The Natural Foods Merchandiser (NFM) recently titled Mark
Blumenthal its 2008 Natural Legacy, an award bestowed to those persons
with high levels of experience and dedication to the natural products
community. It is bestowed twice a year at the Natural Products East and
Natural Products West trade shows. An in-dept story on Blumenthal,
which accompanies the reception of this award, is available in the March 2008 issue of NFM.1
The article is by Vicky Uhland, a Colorado-based freelance writer who
has written the natural legacy award winner article for the past 10
legacies.
“A legacy story usually takes about 60 to 70 hours from start to
finish,” wrote Uhland (e-mail, 2-29-08). “I spend a day or two with the
legacy person, depending on how many people there are to interview and
how many facilities to tour. I spent a day with Mark and the ABC crew.
I spend some time in a formal interview, some time going around their
company [or organization] with the legacy person, sometimes going out
to eat with them. I also try to talk to as many longtime employees at
the company as I can. It's usually pretty fluid—I don't really have an
interview plan, but just want to spend time getting to know the person,
however that happens.”
Uhland spent enough time with Blumenthal to produce 6 pages of
coverage in the current issue in an article that details many of
Blumenthal’s life accomplishments from start to current. In this
article Uhland introduces the readers to Blumenthal’s current work as
Founder and Executive Director of the American Botanical Council (ABC),
the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of HerbalGram, as well as a guiding source of herbal education in a tale Uhland calls “as big and heartwarming as all of Texas.”1
Many aspects of Blumenthal are captured in this unique article: his
prized gold ring melted from his grandparent’s wedding bands that he
wouldn’t give up, even if he met someone in a dark alley, his escape
from active duty in VietNam by convincing an Army Reserve psychiatrist
that he was unfit because he was “the son of a Jewish man from
Germany,” and the fact that he gave up eating meat in protest of the
war on the premise that if you can’t take a human life you shouldn’t
take an animal’s either.1
Uhland continues to outline his career in herbs that began in the
early 1970s with an herb distribution company called Sweethardt Herbs
as well as HotChaCha!, the first company to make all-natural, salt-free
salsa (However, she incorrectly states that Sweethardt Herbs filed for
bankruptcy when actually it went through the process of bank
foreclosure, a very different process.). She details the ins and outs
of Blumenthal’s time as an herbal consultant as well as the newsletter
he started in 1977, Herb News, that later became HerbalGram in 1983: “I wanted to create the Scientific American of herbs, with high productions values and peer-reviewed, highly referenced content,” Blumenthal told Uhland.1
She also discusses the founding of ABC in 1988 and Blumenthal’s
appearance on more than 400 radio and television shows to serve as a
spokesperson for the industry: “As far as the herb business and herb
world goes,” Ed Smith, founder of Herb Pharm, told Uhland, “Mark has
become the most influential person in the country in interfacing with
regulators and the media.”1
“Mark was selected because he’s probably one of the most respected
men in the herbal industry,” said Marty Traynor Spencer, the
Editor-in-Chief of NFM (e-mail, February 29, 2008). “He has influenced
so many people and done so much for the industry.”
“Mark is my swan song,” wrote Uhland, explaining that this would be her final Natural Legacy article for
NFM. “I've really enjoyed doing the stories and getting to know so many
great people, but I think it's time to move on to other challenges. And
how fitting to end with someone as entertaining as Mark!”
However, there are a couple of things captured about Blumenthal that
aren’t quite accurate. The name of Blumenthal’s younger daughter,
Merope, was spelled incorrectly. Also, the cook, chauffer, maids, and
gardener mentioned were actually of Blumenthal’s grandparents’ home and
not his parents’.
The full article can be found at http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/ as well as additional information about NFM and the Natural Legacy Award.
NFM is a publication of New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media that also publishes the Nutrition Business Journal, Functional Ingredients, and Delicious Living Magazine.
New Hope also produces the natural products industry’s largest trade
shows, Natural Products Expo West and Natural Products Expo East. Natural Products Expo West education and tradeshow will take place March 13-16, 2008, in Anaheim, California.
Previous Natural Legacy recipients:
2001- Aveline Kushi
2002- Jack LaLanne and Mel Coleman
2003- Hass Hassan and Dave Vetter
2004- Gene Kahn and Peggy Brevoort
2005- Andrew Weil and Annemarie Lindner
2006- Elwood Richard and Patricia Bragg
2007- The Lundbergs and Jerry Fleming
—Kelly E. Saxton
Reference
1Uhland V. Herbal Cowboy. Natural Food Merchandiser. March 2008;29(3):38, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50.
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