Free: Not Every Herbalist is Human: Zoopharmacognosy, How Animals use Herbal Med

Not Every Herbalist is Human:
Zoopharmacognosy, How Animals use Herbal Medicine

FREE online class: with Richard Mandelbaum.

June 25, 2026 - 6:30 - 8:00 PM ET. Zoom. Free.

Have you ever wondered how people discovered and developed the safe and effective use of botanical remedies in the first place? Fascinating conversations almost always follow this question, but what if it's the wrong question to be asking?
In reality, herbal medicine is far older than humanity, and not every herbalist is human. It is now well-documented both anecdotally and increasingly in the scientific literature that animals regularly and deliberately ingest medicinal and psychoactive plants and fungi. In addition, cultures around the world maintain animal-usage origin myths of sacred, ceremonial, and medicinal plants. In this class we'll review the current published research in the growing field of Zoopharmacognosy-the study of how animals utilize natural remedies for the prevention and therapeutic treatment of disease. And perhaps most importantly, we'll discuss what this all eans for us as herbalists and people who use herbal remedies, and its profound pact on our relationship to our fellow animals, the plants, and the planet.

Hosted by David Winston's Center For Herbal Studies