Reply #3: I heard this discussed on NPR this morning.

[LWolf]

I believe that it is definitely propaganda to discredit herbals. I buy organic herbs. I don't think that means no heavy metals; I haven't looked at certification requirements in some years, but I don't think they test the soil. I think "organic" is a definition pertaining to how crops are weeded and fed.

Environmental degredation is a fact; it would be interesting to do soil tests on all our cropland and see what the levels of heavy metals are. Of course, if growing crops on contaminated soil or in contaminated air (?) or with contaminated water is the problem, it won't be just herbs that are affected.