Should MAPS break up with Amazon? by Phillip Balke
Preface
Hello there CTMS! This is your president with an article for y’all. My goal is to have two articles a month for the Blog, one covering social issues and the other covering mycological science. This the social one for the month. Stay tuned for the science one.
Introduction
On June 30, 2020 the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, MAPS, announced that they had brought in $4,125.38 in the first quarter of 2020 and $42,361.22 in total via Amazon Smile on their Instagram feed which caused the comment section to become fiery as they sometimes do.1,2 Several other mushroom friends shared the MAPS post and received backlash. People were upset with MAPS for taking money from Amazon through the Amazon Smiles program.
Why would people be upset about it? What’s the big deal with taking money from Amazon? If they want to give it away, why not take some? Are they mad at MAPS or at Amazon? Is it worth the negative social implications of taking money from Amazon in the pursuit of a goal? As MAPS is a fixture in the greater mushroom community simply because psychedelic mushrooms fall under the umbrella of what they teach and research, I felt it would be a worthwhile topic for exploration. Hopefully this essay will provide the reader with some information about MAPS and their research, as well provided context for the controversy.
Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy & Maps
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies or MAPS is 501(c)3 Non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.3 They have researched the various therapeutic benefits of LSD-, Ayahuasca-, Cannabis-, Ibogaine-, and MDMA- assisted psychotherapy.4,5,6,7,8,9,11 Though MAPS has yet to research the therapeutic benefits Magic Mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis) or the psychedelic component Psilocybin, they do assist in research participant recruitment for other researchers that have.10,11 They are also currently recruiting for a Phase 3 Clinical Trials for their therapy protocol and hope to have MDMA-assisted psychotherapy an FDA prescribable treatment for PTSD by 2022.
Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy is less about the drugs themselves (though they all have different ways of affecting our brains which is fascinating but beyond the scope of this article) but rather the experience and how the person undergoing therapy integrates the experience into a series of sessions with a therapist team.9,11 Protocols can vary from study to study but the general trend is first the therapy participant meets with the therapy team for several sessions to build a report, explore the cause of the PTSD, any emotional triggers, and what to expect on the psychedelic experience. Then the therapy participant goes in for an extra long session in which the drug is given by the therapy team. The participant usually lies on a couch or in a bed and is encouraged to “surrender to the experience.” The therapist team supports and helps guide participants through any potential difficult moments throughout the session, as well as general wellbeing things like getting the participant water or walking to the restroom. After the experience the participant will meet again with the therapy team to discuss the experience, the lessons to be drawn, and process an ineffable experience.
This method of therapy is proving very effective at treating PTSD, as well as helping people quit smoking cigarettes and overcome opioid addiction, treatment resistant depression, and end of life anxiety associated with a terminal diagnosis.9,11 Participants describe being able to see their lives or trauma with some distance, which gives the memory a new perspective or less powerful in the moment. Or so powerful that the surrender and subsequent rebuilding up of the self, the trauma releases its hold on the psyche. Psychedelics disrupt the story we tell ourselves by disrupting our neurochemistry and specifically a neural network called the Default Mode Network.13,14 Having this treatment legally available would certainly save lives or dramatically improve the quality of life in a terminal diagnosis.
Amazon & Amazon Smiles Foundation
Research however, and particularly medical research at the scale of t he current MAPS MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy phase 3 clinical trial, is expensive and this is where Amazon Smile enters the picture. As a non-profit organization, MAPS takes donations from a variety of sources, what is the wrong with taking money from Amazon to further the cause? Amazon Smiles Foundation donates 0.5% of the sales from certain items you purchase on the Amazon website to the charity of your choosing, MAPS being one choice of many.15 This donation occurs without any extra cost to the Amazon customer, so they can feel good how their purchase new belt sander (not all items apply) also helps fund research into psychedelics. The Amazon Corporations operates the Amazon Smiles Foundation and covers all administrative expenses.
