Putting Plants at the Center
Collaboration in the Herb Industry and Leading with Heart
An image of Sustainable Herbs Initiative members at dinner after Climate Day at Expo West
Steering With Our Hearts
In her keynote, Living Systems, Living Values: The Lessons of Indigenous Regenerative Ecosystem Design, at Climate Day held at Expo West in March 2024, Dr. Lyla June talked about indigenous food ways and the lessons they offer for living in right relationship with the planet.
“The secret is not how you manage the land or the technology you use,” she said. “The secret is the heart with which you manage it.”
“We need to reprogram our minds to become organized around reciprocity, restraint, reverence,” she continued. “Around respect. Responsibility. Regeneration. Relationality. These are the key components of the software that is needed.”
She encouraged us all to ask, “What is our love letter for creation?” And to let our actions in the world be rooted in and led by the invisible world of our hearts. I highly encourage you to watch a recording of her talk here (her talk begins at 1 hr 58 min).
Relationships in Sourcing Herbs
At Expo, I organized a panel discussion about relationships in sourcing herbs. The Importance of Relationships in Sourcing Medicinal Plants.
Josef Brinckmann, Erin Smith, Ann Armbrecht, Elise Higley, and Wilson Lau talking about the importance of relationships in sourcing herbs.
This session asked: What is the role of wellness-based, natural product businesses in caring for the health of the planet? What is our responsibility, as individuals, as companies, and as a sector?
Panelists Elise Higley, Farmer & Owner, Oshala Farm; Erin Smith, VP of Herbal Science & Research, Banyan Botanicals; Josef Brinckmann, Research Fellow, Medicinal Plants & Botanical Supply Chain, Traditional Medicinals; and Wilson Lau, President, NuHerbs talked about what it will take to shift the herbal products industry so that producing herbal and natural products creates the healthy, resilient human and ecological communities needed for all of us to thrive, not just those who buy the products. They focused on the types of relationships at the heart of this shift.
Putting Plants at the Center
I asked Erin Smith about how, during a Learning Lab mapping exercise, she realized that plants weren’t at the center of the industry, much as she wanted to put them there. I asked what it meant to try to put them at the center.
Here are her suggestions:
Start with the formula: Consider the impact of that formula on the plants themselves and also on the communities that depend on them.
Consider not selling some plants: Banyan hasn’t sold kutki products, an important species for Ayurveda wild harvested from the Himalayas, because they can’t find sources they trust. aren’t comfortable with the sources they were finding. This can be difficult from a business point of view, but it is right for the plants.
Think about the Cost: Investing in sustainable and ethical sourcing, or putting plants at the center, costs more. For example, organic, Fair for Life ashwagandha, costs more (from roughly $4/lb for conventionally grown to $7/lb for certified material). Domestically grown will cost even more. How can you educate those whose job it is to look at the bottom line?
Paradigm Shift
Finally, she said, putting plants at the center calls us to consider the markers of success. How do we define and measure success? What are the markers? How are we defining growth? How much is enough? How much is too much? If a company is growing 20% every year, what are the impacts of that growth on all of the stakeholders involved? Are those positive impacts? How do you account for other measures of success while also maintaining your business? Because if a company goes out of business then then you also can’t support the suppliers.
These aren’t easy questions nor are they easy answers. They reflect though the paradigm shift needed if the herbal products industry is going to be producing products that are truly are good for people, the plants, and the planet.