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The American Botanical
Council’s flagship publication HerbalGram
has reached the 25 year mark. HerbalGram
was first published in the summer of 1983 as a one-color 8-page newsletter called “Herb News” with “Herbalgram” as a smallish
subtitle (printed on recycled paper). Over 25 years the publication has grown
in style, size, and areas of coverage reflecting the growth, diversity, and
sophistication of the herbal movement.
The original
staff listing consisted of two people: Mark
Blumenthal, Editor,
and Rob McCaleb, Associate Editor. The
first issue contained a variety of topics: Recent News, Obituaries (this
particular issue had one for John R.
Christopher, the famous herbalist), Media Watch, Access, Calendar, Recent Books,
and “Herb Blurbs.” In a section called “Rob’s Research Reviews,” an early form of today’s research reviews, co-editor Rob McCaleb summarized 6 herbal research articles
into less than a page.
The 2nd and
third issues still bore the name “Herb
News/ Herbalgram,” but by the 4th issue, the Herb News was dropped in
favor of “Herbalgram.” Issue 7 included
the design for the title still used
today, with an upper case ‘G’ in Gram.
Initially the reason
behind publishing the newsletter under the heading “Herb News” involved
continuity, according to Mark Blumenthal, executive director and founder of the American Botanical Council
(ABC). “Herb News” had previously been a newsletter and later a magazine (3
issues were in magazine format) for the now-defunct Herb Trade Association (HTA), of
which Blumenthal was president in 1979. “Also, back then, there was little
coverage of herbal issues in the natural foods and vitamin industry trade
publications—the term dietary supplement had not come into use—and there was no
Internet availability for
individuals and small businesses; faxes started becoming prevalent shortly thereafter, so there was not the widespread availability
of news on herbal research, regulation, media coverage that is so widely
available today,” said Blumenthal.
Layout programs like
InDesign and Quark also hadn’t been invented yet. Barbara (“BJ”) Johnston, the managing
editor of HerbalGram from HG3–HG50, recalls fondly how she used to lay-out HerbalGram with the use of a paste-up
board (oral communication, September
8, 2008). Unlike today’s modern electronic layout process, this involved using
a device to melt-wax into a thin layer on the back of a piece of paper
containing text and then physically placing it into the appropriate place
within the layout.
Issue 18/19 contained the first
traces of color. It was also the
first HerbalGram to be published
jointly by the ABC (founded in 1988) and the Herb Research Foundation (HRF).
The previous issues had been published by the American Herbal Products
Association (AHPA) and HRF. The total page count also jumped from 24 to 48
(including the cover). ABC was created by Mark
Blumenthal to help fund HerbalGram’s
transition into a magazine. Though HerbalGram
had started as a project he worked
on during nights and weekends, he dreamed of making it a full time project. The
creation of ABC helped Blumenthal take HerbalGram
to the next level.
HerbalGram
Number 20 sported the first photographs
in lieu of mainly herbal drawings, and jumped to 52 pages. It also featured an
early form of today’s Dear Reader
titled “Looking Forward.” This message
included a stippled drawing of Blumenthal which contrasts greatly with the professional
headshot used to complement Dear Reader today.
From that point on the
magazine expanded and improved with each issue. Issue 22 was the first to
contain full color; the first cover
photograph came in issue 23; issue 26 was the first printed on 64 semi-glossy pages.
Issue 27 featured a mural called “The
People demanding health” by the artist Diego Rivera as well as an article about
the Health Freedom Act of 1992 that would label herbs as dietary supplements.1
(In 1993 this was reintroduced as the Dietary Supplement Health and Education
Act.) HerbalGram 28 was the first full-glossy
issue as well as the first to have a photograph of a plant on its cover and a
scan-able barcode for the growing
level of sales in retail stores.
The content in the earlier
issues of HerbalGram featured
extensive literature reviews on specific herbs written by Christopher Hobbs,
e.g., sarsaparilla (#17), St. John’s
wort (#18/19) feverfew (#20),
valerian (#21), and hawthorn (#22).
There were also articles written by legends like Jim A. Duke, PhD. A special issue on traditional medicines (#31)
contained articles on herbal medicine traditions from different regions (from Asia to the Amazon), as well as a special feature on
“Tibetan Medicinal Paintings.”2 Another colorful
feature was the “Medicinal Plant Stamps of Yugoslavia” by Ira Kennedy, with
photos of postal stamps issued in 1955 to 1965 representing major medicinal plants and reflecting the importance of herbs in European countries.3
Johnston, past HerbalGram managing editor, said that one story
in particular, “The Booming US Botanical Market: A New Overview” by Peggy Brevoort, was the most interesting article she edited.4
“It contains pages and pages of graphs and interesting text and it was very
well-researched,” said Johnston. This article painted a full picture of the
herbal medicine market at that time. In fact, HerbalGram now does a yearly Herbal Market Report, which includes tables with herbal product sales
statistics.5 “The HerbalGram
herb market report is one of the
most often-cited articles ABC publishes each year,” said Blumenthal in an ABC
Press release.5 “It is referenced in medical, pharmacy, and
nutrition journals, as well as in many other professional, trade, and consumer
publications. It is usually difficult to estimate the size of the total herb
market in the United States
and the ABC report is considered by
many as one of the most accurate and inclusive.”
