Wildcrafted Vs Organic Vs Conventional Herbs And Essential Oils
Wildcrafted, organic, and conventional are three ways to grow plants. This applies to use of herbs or essential oils for medicinal purposes.
Wildcrafted
Wildcrafted plants grow in nature without any human involvement. The environment contains natural stressors like completing plants, fluctuations in sunlight, the availability of water, insects, and disease.
These stressors force plants to fully develop their nutrients and phytonutrients to be able to thrive in under these conditions.
The plants become more resilient, and therefore the strength of their phytonutrients increase.
There is this perspective. The body has greater chemical affinity and better recognizes wildcrafted plants because they grow naturally.
Under this perspective, wildcrafted plant would work better in reversing disease and supporting homeostasis than organically and conventionally grown plants.
Another argument for the use of wildcrafted plants is they are eco-friendly. Following wildcrafting harvesting guideline protects the plant’s environment.
Harvesting Wildcrafted Plants
Guidelines to follows when harvesting wildcrafted plants:
- Never harvest an endangered species.
- Do not pick immature plants.
- Do not collect more than 15% of a particular in an area.
- Do not harvest more plants than needed at a given time.
- Do not damage surrounding plant or environment.
- Never harvest plants that are close to industrialized areas or highways to avoid pollution contamination.
- Do not harvest from compromised environments.
- Plants seeds if the whole plants needs harvesting.
Following these guidelines will protect the environment, because it will ensure new growth that will help maintain the environment’s ecosystem.
Organic
People grow commercially produced organic plants in controlled farm environments. The controlled environments don’t allow for stress to bring out the full resiliency of the plant’s phytonutrients.
On a positive note, organic plants shouldn’t be a product of genetic manipulation, yet they can be a product of hybridization.
Hybridization is the combining or cross-pollination of two or more plants to create a new plant species.
It is also against organic policy to use harmful synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or to grow plants on polluted land.
Conventional
There is little regulation growing conventional plants. You can genetically modify (GMO) or hybridize conventional plants, which can negatively affect the plant’s nutrient composition.
You can grow conventional plant with synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, and as a result increase the risk of cancer.
Genetic modifications and the use of synthetic fertilizers consequently develop abnormally big plants, which is good for production.
The plants become contaminated with these chemicals, and as a result often become carcinogenic and undermine the medicinal value of the herbs and essential oils.
Wildcrafting: A “simple” life fraught with a host of complex ethical and practical considerations