INTERVIEW WITH THE PRACTICAL HERBALIST ON DESERT BEER COLLAB & MY STANCE ON WILDCRAFTED WHITE SAGE
I was recently a guest on The Practical Herbalist - Real Herbalism Radio well, we recorded this over summer when I was in Eugene, OR. I visited The Practical Herbalist studio and chatted about the project i worked on with the folks at Joshua Tree Brewery. We collaborated on a desert inspired beer. (click here to listen to the interview)
Just to be clear, I am not a beer expert. I was asked by the folks of Joshua Tree Brewery to collaborate with them to make a beer using plants native to the Mojave. I may not know beer but I do know what herbs complement each other keeping in mind the taste and energetics of the plants. I came up with the recipe, ethically wildcrafted and sourced the herbs, the White Sage was sourced from Cactus Mart. If you are interested in growing your own White Sage then check out Cactus Mart in Morongo Valley if yo are ever in the Mojave.
I encouraged the brewers to purchase White Sage plants for this beer. It has turned out to be a hit amongst many and it is only sustainable to the plant to grow it rather than source from online vendors who many are selling wildcrafted White Sage.
I am NOT cool with wildcrafted White Sage. If you have seen my post on social media, you know my stance on White Sage that is wildcrafted. I have blasted on companies for wildcrafting White Sage, the smudge bundles are just over done now and sold in stores like Urban Outfitters, CB2, Huckberry etc, These companies are selling White Sage bundles from Juniper Ridge, owner Hall Newbigan confessed to me of his wildcrafting White Sage after dancing around the topic when I questioned where he was sourcing from. PLEASE DO NOT SUPPORT companies who are buying wildcrafted White Sage, IT IS NOT endangered list of the USDA but it is on the "TO WATCH LIST" on United Plant Savers. It is a plant that is overly harvested for retail. Folks who have not a clue about what the roots of smudging is all abut are buying White Sage bundles from a new age store and think they are "smudging the juju away". CAN I SAY I smell a bit of cultural appropriation. I recently had someone say to me "if i's not illegal then whats the big deal" Well, the big deal is if folks like Juniper Ridge, Hall Newbigan who is a trained herbalist and is aware of the plants status, SHAME ON HIM. If folks like this continue to source wild White Sage this plant will move from the "to watch list" to the "threatened species" list. We must speak up for the earth and protect the land, flora and fauna. There is my "diatribe" on WHITE SAGE. Click here for my INSTAGRAM post
