Profile of Paul Stamets

April 07, 2018

Profile of Paul Stamets

Paul Stamets has been a dedicated mycologist for over 40 years. During this time, he has discovered and co-authored several new species of mushrooms, and established countless techniques in the field of mushroom cultivation. He attended Kenyon College and then graduated from the Evergreen State College with a bachelor’s degree. In an Interview with Deal Crunch, Stamets admits his infatuation with mushrooms came from an old habit he had in his youth. “I always stared at the ground and couldn’t look people in the eye, that’s how I found fungi,” He states. His true inspiration was his late brother John Stamets, who traveled to South America in the 70’s in search of “magic mushrooms.” Intrigued by the hallucinogenic effects of psilocybin, Paul spent his time at ESC studying mycology. When finances hindered him from attending grad school, Paul launched Fungi Perfecti in 1980 to continue funding his research. Fungi Perfecti produces and distributes mushroom-related products, and educates the public on the importance of mushrooms to the ecosystem.

Stamets in his younger years by an Agarikon Mushroom

Stamets has been recognized for many different awards and achievements throughout his career, some being the 1998 “Bioneers Award” from the Collective Heritage Institute and the National Geographic Adventure Magazine’s Green-Novator award. He was also named one of the Utne Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World” in their November-December 2008 issue. In 2010 Stamets received the President’s Award from the Society for Ecological Restoration: Northwest Chapter in recognition of his contributions to Habitat Restoration. The list of awards and recognition goes on and on. He has written six books on mushroom cultivation, use, and identification, his most recent being “Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World.” He has expansive research and numerous patents set forth and there will be more to come.

Paul believes that mushrooms are pivotal to protecting human health and saving the planet. He sees the ancient Old Growth forests of the Pacific Northwest as an extremely valuable resource, especially in terms of its fungal genome. Paul’s passion is to preserve, protect, and clone as many ancestral strains of mushrooms as possible from the pristine woodlands. Being the owner and founder of Fungi Perfecti, much of the financial resources generated from sales of his business is returned to sponsor his research. He believes that the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest harbor mushroom species with profound medicinal properties, which is why he is so persistent and eager to be in the field collecting data. Unless we collectively pool our resources, the mushroom genome will become increasingly threatened which puts our own very existence at stake, according to Paul. “At the current rate of extinctions, this last refuge of the mushroom genome should be at the top of the list of priorities for mycologists, environmentalists, and even the government. If I can help advance this knowledge, I will have done my part to protect life on this planet.” Paul adds to this statement that it would not be possible for him to continue his research if it weren’t for the support and contribution of Fungi Perfecti’s customers. As with other rare mushrooms, Paul has discovered and studied over the years, Agarikon has unique properties that could prove key to protecting human and ecosystem health in the years ahead.

Stamets with a large Agarikon mushroom

This might be to our surprise, but fungi are actually more efficient than humans at cleaning up oil spills and contaminated soil or water. In an interview with Mother Earth News, Paul answers to the question “What are some of the ways that mushrooms have been used to clean up polluted sites?” He explains to us that the mycelium of mushrooms are unique in wood-decomposing enzymes, especially cellulases and lignases. These enzymes are molecular disassemblers of not only plants, but complex chemicals as well. Mycelium of oyster mushrooms can eat petroleum products, denaturing them, and the mycelium converts the hydrocarbons into cellular carbohydrates. An example of this would be using mycelium to break down oil, dioxins, as well as nerve gas toxins. In addition to this, mushrooms can be used for water filtration. Mycelium can be grown on woodchips and placed into burlap sacks to filter water run-off, which can contain petroleum products, heavy metals and toxic bacteria. Mushrooms can also be used to treat viruses. Interestingly enough, some mushrooms show antibacterial as well as antiviral properties which with some diseases you need both to treat. In a recent research test that Paul had sent to University of Illinois-Chicago’s Institute for Tuberculosis Research the analysis came back that the agarikon strains was extraordinarily active against XDR-TB, a rare type of tuberculosis that is resistant to even the most effective drug treatments. The Department of Health and Human Services’ biodefense program has found that agarikon is highly resistant to many flu viruses.

This is a Mycoboom

Stamets installing a mycoboom into the water

One event in American history that can relate to Paul Stamets’ research would be the BPA oil spill on the Gulf in 2010. The BPA oil spill opened a lot of people’s eyes to the reality of our industrialization and the effects it has on our environment and ecosystem. In a society so focused on consumerism we neglect to think about where the root of everything comes from, and thus don’t take into consideration the well-being of mother nature and our natural resources. This event can relate to Paul Stamets’ work because his research includes finding ways mycelium in mushrooms can break down chemicals and regenerate to clean up oil. The EPA asked Stamets to help the Coast Guard find ways to clean up waterborne oil spills, so he invented the mycoboom. It’s a burlap tube filled with oyster mushrooms designed to break down petroleum while floating on a slick or barricading a beach. Another event in American history that can relate to Stamets’ work would be the Love Canal disaster of the late 70s. This was before Stamets’ research, but it relates to his work because of the mycelium’s ability to break down chemicals and converting them into cellular carbohydrates and it could have been extremely useful in the cleaning up and decontamination of soil in the affected areas of Love Canal.

Fun Fact: Mushrooms are a part of our ancestry, we share DNA with them, therefore “They have cellular intelligence,” Stamets says. “When you walk through the forest, they leap up in search of debris to feed on. They know you’re there.”