TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN NORTH AMERICA: OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL FARMS?

Since 1970 when former President Nixon went to China, many Americans have become familiar with acupuncture and Oriental medicine, having either visited a practitioner or knowing someone who has.

Especially since 1994, when our small mid-Hudson Valley farm was founded to grow Asian medicinal plants, the word-of-mouth popularity of this modality has increased considerably.  High Falls Gardens’ experience suggests that traditional medicine holds promise as a means for many small farms to improve their bottom line.

GROWING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

National health statistics show that Acupuncture  and Oriental Medicine (A&OM) is gaining more of the alternative medicine dollar, most of which is out-of-pocket. While visits to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners declined overall in the decade ending in 2007, visits to A&OM practitioners tripled during that period (1).

Oriental medicine in the U.S. now consists of more than 22,000 professionals licensed in over 40 states, national certification under the U.S. Dept. of Education, more than 50 accredited graduate schools, and many professional associations at the state and national level (2).

More at

http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2011/01/09/traditional-chinese-medicine-in-north-america-opportunities-for-small-farms/