Meet Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D.

Purpose

I'll be honest, my vision has always been that herbalism and other dietary supplements, for instance magnesium supplements, would be the first line of support for most people. Fortunately, herbs remain the medicines of the people and as many more embrace the right to produce and use herbs locally in families and communities, the benefits to society will be immense.

My work has always been to acquaint people with the vast amount of good science and thousands of years of human use around the world, confirming the efficacy and safety of so many herbs.

Specialty

My grandmother and great grandmother were herbalists. My grandmother was the community herbalist in Pasadena, CA in the 1920s and 30s. She took a trolley down to Chinatown in Los Angeles and studied with a Chinese herbalist. Interestingly, my first girlfriend in high school had a dad who was a highly successful Chinese herbalist and chiropractor. Although I started out with an interest in western herbalism and western herbs because they were growing all around me, perhaps because of those influences, I did become interested in Chinese medicine, became a licensed acupuncturist, and went to China to study in a traditional hospital.

Many Chinese herbs can be found in neighborhoods everywhere as trees and shrubs and can also be cultivated domestically. My practice of herbalism arises from a blend of western and Chinese historical use, philosophy, and practice, and as a scientist, combined with a strong foundation of science.

Training

For western herbalism I was mostly self-taught, but my dad was a professor of botany, so he taught me a lot about plants when I was young. My grandmother and great grandmothers definitely had an influence on me through their notebooks and writings, and probably through epigenetics. For nearly 40 years I have presented classes on herbal medicine throughout the U.S. and Europe and had the good fortune to be in close contact and conversation with many wonderful herbalists and scientists, which has also helped shape my thinking and practice of herbalism.

I've also been in a number of colleges throughout my life studying botany, chemistry, and medicine, culminating with 10 years of hard science training mostly at UC Berkeley where I finished with a Ph.D. I also taught plant biology and taxonomy there for 7 years.

Teaching

I taught plant biology and native plant labs at UC Berkeley for 7 years. After I received my Ph.D., I taught a California Plant Life course as an adjunct professor. For the last 6 years, I’ve been a teacher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and have offered webinars on functional mushrooms and other topics via online educational platforms. I’ve also presented classes on mushrooms and other herbal topics at conferences like the International Herb Symposium, Breitenbush Herbal Conference, American Herbalists Guild (of which I am a co-founder), Pacific Herb Conference, and large trade show events like Expo West and East, the National Nutritional Foods Association, and others.

Motivation

I love the fact that they arise from the earth just as my food does. They are intelligent beings in my view and a lot of the teachings I've received throughout my life and career have come from my close contact with them. I consider them my most important allies, the trees and forests, fields and meadows, and gardens of which I've had many.

I also love that they are the people’s medicine. If only we would embrace them fully and invite them into our lives, get to know them, and grow them in pots, in our front yard or backyard, or any gardens we have, we would reap amazing benefits, enjoy higher health, and connect ourselves frequently with all the benefits our Earth has to offer.

First Herb Memory

My mother would give my brother and I various teas when we were sick. Perhaps a cup of Ginger or Cinnamon tea. My dad knew all the plants and trees around us. He knew the cultivars and what was in people's yards, food crops, and also wild plants. He knew their names and how to identify them and how they were related to each other, and where they preferred to grow. Throughout my young life I was always asking him about them and that was a good connection with him as well as the plants.