In the past few days, at the invitation of Dr. Shi Yan, I joined a kind of public welfare activity, focusing on the safety of crops and seeds. Dr. Shi Yan is an advocate of organic agriculture in China and is very influential in the industry. So why should I join such an agriculture-related organization? Because, I think Chinese medicine and crops are the same, and there are also such problems. If they are not solved, the saying that "Chinese medicine is destroyed by Chinese medicine" is really very likely to happen.
In the past few years, I will often go to the countryside, to the authentic medicinal materials of traditional Chinese medicine, to see the cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, I was the same as most Chinese medicine practitioners before. Most of my understanding of medicines was on paper, and I was completely familiar with the efficacy of medicines written in books. , in this regard, we absolutely believe in pharmacies.
However, when I went down and took a look at the fields and the place where the medicinal materials were processed, I felt that it could only be described as "shocking".
I summarized the problems I saw, roughly divided into two parts, one is in the field of processing and processing of traditional Chinese medicine, which is not covered in this article for the time being, and the other is in the field of planting.
In the process of planting traditional Chinese medicine, like current crops, a large amount of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, bulking agents, etc. are used. I think Chinese farmers have completely lost confidence in the land, so they firmly believe that if these things are not added, they will never grow anything. This is the result I got after chatting with many farmers. I often debate with them , they laughed at me: "If you don't farm the land, you will know everything. How can you do without these things?"
It's a vicious circle, because the use of fertilizers makes the land more and more poor, and the poorer the land, the more fertilizers are used. The same is true of pesticides. Farmers firmly believe that if pesticides are not used, they will cause crop diseases and insect pests. Therefore, the use of pesticides is extensive. The worst thing about this is: the use of pesticides is regulated to a certain extent, but farmers often use excessive amounts or use them at inappropriate times for insurance purposes. For example, some traditional Chinese medicines for flowers are used in large quantities during the picking period pesticide.
Sometimes I look at this problem with a complex mentality. For example, when the high temperature is more than 30 degrees in summer, I am sweating profusely. Looking at the farmers in the field, I also think: weeding in this weather, It's really hard work. When will this endless field be finished? I guess I won't be able to hold on for half an hour, so it's justifiable to use some herbicides, right?
However, these things are more or less harmful to the human body, and even harmful. For example, some herbicides can cause cancer. Which is more important? Is this kind of traditional Chinese medicine a cure or an increase?
Yesterday, I chatted with a brother who is an enzyme maker. I said that the Japanese use enzymes to make fertilizers, which can improve the bacteria in the soil. They can play the role of pesticides and fertilizers, greatly reducing the use of pesticides. You can do the same. Do some research. My brother told me that they have actually done research, but all similar research in China has been fruitless, because the final problem is: the cost of enzyme fertilizer is relatively high, farmers will never use it, and what farmers need is the cheapest pesticides, otherwise they will not make money.
This is the problem. In fact, crops can be grown without or with less use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Dr. Shi Yan’s organic agriculture is very good. The ideas they advocate have influenced many farmers. Improve the soil and grow high-quality crops through various organic methods. However, the cost of this operation will be higher. This requires people to realize that high-quality food is very important to our health. We are willing to In order to maintain your own health, support slightly more expensive agricultural products instead of buying cheap but unreliable food.
The same problem also occurs in the field of traditional Chinese medicine cultivation. Our traditional Chinese medicine cultivation uses chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, herbicides, bulking agents and other drugs to varying degrees. The traditional Chinese medicines grown in this way are flooding the market. For the traditional Chinese medicine I want to study, I will use it to test for pesticides, heavy metals and other residues. When I see the long names of pesticides that have been detected to exceed the standard, my heart is broken. I often think in my heart, if such traditional Chinese medicine is given to patients, is it beneficial or harmful?
Then, the same question, can our land really only rely on pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, bulking agents and other drugs to grow traditional Chinese medicine?
Absolutely not! Foreign pharmaceutical companies purchase traditional Chinese medicines in China, designate regions, set standards, and tell you not to add these things. As a result, all Chinese medicines grown on our land for foreigners are tested for zero residue!
For example, the traditional Chinese medicines sold in the German market are all chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals with zero residues. Even some of our time-honored pharmacies have withdrawn from Germany due to the problem of residues, but the Germans can plant zero residues in China. traditional Chinese medicine!
Why is this? Many people read such articles that reflect the quality of traditional Chinese medicine, and they will shout: "What are the relevant departments doing? Why are they doing nothing?! Where is the law?!" In fact, I think the law is only a part, and the law alone cannot solve this kind of problem For example, on the one hand, your law stipulates that all kinds of drugs must not be added. As a result, farmers will work twice as hard, and some crops will even decrease a lot, but on the other hand, the price remains the same as before, so you still let farmers work hard. ?
