Not only are our herbs the most sustainably grown in America, but they're also guaranteed: pure, safe and effective. At Oregon's Wild Harvest, we are proud to offer Oregon Tilth and USDA certified organic, and biodynamic herbs fresh off our own Demeter Certified Biodynamic® farm. And from seed to plant to package, they receive a tremendous amount of TLC. Providing this kind of care and attention means we never compromise on the quality of our herbs. As a result, we maintain one of the strictest set of standards, so only the very best plant material actually make it into our products.

Major Similarities Between Certified Biodynamic and Certified Organic:

• The following CANNOT be used: GMOs, antibiotics and growth hormones
• Conventional pesticides and herbicides are NOT allowed
• Farm land must be free of all prohibited substances (Biodynamic standards are stricter than organic) for three years before attaining the certified seal

Major Differences Between Certified Biodynamic and Certified Organic:

• Certified Organic: Established in the US- 2002
• Certified Biodynamic: Established in Europe in 1928 and US in 1985

• Certified Organic: Allows unlimited organic fertilizers and pesticides to be imported
• Certified Biodynamic: Most materials used for fertilizers and pesticides must come from recycling the farm's own organic materials (ex. livestock manure, compost...)

• Certified Organic: Allows unlimited organic livestock feed to be imported from anywhere
• Certified Biodynamic: At least 80% of the livestock feed must come from the farm

• Certified Organic: No Biodiversity Requirements
• Certified Biodynamic: At least 10% of the farm must be left as a habitat for biodiversity

• Certified Organic: Only a portion of the farm (ex. 1 acre) can have this certification
• Certified Biodynamic: The entire farm needs to fit all requirements to be certified

• Certified Organic: A general standard is used for processing across various types of products
• Certified Biodynamic: There are 12 specific standards that are designed to fit specific product types (only minimal manipulation is allowed)

After working with medicinal herbs for many years, Oregon's Wild Harvest has developed a complete understanding of their complexity though various forms of research. With this knowledge, we always choose to formulate each individual herb in its safest most effective form (whole, standardized or a combination of both). In the end, we want you to understand their differences. This is why we've prepared some basic facts to assist you.

Major Similarity between Whole Herbs and Standardized Herbs

• Certain herbs offer a higher level of therapeutical activity in the whole form, while others do as a standardized extract

Major Differences between Whole Herbs and Standardized Herbs

• Whole: The traditional way plants have been used for medicinal purposes by many cultures for hundreds of years - making it the basis of modern medicine
• Standardized: A relatively modern practice developed out of the drug model, and based on a belief that isolated constituents have pharmacological activity in the body

• Whole: The plant is simply dried and used in various products including tea or encapsulated, with nothing added or taken away
• Standardized: The plant is chemically altered using alcohol (or another solvent) to yield a guaranteed level of one or more constituents - known as a "marker" constituent - which is then dried, often spray-dried onto a carrier such as Maltodextrin, resulting in a concentrated powder

• Whole: Contains all the constituents (sometimes hundreds), which experts believe act synergistically for balanced healing
• Standardized: Constituents are chemically isolated, which may create more prevalent side-effects