The Amazon Smiles Foundation (ASF) since its inception in 2013 has contributed $183.12 million ($183,120,221) to thousands of Charities.15 In 2018, the most current data we have about ASF, Amazon gave the ASF $48.84 million ($44,840,018) while bringing in $232.89 billion ($232,890,000,000) in sales, or 0.0002% of the sales income.16,17 During this same time ASF disbursed $37.481 million ($37,481,047) or 83% of the total donation from Amazon, to the various participating charities and put $7.4 million ($7,398,986) into the foundation coffers bringing that total to $19,238,484 from $11,882,127 at the start of the year.16 A trend that has continued from previous years and revenue that avoids being taxed as it is a donation to a charity, which in this case is completely controlled and paid for by Amazon.18 As we can see, a relatively small amount of the money brought in to amazon goes out to the community through Amazon Smiles. Part of this discrepancy comes from the fact that a significant portion of the revenue Amazon generates doesn’t come from online sale. It comes from other sources like the Amazon Web Services and physical store locations such as Whole Foods.
MAPS, Amazon, & Charitable Giving
Now, let’s return to the MAPS post announcing the amount they have received in the first quarter from Amazon $4,125.2 The first financial Quarter of 2020 includes the COVID-19 global pandemic, which is ravaging the United State particularly hard. As people physically distance and all but completely shift their consumer purchases to online retailers, Amazon has seen a boost in their retail sales, as well as increased TV show and movie rentals through their streaming services due to the closure of movie theaters.19,20 Retail location such as Amazon owned Whole Foods have also received increased sales as people purchase more of the essentials that they used to consume at the workplaces which they now consume, such as toilet paper and cooking more because restaurants are closed.21,22 While the Net income for Amazon was technically down from $3.5 billion in the same quarter last year, they raked in a staggering $2.5 billion, even after donating $4,125 to MAPS. The company is spending $4 billion globally to protect workers which is cutting into profits some.20 However, before we shed a tear for the corporation valued at $1 Trillion, Amazon expect the trends of growth to continue and have even secured cheap loans backstopped by the federal government.20,23
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, complaints of unsafe working conditions, overbearing tracing of worker activities, and low wages plagued Amazon management who, instead of listening to workers concerns and solving the underlying issue, attempted to thwart workers efforts to organize and for unions.24 The pandemic was simply throwing gas onto an already raging fire.25,26,27 Amazon, the second largest employer in the United States behind Walmart, is spending $4 billion on workers safety, and employs approximately 798,000 people.20,28 This means they are paying $5,012 per worker (or approximately $890 more than Amazon gave to MAPS) to improve the safety conditions just for COVID-19, this has nothing to do with improving the baseline working conditions and basic worker dignity. In 2018, Amazon paid $1.6 million for Jeff Bezos’s personal security detail, we have no reason to assume that isn’t part of their normal business expense.29 On November first of that year management raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour and in the Spring of 2019 it was announced to investors that the median salary at Amazon was $30,096 annually, a $390 increase. Note, this is not the average salary, or the salary most employees get, just the middle of the pay scale for Amazon workers. Without more transparency from the corporation to make a more accurate assessment, we’re only left to listen to the repeat messages from Amazon employee labor activists telling us that the company is taking too much.30 For a crude hypothetical that likely over states the amount Amazon is paying to people, they spend an estimated $24 billion ($24,016,608,000) on labor globally.31 A 10% raise would bring that number to $26 billion ($26,418,268,800), or just under 1% of their total sales their 2019 revenue of $280.52 billion. That is to say, perhaps if the trauma of working for Amazon were mitigated and alleviated by increasing wages and investing in better safety standards, perhaps less people would need the psychedelic assisted psychotherapy MAPS is researching; and also that Amazon can certainly afford to make any necessary changes.
The Dark side of Corporate Charitable Giving
The dominance of Amazon over the Internet in a variety of forms and the sheer ability to generate revenue tends to leave me dumbfounded, for context, Amazon has a gross revenue higher than the GDP of 143 countries around the globe.17,32 Early in 2020, Amazon announced that for the first time since 2016 they needed to pay $1.6 million in Federal taxes (to reiterate, Amazon paid $0 in Federal Taxes in 2017-18), a figure considerably lower than one might expect from a company raking almost 300 billion in total revenue.33 They accomplish this through a variety of means, such as deferrals, exemptions, and deductions to most relevant to this discussion being charitable donations.34 For an example we can look at the Amazon Smiles Foundation again. As stated earlier, ASF has over $19 million in the bank, a figure that has grown to that size year over year.16 While it is true they do give away a lot of money, they are not giving it all away and what they don’t give away, they maintain full control over.
