A group of more then 50 academics and other experts launchedpublically a manifest in rejection of the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council’s(ESC) methods and goals. The ESC has currently raised over $90,000 in acampaign to introduce ayahuasca use to a market-driven “certification” systembased on discourses of “safety” and “sustainability”.
We believe that rather than ensuring thesustainability of ayahuasca and the safety of those who use it, the ESCapproach is actually damaging ayahuasca sustainability and practices, and thatsomething urgently needs to be done about this. The statement outlines the followingreasons:· Alarmistcampaign tactics; · Unsupportedclaims that lack of safety, breakdown of traditional means of control, and lackof regulations might cause governments in South America to forbid the use ofayahuasca; · Lackof indigenous representation and insufficient assessment of impact of theirwork on Amazonian indigenous communities;· Unrealisticand inappropriate goals to “clean up sorcery”, and certify ayahuasca retreat centers;· A marketorientation, commercial language and promotion of ayahuasca tourism; · Unsubstantiatedclaims calling for conservation and protection of ayahuasca plants andadmixtures in order to avoid their disappearance; · Overalllack of scientific evidence and rigor and problematic representation ofexpertise in the field; · Lackof transparency about financial benefits and processes;· Misappropriationof the voice of ayahuasca. We urge the ESC Board and staff to re-direct their sweepinggoals with respect to the stewardship of ayahuasca and turn their skillstowards educating foreigners who are interested in the ayahuasca experience. http://psypressuk.com/2014/12/22/good-intentions-and-the-road-to-the-amazon/
*************************************************************
* Anthropology-Matters Mailing List
* http://www.anthropologymatters.com *
* A postgraduate project comprising online journal, *
* online discussions, teaching and research resources *
* and international contacts directory. *
* To join this list or to look at the archived previous *
* messages visit: *
* http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML *
* If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all *
* those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: *
* [log in to unmask] *
* *
* Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new *
* CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com *
* an international directory of anthropology researchers
*
* To unsubscribe: please log on to jiscmail.ac.uk, and *
* go to the 'Subscriber's corner' page. *
*
***************************************************************
|