ChaKation: Edible Plants

Monday, October 14, 2013

Edible Plants

Spring is here again. I wonder food at the grocery store is as healthy as when people would hunt and forage for food near their homes. I enjoy having a greater choice of fruit, berries and nuts at the store, yet think about how many people might die in the wilderness every year. Their body found next to an edible plant.

Not surprisingly, most garden plants are edible. The only reason it is not edible is because people use pesticides to keep aphids and other pests from eating it. Plant might attract pest to the home. Realistically it is better, because even with pesticides grass and most flowers will not kill the cat, dog or baby quickly and probably not at all. It is a concern seeing poisonous plants in people's yards. Fox glove produces an attractive flower, yet if the dog eats it, it is guaranteed death.

Though feeling healthier and affluent with the wider variety of foods like oranges and avocado, it seems as though something is missing. There is an increasing demand for milk weed, milk thistle, dandelions and many more edible plants in the form of capsules. It is as though placing it into a capsule makes it easier to swallow.

Malnourishment is probably the biggest issue in the United States. Several diseases are caused by malnourishment; ergo, a person could assume if they need to supplement, there is an arena of nourishment that is not fulfilled. Over half the time, missing vitamins and minerals are available in the wilderness. Sometimes plants are as close as an empty field or wildlife conservatory.

There are many reasons to become familiar with the common wild plants of an area. There is no foreseeable reason to believe catastrophe will make the food supply disappear from grocery stores everywhere, yet it would be nice to return to eating simple meals.

Already knowing some edible plants like dandelion pedals, nettles and milk weed are edible, there are stories wherein dandelion and milk weed soup might be a preferable dinner. Unsure how to make these meals this spring or summer I am going to get a book about edible plants. This will help in identifying edible plants around here and then try to make an appealing meal.

I think it will be tough. Picking plants is easy, yet making it taste good is probably hard. I am not going to go full Forager about this activity. In the event of an emergency it will be easy to get kerosene and candle stoves. I can play with recipes in the kitchen. It is just an idea. After practice maybe something tasty will happen.

I enjoy being outdoors and hiking. It is nice being able to go and do things. It also feels like everything in society has an orientation to sell stuff and it would be nice knowing survival is possible without conforming to the societal rules of working or depending on someone supplying work.

Frequently people use animals as the example of why people should not do something. I feel people have gotten too far from the beliefs of living on and with the land. We have become complacent with marketing and misinformation about manufacturing and how grocery stores get supplies. Everything we have is from the earth. It is just being moved around. Even chemicals are inert chalk when the counter part of the chemical is reintroduced. Why not go out to a field and pick some flower and live off the land?

Related Article
Health Food?
Tree Lichen
Urban Wildlife

No comments:

Post a Comment

Join the discussion by leaving a comment.