Digging for the Root

Modern medicine has made many life-saving and life-extending advancements, but for a growing number of people, it isn’t enough. Millions worldwide are instead embracing a more natural and organic approach to health remedies, therapies, and cures, including plant medicines that are centuries old. In the U.S. alone, the market for herbal medicines and supplements reached nearly $9 billion in 2018—the strongest sales growth in two decades, according to an American Botanical Council report. Carla Vargas-Frank has witnessed this paradigm shift firsthand in her herbalism practice, and she reflects on why so many people—and in particular, so many marginalized people—are turning to the earth in search of healing.

Producers: Gisela Telis Videographer: Steve Riggs, Bob Lindberg Editor: Steve Riggs Tweet