Amazon flies Pan-African Flag while publicly smearing black labor organizers for fightings for their coworkers safety. Particularly insulting to not only the Black workers and organizers they ignore but to the struggle that flag represents.
These donations serve a dual function, the aforementioned tax avoidance and public relations.34 One of the most effective means of accomplishing this goal with charitable giving is to latch on to social movements and causes. The initial reaction may be to reject that notion as cynical and claim that the movements have gained enough public support that the corporations also feel like expressing support, often through public statements, changes in logos, and even financial donations. While this may be true, that is also precisely the point, they only feel comfortable voicing support after movements have reached mainstream popularity and thus profitable. The social movement provides them an opportunity to inject their brand into a larger conversation. For example, Amazon’s support for Black lives is conditional on that Black life’s acquiescence to Amazon’s labor regimes and efforts to stop workers from organizing.
In response to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent uprising for Black lives that swept the United States, Amazon has voice support and donated $10 million to various organization supporting justice and equity for the Black community.35,36 The statement Amazon released June 3rd states, “Black lives matter. We stand in solidarity with our Black employees, customers, and partners, and are committed to helping build a country and a world where everyone can live with dignity and free from fear.”35 However, two months prior Amazon fired management assistant and a Black man Chris Smalls for organizing a walk out where workers demanded more transparency from Amazon, Personal Protective Equipment for themselves, higher safety standards in response to COVID, among other demands in response to an outbreak in the fulfillment facility he work at (outbreaks are a common occurrence in Amazon warehouses).38,37 Another case in Amazon’s long history of anti-labor behavior.39 Amazon also used their public relations department to publicly smear Mr. Smalls to further discredit the demand and actions he and his coworkers were taking.40 In a similar vein of silencing the voices of workers, in July several Whole Foods employees were sent home without pay and threatened with job loss for wearing Covid-19 masks that said “Black Lives Matter.”41 Completely contradicting the corporation’s own public statement of support for the movement.
Conclusions
After having laid this all out, it should be clear that the people in the comment section were upset that MAPS associated with Amazon, and the justification of those people’s anger. User @_anamalian_’s comment sums this up the best, “Yo, what the heck is all this? I support MAPS every month because I thought y’all had your heads in straight. To be connecting yourselves to Amazon in these times makes me EXTREMELY skeptical of what y’all are actually doing over there. I’m cutting my support right now.”1 MAPS takes donations from small, individual donors who truly believe in the cause MAPS is raising money for, Amazon could care less.3 Frankly though, I have to agree with @_anamalian_, it’s not worth it for MAPS to associate with Amazon.
To start with, Amazon is a terrible company that treats it’s labor force cruelly and cynically exploits social movements for financial gain. Second, if Amazon, as well as other multi-billion corporations and for that matter individuals, wanted to help communities it would be more effective to pay workers more than to give through charity.50 This would have the secondary effect of strengthening the economy because now workers would actually be able to afford consumer goods beyond the basics; that is if the wages cover the basics. A similar sentiment applies to these entities paying taxes, though that needs to be coupled with Federal, State, and Local programs to implement those tax revenues. Amazon is not for the People.
Finally, MAPS has no problem raising money from other sources, not only the small dollar donors, but large sums from people like Tim Ferris.42 They are a multi-million charity, with a Public Benefit Corporation generating revenue for MAPS in addition to the charitable donations.43,44 The approximately $42 thousand from the Amazon Smiles Foundation is a small fraction of this total revenue, it likely wouldn’t be missed. Especially in light of backlash among grassroots supporters who, if organized, could be a pain for MAPS as this is probably the smallest of criticisms to be levied at MAPS’s actions (which will follow in a future blog post.)45,46,47,48,49
P.S. MAPS has been able to get to this point in their research with documented benefits and no harm caused to anyone from taking the drug. Multiple states have fully legalized cannabis. There is absolutely no justifiable, scientific or moral, reason to keep the substances that MAPS researches as Schedule 1 and illegal. More importantly the people imprisoned for possession and distribution of those substances to be released from prison, have their records expunged, and reparations paid for the draconian War on Drugs. Drug addiction is a mental illness, not a crime but that is also another article for the future.
