Wildcrafting ??

[Guest guest]

Hi Diana,

 

> Well, Butch...that was quite a ditty there with your interpretation of

> the meaning of wildcrafting.

 

I didn't have an interpretation of wildcrafting .. didn't even realize

such a term existed. ;-p But I am still convinced that the TLC that is

exhibited by those who collect plants from the wild for use in this or

that medicinal preparation is not the same as the slash and stuff your

bag method used by peasants in the Third World when they are working on

a per kilogram basis for a day's turn in. Nor do I think there are any

commercially produced essential oils made from wild plants that have

been harvested in such a manner.

 

When a distiller gets an order for 500 kilos of Oregano Oil he must buy

roughly 27 metric tons of wild grown Oregano .. that's a bunch. And it

is harvested by hand.

 

Even more difficult is Myrtus communis as it clings to hillsides. More

than once I have said I'd have to be in desparate financial straits

afore I would attempt to harvest it.

 

> The way I seeze it is that it means harvesting a plant that is growing

> wild and not planted by mankind as far as you can tell.

 

Fair and logical. But I think we need to keep the term in the realm of

the herbalist and not try to carry it over to EO production.

 

> Like Jackie said, it could even be a dandelion growing in the city

> sidewalk..although I prefer the fresh air out here to find my goodies.

 

I hear you. I have a buddy in Maryland who is serious into health food.

Though he looks like he couldn't pick up ten pounds and has the stamina

of an 80 year old .. still .. he figures if something tastes good its

gotta be bad for him. ;-p He is knowledgeable in that area and runs a

health food store. Problem is, he puts his garden (every year) right

beside a major road.

 

> And yes, we need to be responisible wildcrafters because some have

> just plundered whole areas like with the Native American Ginseng.

> Very rare to find anymore.

 

I hear you .. and agree. And I'm thinking that I assumed too much when

I explained my thinking on harvesting of wild plants. I was addressing

the marketing hype some sellers use when describing their essential oils

... they have no idea how the plants were harvested. I said that one can

practice TLC if they have their own table top still .. but its just not

like that in the real world where volume is the goal. How the plant is

harvested is not a concern of the government, of the peasant harvesting

the plant or of the distiller who will purchase it. And the 500 kilos

of Oregano EO I mentioned above is not a lot .. one company here has a

standing order for 500 kilos a month to a US company.

 

> I'm glad most people live in the city and haven't the foggiest idea of

> what it means.

 

I'm glad they do too .. and hope they stay there cause I'm going back to

my roots .. in the country .. in fact for a while I'll be there in the

next 2 or 3 weeks.

 

> That said: I'm sure that some of the best plants are farmed with

> organic love for harvesting purposes.

 

I'm sure that's the case. Its somewhat like the glassblower vs the

glass factory .. or the chef vs the institutional cook.

 

> Gee, I'm fairly a newbie...what do I know.

 

But I think you understand that how plants are grown and harvested

depends on how much they are growing and to whom they intend to market

them. Its easy to raise a small crop of organic this or that but if one

has a contract with Wriggleys for 10 metric tons of Peppermint EO or a

contact with a perfumery for 100 metric tons of Lavandula angustifolia

its then just another business.

 

> Diana of Dewberry Hill

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com