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Page 76
| Preservation of Medicinal Plants |
| Another integral principle of natural healing is that individual health is not separate from environmental health. The old adage that "we are what we eat" is a physical truth that we cannot avoid. Because of this, if a high level of human health is ever to be attained, we need to begin by preserving and restoring the health of our environment. This is accomplished by first respecting the plant life that shares this world with us, not just for what plants can give to us but because they have an inherent right to exist just as we do. Philosophically this is hard for legislators to swallow because clear-cutting rain forests and old-growth woodlands provides jobs and industry. |
| In 1980, the sale of prescription drugs derived from medicinal plants was estimated to be $8 billion. In addition, the herbal market in this country has almost doubled since 1991. While other countries have been actively involved in the multi-billion dollar medicinal plant market for decades, the U.S. market has all but ignored it despite the fact that we have one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. With recent legislation that allows for the continued trade of medicinal plants, exponential growth can be expected. However, continued loss of biodiversity through industrial development |
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