Works Cited
Psychedelics and Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy:Clinical Implications
The Toilet Paper Shortage Is More Complicated than You Might Think
‘I'm not a robot’: Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse
Amazon reveals what typical U.S. worker makes after its minimum-wage bump
What might happen if Amazon gave a raise to their employees?
Amazon donates $10 million to organizations supporting justice and equity
Amazon fires warehouse worker who led Staten Island strike for more coronavirus protection
Amazon’s Aggressive Anti-Union Tactics revealed in Leaked 45-min Video
Amazon exec Labeled Fired Worker ‘not smart or articulate’ in Leaked PR notes
Whole Foods Punished Workers For ‘Black Lives Matter,’ suit Says
Inclusion of people of color in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: a review of the literature
How researchers and advocates of color are forging their own paths in psychedelic-assisted therapy
Millionaire Couple is Threatening to Create a Magic Mushroom Monopoly
How raising the federal minimum wage would help working families and give the economy a boost
Endophyte? I think it might...be
When it comes to fungi, there seems to be nothing left untouched by it, and that's no complaint. Fungi are responsible for decomposition, contribute to soil remediation, can be made into bricks to build homes with, made into coffee substitutes, and so on and so on.
When it comes to fungi, there seems to be nothing left untouched by it, and that's no complaint. Fungi are responsible for decomposition, contribute to soil remediation, can be made into bricks to build homes with, made into coffee substitutes, and so on and so on. You'd think there would be some limited capacity for them to be so integrated and so fascinating.
That is, until the world of endophytes, microbes that live in plants, came along. That’s when everything about fungi got a whole lot more complicated and fascinating. Every plant has a fungal association; some of these fungi can harm the plant, which can lead to the production of secondary metabolites that give way to medicinal properties. Others boost a plants vitality in a number of ways, including increasing drought-resistance. Fungal endophytes are a wonderfully complex frontier of microbiology that has been turning a lot of heads and flipping what we thought we knew about plants upside down.
Let's look at capsaicin, the spicy chemical irritant you feel when eating a jalepeño or chili pepper. This chemical is produced within the fruit as a secondary metabolite, which is a chemical self-defense mechanism. Researchers have recently discovered that a fungal endophyte associated with pepper plants also creates capsaicin and now believe the reason why peppers taste spicy is because of this fungal relationship.
There are plenty of other examples of this too! When researching endophytic fungus and medicinal plants, there are numerous examples of host plants and their fungal counterparts creating the same chemical constituent. Is this a coevolutionary trait of fungal endophytes and their hosts or is it a sharing of genetic material between plant and fungi? I don't know the answer but whatever is happening, I'm sure glad fungi have something to do with it.
Natalie DURAN
Natalie Duran is Dia Luna Arts, a multi-craft, one woman-owned, and nature-inspired business. Natural colors, sacred geometry, and herbal healing properties are a common place in Natalie Duran's art. She wildcrafts nature's gifts and turn them into her own creative design as a way of perpetuating love back to the world. 90% of the herbs used are straight from Natalie's garden, the other 10% is either ethically wildcrafted or locally sourced from Austin. From loose herbal incense to hand collected butterfly wings turned to jewelry, she strives to share her passion of sustainability and love for nature through art. See her art at https://www.etsy.com/shop/DiaLunaArts
Video Series: Fungi, Art, and the War on Drugs
This talk by Angel Schatz (@forage.atx) is about mushrooms in art. It focuses on the "war on drugs" at the start of colonialism, into the '60s and '70s, and into the modern use in contemporary art, movies, video games, and more.
This talk by Angel Schatz (@forage.atx) is about mushrooms in art. It focuses on the "war on drugs" at the start of colonialism, into the '60s and '70s, and into the modern use in contemporary art, movies, video games, and more. You will see how the spiritual was replaced with the material and the collective consciousness was replaced with individualism and art as a commodity grew out of this paradigm. This event was a part of our on going lecture series, if you appreciate the content, we hope that you can support our mission by donating or becoming a CTMS member at centraltexasmycology.org.
