Sebastian Pole - Preserving Nature’s Pharmacy: The Importance of Sustainable Herb Sourcing
Today, Sebastian Pole discusses the importance of sustainable practices in the herbal sourcing and growing industry. Sebastian emphasizes the vital need for practitioners to be informed about the origins of their herbs, understanding where and how they are grown, and who cultivates them. He discusses the ethical considerations of sourcing, focusing on the importance of responsible harvesting practices that protect plant species from overharvesting and potential extinction. Sebastian also shares how ethical sourcing impacts the quality and efficacy of herbal products, offering a guide for practitioners to align their practices with sustainable values that respect both the environment, and the communities involved in herbal cultivation. This conversation highlights the role practitioners can play in fostering a more sustainable herbal industry and preserving these precious resources for future generations.
Be sure to check out Sebastian's Website 'Herb Reality' - A voice for herbal medicine
https://www.herbalreality.com/
In this Episode:
3:25 – Welcome Sebastian
3:48 – How Sebastian became interested in herbal medicine
5:09 – The lack of understanding of where our herbs come from and the sustainability issues attached to them
8:52 – What ignited Sebastian’s passion for sustainability
12:43 – The impact of the climate and over-harvesting on herbal medicine
15:41 – Wild harvesting and organically grown herbs and fair treatment of communities that harvest and grow herbs
22:06 – Understanding the supply chain
23:23 – Who are fair wild?
25:12 – Who are CITES and TRAFFIC
28:14 – Sebastian’s Herb Reality website
29:39 – The importance of understanding how/where a herb is grown – endangered herbs in the wild may also be cultivated
31:19 – How we as practitioners can set our own set of ethics and create dialogue with suppliers
34:32 – Herb Reality website – information on herbal medicine and sustainability
37:24 – Other uses for herbs outside of our industry
39:58 – Not forgetting our power and voices as practitioners
41:04 – Licorice
42:59 – Rhodiola
45:29 – Slippery Elm
46:22 – Third-party certification as a solution
48:57 – Applying ‘first do no harm’ to the earth
50:38 – A cheap deal isn’t always a good deal
51:55 – Herb Alliance
53:16 – Thank you Sebastian
Bio: Sebastian Pole is a registered member of the Ayurvedic Professionals Association, Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine and a Fellow of the Unified Register of Herbal Practitioners. Sebastian is qualified as a herbalist with the aim of using the principles of Ayurveda and the Herbal tradition to help transform health. He has been in clinical practice since 1998.
He co-founded Pukka Herbs in 2001 and is experienced in organic herb growing, practitioner grade quality, and sustainable value chains. Sebastian is a Trustee of the FairWild Foundation, a Director of The Betonica School of Herbal Medicine, and an Advisor to The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and The Sustainable Herbs Project. In addition, he has created the Herb Reality website where he and other herbalists and health experts are a voice for herbal medicine sharing traditional, scientific, and practical insights. Sebastian is on a mission to bring the incredible power of plants into people’s lives.
