Herbs in American Fields: A Horticultural Perspective of Herb and Medicinal Plant Production in the United States, 1903 to 2003

Abstract

Herbs, plants that represent a broad group of aromatic and medicinal species, are relatively minor horticultural crops in the U.S. compared with other garden and field species. Yet, human societies have developed an intimate relationship with herbs, making these plants more important than mere acreage or crop production reports would indicate. Anyone doubting the significance of these plants need only to think of an apple pie without cinnamon, a pizza without oregano, a headache without aspirin, or a childhood leukemia patient without vincristine to appreciate the ways in which herbs influence the quality of life, providing flavorings, medicines, fragrances, and a host of other substances that delight the senses and cure aliments. Herbs are ornamentals for gardens and landscapes and reservoirs of chemicals to calm and enhance the human spirit. Herbs and herb extracts are a collection of flavorings for our foods and beverages and pharmaceuticals for treatment of our afflictions. Estimates suggest that 75% of the world∑ s population relies on plant-based medicines for primary healthcare and that populations using pharmaceutical drugs obtain about 120 prescription drugs from higher plants (Abelson, 1990). Without herbs and medicinal plants humans would likely exist in a much-reduced state. Over the past 100 years, herb production in the U.S. has varied considerably, following medical and culinary trends within American society. Generally, commercial production of herbs was strong from 1903 to 1939, declined from 1940 to 1969, and increased from 1970 to today. These changes were influenced by several factors, including the need for plants as medicines, the development of organic chemistry, shifts in population demographics, searches for alternative farm crops, changes in food preferences, activities of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), concern for plant diversity, and passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The total crop land currently devoted to commercial production of herbs and medicinal plants in the U.S. is about 187,000 acres, relatively small compared with crops such as popcorn (337,000 acres), tomatoes (414,000 acres), or peanuts (1,352,000 acres) (USDA, 1999). Because herbs are a minor horticultural crop in the U.S., relatively little research has been done on the production and protection of herbs during the past 100 years and only a minimal amount of production and trade data have been recorded. A WELL-ROOTED BEGINNING: 1903–1939