At 80 years 'young', Dr. Tso-cheng Chang is a glowing testimony to the berries he has grown on his vineyard in rural Massachusetts for over twenty-two years. Full of vitality and looking much younger than he is, Dr. Chang puts in a full day at his berry vineyard, and later also oversees his well known restaurant in near-by Amherst, Massachusetts.

“In China,” Dr. Chang explains, “there is a saying that food is medicine and medicine is food”. This thinking underlies how millions of people were able to successfully maintain a high level of health and vitality for thousands of years before the advent of modern medicine and nutrition.

The Journey From China

Born in China in the late 1920’s, Dr. Chang left for Taiwan in 1948 - shortly before Mao Zedong assumed control. Forced to leave his father, mother and siblings behind, and with no guarantee of help from anyone in Taiwan, he arrived in 1948 to an uncertain future - with only the things he could carry and the desire for a better life. Eventually, through hard work and the drive he has displayed throughout his life, Dr. Chang earned an undergraduate degree in Agronomy from Taiwan University in 1953.

After graduation, Dr. Chang took a position with the Taiwan Sugar Institute. This brought him into contact with a visiting professor from the United States. Impressed with the young man’s scholarship and drive, the professor helped Dr. Chang enroll in Michigan State University, where in 1966 he earned an M.S. in Crop Science. To accomplish this, he had to leave his wife and two children behind, and for four years did not see them, nor was he able to speak with them. Every month he would take his meager stipend, buy the largest bag of rice he could find and a few other staples, and send whatever money was left home to his family. He had no social life to speak of and spent nearly his entire waking hours, seven days a week, studying. The only personal time he allowed himself was when he cooked his food once each week – carefully portioning it out so he would only need to spend 30 minutes a day preparing and eating lunch, and 30 minutes a day preparing and eating dinner. The rest of the time was spent in pursuit of his degree.

Dr. Chang - an Early Champion of ‘No Herbicide Usage’

Upon graduation, Dr. Chang went to work for a large U.S. multi-national corporation. He soon saw the direction his company was taking in its recommendation for the use of herbicides. It became particularly troubling to him when he was assigned to oversee the company’s work in Taiwan. Dr. Chang knew from his earlier experience that unlike large farms in the U.S. where a certain percentage of fields could be left fallow each year (the erroneous thinking at the time was this would allow the herbicide to decompose and thus not be a hazard to the environment), all farms in Taiwan were very small and constantly in use. He wisely reasoned that if Taiwanese farmers used herbicides as recommended, these herbicides would quickly build up in the soil and eventually end up in the water supply. He correctly saw the potential health threat to the environment as well as all who ate the crops from these fields, both farmer and consumer.

Dr. Chang took this sobering message to his company’s top management. He was most likely the first ‘inside’ person of this ‘famous corporation’ to ever do this, and deserves recognition for the courage to broach the subject at a time when young people with careers in mind were told to keep quiet and not make waves! Management literally laughed at him and told him they would not, under any circumstances, change their direction. He promptly and courageously resigned!

A Return to Academics – University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Dr. Chang returned to academic pursuits and enrolled at the University of Massachusetts. Here he received his Doctorate in Plant Science in 1973. At this time his family was able to join him.

Farm Purchased While Still A Student

In 1973, while still a student at U-Mass, Dr. Chang founded his now famous restaurant (Amherst Chinese) to help support his family while he completed his degree. In 1976, he purchased a farm in near-by Whately with the idea of providing fresh vegetables for his restaurant’s patrons. It was situated within a few hundred yards of the Connecticut River, an area known to be some of the richest farmland in America. This purchase proved pivotal as the restaurant became locally famous for its fresh vegetables, often picked that morning by Dr. Chang's own hand. Soon it would also become the home of the world’s first Schizandra Berry vineyard!

Dr. Shiu-Ying Hu’s Helping Hand

In the early 1980’s, as more and more people became aware of natural foods and supplements and began recognizing the need to take more control over their own health and well-being, Dr. Chang began searching for that special crop that would fit the ancient saying he was fond of, “food is medicine and medicine is food”. His friend Dr. Shiu-Ying Hu, then at Harvard University and a renowned botanist as well as the world’s leading expert on Chinese herbs, suggested he grow an ancient Manchurian vine that would yield a berry befitting this saying. Enter Schizandra Berry!

In 1985, with Dr. Hu's help, Dr. Chang was able to obtain his first seeds and planted them at the Whately farm. Seven years later he harvested his first berries. This was when the idea first came to him to make a fresh drink – something that had never been done before in all the thousands of years people had been using this berry. Up to this time, schizandra berries were only wild-crafted in remote areas of China. Then they were sun-dried and crushed into powder for use in traditional medicines, or mixed with various foods and drink. No one had ever made a fresh drink from the whole, non-dried berry before.

Dr. Chang Develops First Drink He Names ‘Sandraberry’®

Dr. Chang called his new drink 'Sandraberry'® and now, over ten years later, people come into his restaurant often just to order this delicious, healthy juice. Comments range from: “I simply love the taste, and feel energized when I drink it” to the more direct, “I hope I never have to go without Sandraberry® – ever!”

The Vision Realized

When Dr. Chang planted the first seeds he had a vision. Someday, these seeds would yield a new, valuable crop in the West – benefiting millions of people. Though he had not yet learned of Schizandra Berry's many qualities and uses, he believed it could help other small farmers save farmland from development into more and more housing. Looking at New England’s famed cranberry crop, Dr. Chang noticed how it had to be sprayed every season to maintain quality. He intuitively felt Schizandra Berry could offer growers an ideal alternative: a highly beneficial berry, ideally suited to organic farming practices. As it turned out, Dr. Chang was right on both counts! Why? Because no North American pests or animals seem to like it. Even deer and birds do not bother them. Only a little nibbling by Japanese Beetles has been noticed. And, as science continues to discover, this berry is loaded with healthy, active ingredients. (To learn more about Schizandra's medicinal value, please visit our Health Information section.)

Those who know this berry, and those who will come to know it in the future, owe a bit of gratitude to Dr Chang for his vision and dedication. He kept at it for the pure joy of seeing it grow! He has become a testimony to the idea that if one has a dream, no matter how far away it seems or how impossible others say it may be, it can be realized. That is the only reason why there is now a beautiful vineyard flourishing half a globe away from China, where both man and vine found a new, fertile place to put down roots!