“One of the first aspects of primitive culture to fall before the onslaught of civilization is knowledge and use of plants for medicines.” – Richard Evans Schultes Ph.D.
As I prepare to teach the Fall/Winter series of classes dedicated to herbal immune support I wonder how much longer I and my fellow herbalists will be able to do so.
Where am I going? What do I mean by this? Well, I’m hoping not to go anywhere. I hope to continue supporting my community while continuing to educate about local plants as food and medicine. My concern lies with a trend I have been watching over the last several years. The medicine for money corporations continue to claim ownership of the people’s medicine in the form of copyrights and trademarks. These actions all serve to remove the traditional use of plants and herbs from the hands of the people and only make them available from large for-profit companies. Let that sink in for a minute.
In one of the most ballsy examples of this, the name “Fire Cider” was trademarked by a large company. Fire Cider has a rich history as a traditional herbal remedy and has been made and shared by countless herbalists, most notable of whom is Rosemary Gladstar in whose courses, and books the recipe has been included since the 70s! In 2014 this company proceeded to send letters to herbalists that had been making this traditional remedy for years before this company even existed telling them they had to change their product names or face legal action. When herbalists fought back by petitioning to have the trademark revoked they were sued. This court battle is still ongoing. Read the full story here:http://freefirecider.com/faqs/.
The famous 4 thieves name that can be found published in The Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, Notes, and Queries copyright 1891 has been taken from the people by Young Living who trademarked the name 4 thieves/Thieves and has forced many herbalists and small businesses to change the name of their products even though this name has been historically used for centuries!
What will be next, Elderberry Syrup, Cherry Bark, Kinnikinnick, Green Tea? The language allowed for herbalists is already regulated and limiting. Taking away the right to use generic product names that have been understood for generations forces us to come up with obscure references more appropriate to a Monty Python skit than an herbal tonic label. This is a warm tonic used for millennia for immune support wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more.
It’s Fire Cider, it has always been Fire Cider a medicine of the people, not the property of a greedy young company with a legal team.
So if you are looking for Fire Cider in my shop you won’t find it. What you will find is Kill it With Fire Tonic. I considered naming it FUSCH but decided they were not worthy of a name. I will leave you to figure out the implication, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.
Green blessings,
Ali