Johnston also commented that her favorite
stories to edit in general tended to
come from the late Varro E. Tyler, PhD. “He was so precise,” said Johnston. “His articles
were very easy to edit.”
Issue 45 was the first to
be perfect-bound, an idea of Steven Foster’s, who thought it heightened the
professionalism of the magazine as well as made it easier to find on a
library’s shelf since the title and issue number could be printed on the spine.
Issue 45 also jumped to 100 pages to include a 32-page Herbal Education Catalog,
containing a large selection of books and other educational materials, some of
which are still available in ABC’s online bookstore.
Norman
R. Farnsworth, PhD, co-founding
Trustee of ABC, said that this 4-color
catalog was one of the most valuable aspects of ABC at that time. He noted that
even someone who did not read the articles in HerbalGram could derive educational value by just viewing the catalog. It demonstrated that high quality technical
books on herbal medicine were available in many subject categories (e.g, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy,
phytochemistry, quality control, monographs, etc.). The ABC catalog showed people
the depth and breadth of the information
on herbal medicine as well as demonstrated that selling medicinal herb books
could be lucrative. This helped to pave the way for
other publishers to produce herbal reference books as well as for numerous other professional organizations and trade groups to include them in
their own publications catalogs.
The ABC Herbal Education Catalog
was slowly migrated onto the ABC Web site as the Internet became more commonplace. Thousands of these HerbalGrams and the separate Educational
Catalogs were printed simply for
educational and promotional purposes, to be distributed at scientific and
medical conferences, etc.
It was the 50th
issue that marked the beginning of journal’s current size (84-pages); issue 54 was the first published in
the name of the American Botanical Council alone. The content also grew and
deepened to more accurately reflect
what Blumenthal initially imagined, though he says he never really had an exact
standard in mind—it was more of an
idea: “My initial goal in founding ABC was to take the newsletter HerbalGram and evolve it into ‘the Scientific American of herbs,’” said
Blumenthal. With content produced and edited like a scientific or medical journal, all feature articles and most of
the shorter articles are subject to
a fairly intense peer-review process. “This requires that each article be
reviewed and possibly edited by various experts in North America and around the world,” said Blumenthal. “The process is extremely
time-consuming but it is necessary to ensure the accuracy and reliability of
HGs content.”
Michael Finney, the
current managing editor of HerbalGram, said one of his favorite issues was 66, featuring the cover article
“The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Richard Evans Schultes.”6
This article contains photographs and excerpts from Wade Davis’s book capturing
the photographic journal of the late Harvard botanist, widely recognized as the
father of modern ethnobotany, and his photos and indigenous plants and people
in the Amazon.
Courtney Cavaliere,
assistant editor of HerbalGram, pointed to “Native American
Herbal Prescription Sticks: Indigenous 19th Century Pharmacopeias”
by Daniel Moerman, PhD, as a unique article.7 This pictorial feature shows the Native American carvings of
stylized herbal remedies onto wooden sticks in an attempt to preserve
ethnobotanical knowledge, although today the actual identities of the plants
are not known.
A possibly controversial
cover article for HerbalGram was “Peruvian Maca and
Allegations of Biopiracy” by Josef Brinckmann. With a cover photo showing 3 generations
of Maca farmers in Peru, this
article explored Peru’s efforts to protect its herbal knowledge and resources
which generated discussions in subsequent HerbalGrams.8
HerbalGram
also continually receives positive feedback from its readers as well as
recognition outside of the herbal community: in 1997, Utne Reader nominated HerbalGram
for the best alternative magazine in
the “Personal Life Coverage” category,
and in 1999 Utne nominated it for the “Science and the Environment” category.9 “To many of these supporters, we may have reached our goal,” said
Blumenthal. “But we will always look for
ways to improve HerbalGram.”
Over the years, HerbalGram has evolved. Coupled with
HG’s high production values, such as 4-color
photography and beautiful artistic layouts, HerbalGram
aspires to be a hybrid between a medical or
scientific journal, a trade publication, and a visually-engaging consumer
magazine. HerbalGram will continue
striving to bring this high quality to its readers.
—Kelly E. Saxton
References
1Blumenthal M. Health Freedom Bill would protect
herbs. HerbalGram.1992;27:24–26.
2Fallarino M. Tibetan Medicinal Paintings. HerbalGram. 1994;31:31–44.
3Kennedy I. The Medicinal Plant Stamps of Yugoslavia. HerbalGram. 1994;30:18–21.
4Brevoort
P. The Booming U.S.
Botanical Market: A New Overview. HerbalGram. 1998;44:33-46
5Herb Supplement Sales Show Growth in Multiple
Market Channels[press release]. Austin,TX: American Botanical Council; May 27,
2008.
6Davis W. The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey
of Richard Evans Schultes. HerbalGram.
66:51–59.
7Moerman D. Native American Herbal Prescription
Sticks: Indigenous 19th Century Pharmacopeias.
HerbalGram.77:48–53.
8Brinckmann J. Peruvian Maca and Allegations of
Biopiracy. HerbalGram.75:45–53.
9Robin K. HerbalGram
Named Utne Reader Alternative
Press Award Finalist. HerbalGram.2000; 48:8. |