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Herbal Advocate Loren
Israelsen Receives American Botanical Council Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community
Builder Award
(AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2015) The nonprofit American
Botanical Council (ABC) announces that Loren D. Israelsen, president of the
United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), has been selected as the recipient of
its 2014 Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award.
This is the third award of its kind to be presented by ABC. The Herbal
Community Builder Award is granted annually to an individual in the herbal
medicine community who has played a significant role in creating a sense of
community among herbalists, researchers, members of the herb and natural
products communities, and related groups who work in the area of medicinal
plants. It is named after ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal.
Among his many noteworthy accomplishments, since 1991, Israelsen has served as
the president of the United Natural Products Alliance (formerly the Utah
Natural Products Alliance), a global industry trade association dedicated to
supporting companies and consumers committed to high-quality natural health
products.
It is especially apt that he is the recipient of the Mark Blumenthal Herbal
Community Builder Award for 2014, the year in which the herbal and dietary
supplements community celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the passage of the
Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, for which
Israelsen was integral to framing and seeing through into law.
Israelsen earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Utah State
University, after which he studied at Oxford University’s Queen’s College
Jurisprudence Program in the United Kingdom. He received his Juris Doctor from
Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Mr. Israelsen is an expert on the regulation of herbs and dietary supplements
in the United States and internationally. He has served as an advisor to or
officer in numerous industry and nonprofit organizations, as well as government
agencies.
Over the course of his venerable career, Israelsen has served as vice president
and general counsel for the American Herbal Products Association, and he
co-founded and provided general counsel for the European American Phytomedicine
Coalition. Israelsen also has acted as an advisor to the National Institutes of
Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, as an industry liaison to the Food and
Drug Administration’s expert advisory committee on ephedra, and as an advisory
board member for the Office of Technology Assessment’s Working Group on Dietary
Supplement Regulation. Further, he was an expert panel member for both the
Institute of Food Technologists’ 2005 Functional Food Report and the Department
of Defense/RAND study concerning regulation of dietary supplements in the US
military.
“Loren is a widely respected source of rational perspectives and insights into
the regulation of herbs and dietary supplements in the United States,” said
Blumenthal. “He is a close friend and trusted advisor to numerous people in and
outside the American herb industry, including many researchers and integrative
healthcare practitioners. I am deeply grateful for his long-term friendship and
for the support he has given to so many people over the past three decades. He
has really been instrumental in helping to build a sense of community among
many responsible elements of the herb community.”
“To receive an award
named after one of my great mentors for contributing to the betterment of the
herbal community is as great an honor as I can imagine,” said Israelsen. “We
all follow in the footsteps and on the shoulders of so many who devoted their
hearts and minds to the protection and advancement of botanical medicine and
its traditions and culture.”
“Being honored as one who has tried to carry on that tradition, in the hope of
building the herbal community, warms my heart beyond words,” he continued. “My
thanks to the American Botanical Council for being a strong and clear voice of
our community and for extending the hand of friendship and recognition through
this award.”
“Loren is one of those rare jewels that this industry is highly fortunate to
have in its midst. His measured, thoughtful, and insightful approaches to the
issues and challenges we face on a daily basis reinforce not only his value — but
also his values — to the greater community. The UNPA staff and all of its
members laud this award and look forward to many more years of his wisdom and
leadership,” said Frank Lampe, vice president of communications and industry relations
for UNPA, who has known and been a colleague to Israelsen for more than 27
years.
Past recipients of the Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award include
renowned herbalist and author Rosemary Gladstar (2012) and Herb Pharm
co-founder Sara Katz (2013).
The ABC Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award was presented to Israelsen
at the 10th Annual American Botanical Celebration and Awards Ceremony on March
5 in Anaheim, California. The ABC event occurred during the NEXT Innovation Summit
(formerly Nutracon) nutrition, natural products, and dietary supplements
conference and Natural Products Expo West.
The ABC Botanical
Celebration and Awards Ceremony was underwritten by generous contributions from
the following members of the herb, dietary supplement, and natural products
industry:
Alkemist Labs Amin Talati & Upadhye ChromaDex EuroPharma Horphag Research Indena USA Martin Bauer Group MegaFood
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Natural Factors
Nutritional Products New Chapter New Hope Natural Media PlusPharma RFI Ingredients Ryan Turner Specialty Traditional Medicinals United Natural Products Alliance
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