Support Herbal Education & Help Celebrate 40 Years of HerbalGram and the American Botanical Council
About HerbalGram and the American Botanical Council
The American Botanical Council (ABC), publisher of the HerbalGram journal, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, science-based research and education organization founded by Mark Blumenthal along with renowned ethnobotanist James A. Duke, Ph.D., and acclaimed pharmacognosist Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D. ABC has been leveraging its educational HerbalGram platform for the past 40 years to promote peer-reviewed research and the responsible use of herbs, teas, phytomedicinals, essential oils and other beneficial botanicals and fungi to people around the world.
Our Ask
This message is an invitation to support the essential nonprofit work that the American Botanical Council is doing to be the clear, trustworthy voice for herbs, and also to help shape ABC’s next 40 years. Donate to ABC’s HerbalGram 40 Project and Fund this Giving Tuesday. Your tax deductible contribution will support ABC's ongoing mission of scientific research and education.
Click here and donate to HerbalGram 40
Other ways to support ABC:
Become a member
Share your thoughts and feedback with us
Learn more about the ABC HerbalGram 40 Project and Fund
Comments from ABC Members and the Herbal Products Community
In recognition of HerbalGram’s 40th anniversary, ABC has started receiving comments about HerbalGram and ABC from various herb community veterans and leaders. Some of the initial comments can be found below.
“It’s not often we can say, ‘We made a difference in the world.’ That is the truth about ABC and its publication HerbalGram — a true treasure of knowledge of the plant kingdom as well as a living history of the herbal renaissance in the United States and throughout the world! Here's to another 40!”
—Peggy Brevoort, a veteran of the U.S. herb industry who spent 20 years on the ABC board of trustees
“The American Botanical Council has been a beacon of educational excellence among health care professionals, researchers, industry and the general public. ABC has played a pivotal role in advancing herbal medicine, herbal education and botanical research in the United States and beyond. ABC’s many contributions over decades of service have been profound, helping to bridge the gap between traditional herbal wisdom and modern science, helping to ensure that herbs are used safely, effectively and responsibly. Further, ABC has been a strong advocate and source of education for enhanced quality control through its publication HerbalGram and the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program, which regularly highlights issues related to ingredient adulteration, helping industry and consumers maintain access to authentic herbal products.”
—Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., a fourth-generation botanist, herbalist, author and acupuncturist
“A great big THANK YOU for 40 years of being the very best in class when it comes to herbal research, science, regulatory issues and conservation. I have an entire shelf filled with years of HerbalGram issues. They are a treasure trove of unbiased information that I can use as a physician and herbalist. But even more than that, they are a beautiful tribute to the powerful and enduring relationship we have with the plant world.”
—Tieraona Low Dog, MD, ABOIM, integrative physician, author and educator
“As a professional herbalist for 40-plus years, I consider ABC and its excellent publication, HerbalGram, to be highly useful sources of factual and reliable information on medicinal and health-promoting plants.”
—Ed Smith, herbalist, co-founder and former co-owner of Herb Pharm
“HerbalGram has had quite an impact on my life and career. Many years ago, my sister, [who] was a Master Gardener ... subscribed to HerbalGram. She gave me a ‘bootleg’ copy and, even though I was a food chemist at the time, it introduced me to the world and science of botanicals. And now here I am, decades later, the CEO of NOW, a dietary supplement company, interested and involved in all aspects of the botanical industry and still relying on HerbalGram to provide inspiration, trusted information and resources.”
—Jim Emme, CEO of NOW Foods
Click here and donate to HerbalGram 40
Media Contacts
Denise Meikel, American Botanical Council, denise@herbalgram.com, 512.926.4900 x120
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, 303.807.1042
ABC’s Mark Blumenthal Named 'Person of the Year' by Whole Foods Magazine
ABC founder called ‘pioneer who helped the natural products industry reach the next level’
AUSTIN, Texas (Nov. 29, 2023) — The nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) is pleased to announce that Mark Blumenthal, ABC’s founder and executive director, has been named “Person of the Year” by Whole Foods Magazine, a leading natural products industry trade publication. Whole Foods announced the cover story in its December issue, available here.