VIDEO REFERENCES
Disney Mushroom Dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJYN1d3f2dc
PBS Prototaxites Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G64DagHuOg
Matango Japanese Horror
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=sVyRYjJoZfc
One Step Beyond : ABC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UuHrm2tHvE
Wormwood: MKUltra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b01DL8DTUGM
Last of Us: Cordyceps Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2TDx5Iqmd4
Hannibal: Amuse Bouche Episode Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvJPEJCV9sY
Mycelial Network Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaBtvH7os0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii0VFoup-wk
Entangled Life
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBiudpflFRI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
July Foraging Forecast
With the recent rain, chanterelle season may go into July. Last July 4th, I spotted a Lobster Mushroom in McKinney Roughs so anything is possible when it continues to rain. Click images to learn more and to see where to find them! Also, don't forget to add your finds on the Mushrooms of Texas project on iNaturalist. Follow my adventures @forage.atx.
July Featured Product and Giveaway.
FEATURED PRODUCT & GIVEAWAY
Fallen Oaks Mushroom Coffee
Fallen Oak Mushrooms is based in Austin and sells mushroom products and is also and a mushroom farm. This featured coffee is a delicious, high-quality, organic, fair-trade coffee via Texas Coffee Traders in Austin, TX blended with foraged Chaga that we import and blend ourselves as well as Cordyceps Militaris extract powder. The ratio and mixture are intended to complement the coffee in both flavor and energy. Fallen Oaks is very proud to source Cordyceps from both our own farm as well as collaborating with nearby Cordyceps growers. This is such an exciting time for Mycology and the broader health and environmental communities!
Become a member of CTMS and be entered in a win mushroom coffee! (Winner will be announced in August. Drawing will include all CTMS members.)
MycoResearch Station at Circle Acres
Quick update from the Circle Acres Research Station crew June 2020.
The MycoResearch Station at Circle Acres is a volunteer-run outdoor space for growing, learning, and experimenting with fungi. We are lucky to have built a relationship with a local mushroom farm that provides us with their spent blocks. These blocks have already produced once or twice, but they will keep producing if kept in the right environment!
Prior to social distancing measures, we would bring in volunteers and host workshops at the site. Recently, we have been maintaining the site and passing along the mushrooms we grow to Food Not Bombs - a non-profit that cooks vegan meals for local houseless populations.
Courtney, our program manager, recently built a wooden box with a glass window to be able to watch the mycelium grow - ant farm style! We are excited to get this started and use this new tool to educate the public.
While we are not hosting volunteer days right now, the site is still open for people to come walk around and harvest mushrooms! Just make sure you know what you’re collecting. If it’s coming from our mushroom beds or greenhouse, it’s more than likely safe to consume, but it’s still good to have some basic identification knowledge!
We are always looking for new project ideas and ways to educate more people about mycology. If you have an idea, want to learn more, or volunteer with us, please reach out to us on Instagram (@mycoresearchstation)!
Oyster and Pioppino mushrooms fruiting on mulch.
Pioppino Mushroom fruiting from spent block.
Myco-heterotrophs: Parasitic Plants from Texas to California
As humans we have associations with other organisms that we wouldn’t be able to survive without. When we eat a salad, our gut cannot degrade the cellulose/lignin making up the salad greens. Therefore, we rely on our gut microbiota to do most of that work. If our microbes colonizing our gut couldn’t do this for us, then we wouldn’t absorb any nutrients and energy from the salad. Digestion would not occur.
Photography Tips for Mushroom Identification
Now that most of us carry camera phones, it’s a great idea to capture the mushrooms you see in the wild that want to identify. Here are some tips for taking photos so that you can share them with experts online.
With smart phones and AI, it is easier than ever to get help with mushroom identification but be warned it’s ALWAYS important to get an expert to validate especially if you plan to eat the mushroom. Don’t be afraid to get up close and use your macro settings. All mushroom can be touched so don’t fear. Here are some tips for taking photos Jeremy Even Flint to help increase your chances of getting a positive identification.
Once you are done taking photos add your observations to iNaturalist, get the AI suggestion and then post your guess on our Facebook group, tag us on Instagram or send us an email. We are here to help!
1. Take Pictures of the mushrooms undisturbed in their natural environment. What kind of trees and plants are around? If it’s growing from wood, what kind?
2: Take Clear and detailed shots of the top of the cap.
3. Take Pictures of the Underside Where Spores are Released
Make sure stem is attached, you can also use a knife of trowel to dig under soil to make sure the volva and stem stays intact.
