Seven Plants to Save the World

Karl Elliot-Gough studied archaeology and anthropology at UCL and is a former musician, producer and record label owner providing aural pleasure from non-genre specific quality electronic music. Twelve  years of research and writing for his first book The Seven Deadly Whites: The Rise of the Diseases of Civilization (Earth Books, 2016). Karl lives in the Sussex countryside with his wife and 4 children and enjoys West German ceramics, a theremin, things megalithic and anthropologic, cycling fast, foraging slow and can sometimes be found taking walks and talks at festivals.

• CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONHuman PlantsThe diseases of civilizationOikonomiaDisconnectionNETTLEHumble pieIt’s a family affairNettle history, ethnobotany and folklore“It’s got more chi, man!”A whole heap of benefitsSide effectsTea terrorists and vulturesEquipoise (ek-wuh-poiz)“Who’s the daddy?”A bit more ChATPhenomenal phenolsThe first epidemiological studyNettles for textilesWhat’s wrong with cotton?The nettle industrial revolutionGet foragingRecipesNettle neglect DANDELIONThe best things in life are freeEtymologicumWhat’s in a name?Chronological cappersWhen folklore was the lawDawn of the lawnThe Big CDuelling with the diureticsWarning!NutrientsPhreaky phytonutrientsThe inconvenient truthMore than an opinionTaraxagumDandelions are proper coolForaging/harvestingCulinary dandelionsFinal word YARROWArmageddonThem Greeks, they knew a thing or twoHistory and namesEthnobotanicalTraditional“It’s all about the phytonutrients, darling!”Axis of Evil leading the way (again) Here’s more countries’ opinionsOTC cash registers on fireAedes albopictus RadiationDivination“Need ya aura cleansing or chakras aligned, Mister?”Anything else?It can’t all be good, can it?Foraging, growing and culinary curiosSummation PLANTAINCanine crisisThe People will not revolt. They will not look up from their screens long enough to notice …Species specificNamesFirst Nation peoples loved themHistoryTraditional usesFirm scientific credentialsForbidden knowledgePsyllium (silly om)Farmers need to become the guardians of the soilCANNABISHuman Plant numero uno?Mary Jane, what’s in the name?“Psst … you wanna buy sum smoke?”Hamp or hempCannabis history, BCADInto the twentieth and twenty-first centuries  Building a better world – HempcreteFabricPaper productionThe decorticatorPlastic, bio-plastic and oilHempireThe seed – healthCBDSome scienceSide effectsSmacked out or stoned?Wrapping it up HAWTHORNBarbs of wisdomHawthorn (Crataegus sp.)BotanicalFolk and ethnographicBubbling up from the depths of timeJesus Christ and the soul of LondonVibrations, green men, fairies and pixilated superstitionsTraditional usesHeart diseaseGlobal scienceFishy science with an industrial whiffEatingPleaching and a smeuseEnclosureIt’s not ‘just’ the land that got stolen/reappropriatedBLACKBERRYBotanically and plantalityChallenging etymologySo little folklore, so much Devil’s pissHistory, ethnobotanic and traditional usesAny problems?The biggest threat to the future of all Gaia’s organismsLast scientific studies to digestCan’t get away from those polyphenolsThe B17 storyForaging and Shinrin-YokuBlackberry cultivationYum!SOLUTIONAL SUMMATIONSYSTEMIC REFORMATIONHealth systemAn end to the diseases of civilizationMedicineEconomic systemWhat is money?Crypto or Green currency?Show us the moneyA Green-backed economyIndustrial systemBuildingFabricsTransportPetroleumAgricultural systemThe great agricultural mythPermaLife 1:0A nation is only as healthy as the soil it stands uponPermaculture10 acres with planning consentHow to get the land … the peasants are revoltingForest charter, allotments and PCCsLand prices and subsidiesPharmas to farmersCultural systemObscenity lawThe Co-operatorWetiko and follow the moneySocialism?Take a bow, the Seven Plants   APPENDIXNutritional profilesPesticide sprayed since 1950PollutionGDPs vs corporation revenuesHumansHistorical pandemicsBIBLIOGRAPHYINDEX

“Karl Elliot-Gough’s seven chosen plants are supremely beneficial to mankind, yet if noticed at all are condemned as weeds. He passionately makes the case for how they can (and should) spearhead a revolution in tackling the diseased foundations of civilization. I love the audacity of it, the blend of deep research and personal experience, the fearlessness in taking on any authority or dogma, the costed solutions. I have so enjoyed my wild ride with Seven Plants to Save the World, and it leaps straight into my top ten list of all herbal books.”Matthew Seal, co-author of Hedgerow Medicine“This book focuses on seven plants that can change the world but has a much wider reach.  It sets out a way forward that will make our soil healthier, our environment healthier, us humans healthier and ultimately, our economy and quality of life much better - for everyone. Our civilization can go the way of previous failed civilisations, but we understand how to make things right and this book shows the way to avoid the downfall that our ancestors suffered. The answer lies in the soil and in its products, of which we are the most dependent on the health of the plants and animals that the soil nourishes.”Craig Sams, co-founder of Whole Earth, Green & Blacks chocolate and Carbon Gold biochar, and chairman of The Soil Association“What an enthralling journey this book took me on. Outlining so much fascination about the seven plants. Here you will find solutions to a healthier soil, healthier humans and healthier society.  This might be underground now but this book needs to become mainstream as soon as possible.”                      Paul Benhaim, chairman at The Hemp Plastic Company, CEO at Elixinol, and CBD company“Seven Plants to Save the World is a joyously exuberant deep dive into seven very familiar plants, plus a lot of fabulous rabbit holes of curiosity into the culinary, ethnobotanical, political, social and etymological delights of how these plants have interacted with us throughout our history. The seven plants chosen by Elliot-Gough have all sorts of stories to tell, and guide us back to holistic economies, health management, and sustainable social structures to support our health and wellbeing of the future. Although, as he joyfully observes, it is these same plants that appear to be following us around, is it not that they have chosen us?!”Anita Ralph, herbalist and author of Native Healers“Karl Elliot-Goughs book introduces us to the dizzying array of proven health benefits to be offered by the seven herbal champions under discussion. This allows us to fully appreciate the massive contribution that plants make to our health and wellbeing in all vital areas of life. It also provokes consideration of the skills of the professional herbalist and how an understanding of the complexities of plant-based medicine are demanding and go way beyond the mechanistic approach of symptomatic treatment. His ambitious and far-reaching book is packed full of facts and figures. A must read for anybody interested in restoring balance and healing to our culture and how we live on a global scale.”Mary Tassell, herbalist and author of Native Healers“A prodigious labour of love and a remarkable polemic against global consumer capitalism told with enormous energy and wit.”Julian Barker, herbalist and author of Physic and Human Health and it’s Maintenance