Therefore, the market mechanism is very important at this time. Why can foreign companies allow farmers to grow zero-residue traditional Chinese medicine in China? Because they will give a reasonable price for this. As long as I detect zero residues of pollutants in the traditional Chinese medicine you plant, I will give you a much higher price than before, so that all your hard work will be rewarded, and Compared to planting cheap traditional Chinese medicine with various additives, farmers of course like to grow your high-yielding organic Chinese medicine.
This is the crux of the problem. When I visited a large Chinese medicine company five or six years ago, I raised this kind of problem with their leadership, but I raised it several times during the visit, but they didn’t answer it. If I don’t want to talk about it, I just turn to other topics. I think everyone doesn’t know enough about it.
So later I thought, if I have some energy, I will try to work hard on my own. For example, I remember when I just went to Wen County, Jiaozuo, Henan, I saw a farmer selling yams on the side of the road, and the yams were shipped from Shandong, Hebei. I was very surprised. Your village has its own loam. This loam is found in the whole world and in the whole of China. Only your villages have it. What a rare resource it is. It is an authentic medicinal material of traditional Chinese medicine. It depends on you to plant the loam iron rod yam! Why sell sandy yams from other places?
The reason is that planting this authentic loam yam is too strenuous. After planting this kind of yam on a piece of land, it takes eight years to recuperate before planting it for the second time. This is too strenuous, so some farmers feel that it is easier to make money selling yams from other places. .
So I remember talking with their old secretary at that time, I will help you publicize, you should plant the loam iron stick yam well, don't be afraid that consumers will not recognize it, don't worry, it will definitely sell.
I clearly remember what the old secretary said: "Don't worry, you can have as much as you want."
I thought to myself at the time, with such a large land, how could it be possible to have as much land as possible? It would not be enough for consumers to know the benefits of this authentic medicinal material.
As a result, demand soon exceeded supply.
Then, I proposed to plant yams without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other drugs. Some people said that this would reduce the yield by half, and the cost was too high. But this concept has been supported by the growers. I am very grateful to them for their courage. They are willing to try. As a result, the yam I recommend is completely pollution-free and green. No chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides were used during the planting period. . Because the production is reduced by about half, the price will be more expensive. However, consumers are supportive. Everyone knows that it is safer to eat products without any drugs, which will retain the original medicinal properties of traditional Chinese medicine, so such products are becoming more and more popular. welcome.
I think that long-term use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, bulking agents, etc. to grow Chinese medicines will eventually affect the seeds of Chinese medicines. Will the quality and properties of Chinese medicines be changed? This is a very serious issue. If some traditional planting can be preserved, I think it will be of great benefit to the future of Chinese medicine! I'll keep an eye on this.
There are many varieties that I will pay attention to below. For example, recently I started to study tangerine peel. The tangerine peel in Xinhui, Guangdong is an authentic medicinal material. The tangerine peel has the effect of regulating qi, resolving phlegm and eliminating dampness, but it is not easy to make an organic standard. It is estimated that it will take a few years to work hard. If there are growers in Xinhui who are willing to work hard for this, you can contact me and I will support you.
I think such an attempt is meaningful. On this issue, legal constraints are limited, and moral appeals are also ineffective, and market mechanisms are the key to solving the problem. If the market mechanism is reasonable, the quality of traditional Chinese medicine will be improved in the future.
So I hope that more companies and organizations will consider issues from this perspective, and everyone will do it together. Generally, only my fans can know about the products I recommend, which is very limited. If various pharmaceutical companies do the same, more people will benefit, and more varieties of traditional Chinese medicine will be preserved. In fact, foreign companies have set precedents for us. Companies from Germany, Japan, and the United States can grow Chinese medicines with zero residues in China, relying on the market mechanism. If they pass the standard, they will pay a high price, and if they fail, they will return the product, and finally guide the industry. towards rationalization. If our domestic companies can develop organic Chinese medicine from this perspective, and produce products without pesticide residues from ginseng, angelica, atractylodes macrocephala, tangerine peel, etc., I believe consumers will recognize it.
Looking at my circle of friends in the past few days, there are several circles of traditional Chinese medicine in it, and they are talking about the quality of Chinese medicine. Several Chinese medicine practitioners said that now their clinics can only go to the mountains to collect herbs. Such medicines are effective. The traditional Chinese medicine bought outside is not effective. I was also very moved when I saw it. How can the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine be increased by using chemical fertilizers and bulking agents? It's possible that the properties of the medicine have been changed, but we can't ask all Chinese medicine practitioners to go to the mountains to collect medicine, right? I think, in the end, the improvement of the entire industrial chain, so that pharmacies can sell high-quality traditional Chinese medicine, is the final solution!