4. Take Pictures of the Entire Mushroom, Including the Base
(Especially important in Amanita sp.)
5. Take Pictures of a cross-section
Note any staining that occurs when the mushroom is damaged.
6. Include Context Clues
INCLUDING: Time/Date, Location, Smell, What is it growing from? Wood, soil, grass, leaf litter, sand, mulch.
Learn wild, edible mushrooms fruiting in Texas after rain.
Comes with download of a Wild Edible Mushroom Calendar.
Foraging Stories: Old Man Of The Woods
Wild pig skull found while foraging for chanterelles near Zilker Park.
While out foraging chanterelles, I spotted this huge brown, melanated Old Man Of The Woods (Strobilomyces Strobilaceus). This observation was found up against the trunk of a juniper cedar near Zilker Park in Austin next to a dead wild pig skull. I was surprised to find a pig skull so close to downtown. The only wild pigs I had seen in downtown Austin were the Austin Police Department. Just the day before APD shot “less-lethal” militarized weapons at activists that were protesting against the latest unarmed shooting of Mike Ramos. Several were hospitalized. This happened right before the COVID-19 virus and there still has not been an investigation. With the continued police violence all over the US and the largest uprising against white supremacy, it got me thinking about John Brown, the abolitionist.
Photo by Augustus Washington, circa 1846–1847
"Brown advocated the use of armed insurrection to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. He was dissatisfied with the pacifism of the organized abolitionist movement: "These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!" "In October 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, intending to start a slave liberation movement that would spread south through the mountainous regions of Virginia and North Carolina; there was a Provisional Constitution for the state he hoped to establish. He seized the armory, but seven people were killed, and ten or more were injured. He intended to arm slaves with weapons from the armory, but only a small number of local slaves joined his revolt. Within 36 hours, those of Brown's men who had not fled were killed or captured by local farmers, militiamen, and U.S. Marines, the latter led by Robert E. Lee. He was hastily tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men, and inciting a slave insurrection; he was found guilty on all counts and was hanged. He was the first person executed for treason in the history of the country."
There is a lot of division about tactics that should be used to abolish the economic system that enables a permanent under caste or what scholars call the New Jim Crow. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude—except when applied as punishment for a crime—in the entire United States. There are more black men in prison today than were slaves in 1850. We have the largest prison population in the world and as we continue to make a business out of constructing crimes and demonizing the poor and people of color.
We need to have the same urgency as John Brown had during his time to abolish slavery/prison industrial complex. We have to be unified✊🏻✊🏼✊✊🏽✊🏿 and as tight as a mycelial mass in order to change history. It takes many peaceful protesters, rioters, and looters. We must speak the language that the ruling class understands which is that it cares more about material value than human rights. Kimberly Jones nails it in her video “How Can We Win.”
ABOUT OLD MAN OF THE WOODS
Strobilomyces Strobilaceus, commonly known as Old Man Of The Woods, is a species of fungus in the family #Boletaceae. Fruit bodies are characterized by very soft dark grey to black pyramidal and overlapping scales on the cap surface. Mushrooms contain a high quantity of melanin, a dark brown or black pigment which provides color and helps protect them from harsh environments such as those found in areas of radiation exposure.
June Featured Mushroom Product and Giveaway
As things heat up in Central Texas, we recommend you try the popular functional mushroom, Cordyceps militaris. Cordyceps are used to support: energy, lung health, immune health, adrenal health, and so much more. Known popularly as the “zombie fungus” this species of cordyceps parasitizes moth larvae in the wild and controls the movement of the insect to best disperse the spores. Mushroom Revival, the largest and only certified organic cordyceps militaris mushroom grower in the western world, grows this mushroom on a rice-based substrate. They then extract it with hot water and alcohol to bring out a rich array of cordycepin, adenosine, mannitol, 1,3-1,6 beta-glucans, polysaccharides, and more.
We also want to welcome Mushroom Revival to Austin! Alex Dorr and the team have recently relocated to Austin from Massachusets. Let's show them all the fungal treasures Austin has to offer! Be sure to follow them, check out their functional mushroom products, and listen to their educational podcast.
Become a member of CTMS and be entered in a win a supplement of Cordyceps Militaris from Mushroom Revival! (Winner will be announced in July. Drawing will include all CTMS members.)