The article and sidebars chronicle many of Blumenthal’s extensive activities in the herb and natural products community over the last 50 years, most of it as the co-founder and editor-in-chief of ABC’s journal HerbalGram and as founder and executive director of the international nonprofit American Botanical Council.
The story also mentions his being a co-founder and president of the Herb Trade Association in the late 1970s and a founding board member of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). Over the years, Blumenthal’s many activities at ABC have focused on education, research, ethnobotany, phytomedicine, quality issues, conservation and sustainability, and other aspects of the mission, publications and programs of ABC.
Blumenthal's many diverse activities also include acting as the senior editor of four science-based reference books, including the award-winning “The Complete German Commission E Monographs—Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines” (1998), plus “Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs” (2000), “The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs” (2000) and “Rational Phytotherapy” (2004). Blumenthal serves and has served on numerous editorial boards of magazines and journals in the botanical and natural medicine arena as well as on the advisory boards of many nonprofit organizations and educational programs. Blumenthal and ABC were also instrumental in producing the first herbal medicine continuing education courses for pharmacists in the 1990s, including ground-breaking CE-accredited “Pharmacy from the Rainforest” ethnobotany ecotours to the Peruvian Amazon.
"Mark Blumenthal has raised the bar in the natural products industry, and he helped us to be better and do better in the process," wrote Heather Wainer, publisher and VP of media at Whole Foods Magazine.
“ABC also has been instrumental in helping to keep this industry ethical and transparent,” Wainer said. “Most recently, ABC has taken a lead role in the fight against adulteration of herbs. BAPP [the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program] has been in the forefront and is slowly but surely helping to gain transparency in herbs and cleaning up our herbal products.
“In recognition of Mark’s efforts to deliver education for four decades through HerbalGram, as well as for his work with BAPP and his fight for clean unadulterated herbs, Mark stands out as our 2023 Person of the Year.”
A sidebar contains various comments from natural product industry leaders: Loren Israelsen, president of United Natural Products Alliance; Greg Ris of Indena USA; Elan Sudberg, CEO of Alkemist Labs; Howard Wainer, president of WFC Inc.; Ann Armbrecht, Ph.D., director of the ABC Sustainable Herbs Program; and Len Monheit of Industry Transparency Center. Another sidebar has comments from three ABC employees (Hannah Baumann, associate editor of HerbalGram; Cecelia Thompson, finance director; and Gayle Engels, special projects director) regarding their views on working at ABC.
“I am deeply grateful that Whole Foods Magazine has chosen to honor the unique and extensive nonprofit research and educational work of the American Botanical Council with this recognition,” said Blumenthal. “I also thank the amazingly dedicated, productive and dedicated staff of ABC who help ensure that ABC makes such positive contributions to the herbal community in the United States and internationally. And, I have profound gratitude to the loyal members, donors and supporters of ABC who make possible the nonprofit organization’s unique educational mission, publications and programs.”
Blumenthal acknowledged his gratitude for his long history with Whole Foods Magazine. “As Whole Foods publisher Heather Wainer notes in her column, I have known her since she started in the natural products industry in the 1990s, and I have known her father, Whole Foods President Howie Wainer, for about 45 years. My relationship with Whole Foods began shortly after he purchased the magazine in 1984, when he asked me to write a monthly article on herbs. In fact, as noted in a quote from Howie, he got me started as a writer early in my career in the herb and natural products community when he invited me to write a column for the former industry trade magazine for which he was previously working, Health Food Business, starting around 1978. I am grateful to Howie for starting me on the path of writing (and editing) — two things I continue to do in service to the natural products community.”
The timing of the release of the Whole Foods Magazine tribute to Blumenthal occurs when ABC has just completed its 35th anniversary as a leading nonprofit research and education organization and the 40th anniversary of ABC’s flagship publication, HerbalGram. ABC has set up a special page on its information-rich website for the HerbalGram 40 Project & Fund, available here.
About Whole Foods Magazine
Whole Foods Magazine is a trade publication that focuses on the natural products and dietary supplement industry. It will reach its 40th anniversary under the ownership of the Wainer family in 2024. Its monthly print circulation is over 13,000. Whole Foods Magazine is not affiliated with the Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Markets chain of natural groceries.
Media Contacts
Denise Meikel, American Botanical Council, denise@herbalgram.com, 512.926.4900 x120
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, 303.807.1042