Nevertheless, Chinese herbalism is not merely a

> collection of herbs in a materia medica or of wonderful ancient

formulas,

> it's an exquisite medical system that aspires to encompass all foods,

> plants, human experience and yes, even drugs into that system.

Michael, I absolutely agree that the future of Chinese herbal medicine

lies in the incorporation of new medicinals. In fact, many medicinals

in Chinese medicine originally came from foreign regions, such as

senna, saffron, myrrh, and frankincense. Newly incorporated

medicinals include valerian and rhodiola, which can now be found in

modern Chinese materia medicas.

In ancient illustrated materia medica texts, we can clearly see

drawings of non-Chinese people next to some of the entries, further

illustrating the importance of global trade in the development of

Chinese medicine. There is no doubt that the natural growth of

Chinese medicine and the increased level of modern cultural exchange

will bring many new effective medicinals into the TCM arsenal.

While China remains a good production region for many medicinals,

there is a shortage of fertile land in China relative to other parts

of the world. I'm in Hong Kong right now, and one of my teachers here

(Dr. Zhao Zhongzhen) was recently showing me slides of fieldwork that

he has been doing in Africa and Brazil. Apparently there are many

many herbs growing wild in these countries that could provide new

resources for existing TCM medicinals that are currently in short

supply. And of course, the number of new medicinals that could be

incorporated is vast. For example, maca from South America is already

quite popular in Asia.

A good analogy that I heard recently related to Chinese food- Chinese

food has maintained its traditional style but it has incorporated many

new ingredients from other cultures. These ingredients have enriched

the flavor of Chinese food without changing its fundamental style. In

fact, some of the most common Chinese spices came from outside of

China, such as black pepper and chili. Nowadays, it is hard to

imagine what Sichuan food would be like before chili came from the New

World.

Anyway, it is clear that more global exchange will help the

development of herbal medicine worldwide. Chinese medicine by nature

is open minded and accepting of new developments, despite the fact

that a conservative thread remains. I agree with you that even drugs

and isolated substances have a place in this new " herbal " medicine,

and after Bill corrected me on the pseudoephedrine issue, I realize

that your comparison of ma huang and sudafed may be far closer than I

initially thought, given my limited understanding of the issues

involved. People like yourself and Bill have made major contributions

to this global medicine field, and I find this discussion very thought

provoking.

Best wishes,

Eric Brand

February 26, 2009

Thanks for your openness, Eric. The Sudafed notion is something a bit off of

the wall, I know, but I just don't see any other herbal substitute for Ma

Huang. As a matter of fact, in general, I don't think it works very well to

think about herbs substituting for each other. A former teacher from

Shangahi TCM school named Naixin, once said, she can't imagine treating

asthma without ma huang. In the meantime, I see how most herbalists allow

herbs to be picked off one by one with barely an outcry. There should be an

organized herbalist watchdog organization that goes after the government

when they arbitrarily try to ban an herb from use. Banning it from commerce

and misuse, I'm all for that but not by qualified medical herbalists.

I hoped the AHG could do that but so far, they are not able to. What good

are our various TCM organizations if they don't take the initiative to

protect our access to medicinals?

Michael

On Behalf Of Eric Brand

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:13 PM

Re: Michael Moore, one of the greatest North American

herbalists just passed away.

<%40> , " Michael Tierra "