Uninhibited roots

Today I toured the manufacturing site and laboratory for my new job. They make all of the supplements, extracts, etc. there. One of the botanists was explaining to us how they tested samples of the raw material to be sure they'd received the correct material and that it was unadulterated.

He talked about how herbs that are made from the root of the herb are stronger when taken only from the root. He said he can tell if the raw material he received was cut higher up and therefore has more chlorophyll compared to his standard for the herb. This led me to wonder if he can tell whether insects have impacted the plants, and how much, and if certain insects, or certain degrees of impact made the herb unusable for our purposes. To answer me, he explained that, as part of the natural environment, the impact of insects didn't matter much. This didn't surprise me (biology 101), but interestingly enough, he said that some herbs grown in controlled environments failed due to the lack of insects and climate challenges. It is the insects, the droughts, the floods, etc. that give herbs the elements that we're looking for and that makes them more potent. So as long as the root is cut right, it's best to be grown in an uninhibited environment.

It sounded as if the climate challenges and insects built up the plants defenses--gave them character. Doesn't it go to show then, that challenges make us more potent, give us character? I'd like to think that it's best to grow uninhibited so that we can reach our potential, even if that means facing challenges.