There is Food in the Woods and it’s Yummy
An Intro to Ethical Foraging
You guys, I really hate the word “foraging.” I know, it’s the best we’ve got at the moment, but for some reason all it brings to mind, for me, is some kind of starving creature, snuffling through the understory for twigs and berries, ignoring the basics of civilized agriculture in favor of the dull, woody “forage” of the “wilderness.”
But, you know what? There is no such thing as “wilderness.” Or, maybe there is only “wilderness.” We all live in the forest, or the desert, or the prarie, or the mountains. We just participate in our ecosystems, our metaentities, in different degrees.
Whether we’re talking about veggies we choose to grow, or plants that people label “weeds,” or so-called “invasives,” or things hanging out in the local park, or plants thriving in a nearby “wilderness,” they all fall onto the same spectrum, and it’s awesome to to know how to interact with them.
I also guess that when a lot of people hear “foraging,” they think, “this is something it would be nice to know in case of a Zombie Apocalypse™, or maybe if I’d like to make a ka-ray-ay-ay-zee salad for my pals.” These are perfectly fine reasons to learn how to collect wild edibles, but these arguments miss layers upon layers upon layers of nuance. They depend upon an attitude that seems to say, “foraging for dandelions = eating dandelions,” when the attitude I’d like to propose is healthier for participatory ecology is, “foraging for dandelions = finding a new ingredient for many different dishes!”
Look at that Oregon Grape up there at the very top of the post. This plant is pretty endemic around the Pacific Northwest, sitting in the woods where the soil is a little more alkaline than acidic, all green and pointy and yellowy of flower in early spring and purple-y of berries in the summer and fall. Something you can’t tell from the picture? Those flowers taste a lot like sweet broccoli.
Why not take a nibble next time you find some in the spring? And, if you happen on a ton of berries, why not snag a bagful, and add some salal berries since they usually grow near one another, and craft yourself some tasty jam? PUMP UP THE JAMS, PEOPLE.
See? It’s not “foraging for Oregon grape = eating Oregon grape,” it’s “collecting different parts of Oregon grape so I can use them as ingredients in a recipe.” I could list a few dozen more examples, but I don’t want this to get too long-form. Instead, I want to encourage you to think of “wild” plants as valuable members of your community, who happen to be edible in more than one way, and to talk about how to forage ethically.
How to Forage Ethically
The foundational approach I consider when thinking about foraging is Participatory Ecology: respect for the Metaentity, the local community which includes both the foraged and forager. How do we consider how best to harvest wild edibles while minimizing impact on the communities in which they participate? And, how do we use what we collect in a way that accentuates its own qualities for our benefit, while avoiding other possibilities, like pain, illness, and death? After all, poison hemlock is just as endemic to our area as good ol’ Oregon grape, and poison hemlock is a real jerk.
To this end, there are a few general Rules that should be followed if you’re going to collect wild ingredients. You’ll find a number of variations on these rules, but I’ve distilled them as best I can as follows:
- Unless you’re 100% sure you know what something is, DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH. This is good advice in general, but doubly-so when you’re eating wild foods. I once heard someone of the “plants are all our friends” camp tell a group of people that if they were unsure whether something was edible, they should just ‘try a tiny piece and see how they feel,’ because the plant allies want to ‘help us.’ I honestly wonder whether her students are still alive…. Seriously, take a class, pick up five of the shit-tons of books on foraging, and make sure you know what you’re eating.
- Learn as much as you can about the plants you’ll be collecting in the context of your Metaentity, and forage accordingly. Oregon grape grows like crazy in Seattle, so taking some berries here and there likely won’t have much impact on the local population. In some places, though, it’s not very abundant, so taking that handful of berries from the last specimen might mean wiping out the local Oregon grape population, you genocidal maniac! Your actions have a cascading impact, so pick all the nettle you want, but maybe leave the Trillium alone, okay? Here’s a good place you can check for endangered plants, and learn to not pick them.
- Only take as much as you’ll need. As more and more people get into foraging, more and more of us are going to be out looking for wild ingredients, and that’s awesome! So leave some for the rest of us, ya greedy so-and-so. And, while we’re at it, consider other local metaentities, too. Maybe only pick every third dandelion from the field so the local pollinators still have enough to feast on?
- Correlative to 3: Know what you’re going to do with something before you harvest it. Picking a bunch of plant material without leaving any behind is bad enough, but then letting it turn into green goop in your crisper because you don’t know what to do with it? HAVE SOME DIGNITY, PEOPLE.
- Take your surroundings into consideration. I’ve seen this a lot: articles on foraging that just encourage people to run out and start grabbing stuff from wherever. Did you ever stop to think, though, that there are better and worse places from which to collect wild edibles? As an example, suppose you’re at a soccer game and see a loverly field of dandelions growing at the bottom of the field. You think, “those look tasty, and they’re not on the field itself. Maybe I’ll take a few….” BUT! Here is a Thing: dandelions have taproots. They burrow into the ground and suck up whatever is 6 inches below. Are you fairly confident that they haven’t sucked up the pesticides used on the soccer field to keep it nice and green? If you’re not, I wouldn’t eat those dandelions if I were you. Picking some lovely nettles growing near a stream? Where does that stream originate? Picking some lambs quarters from a vacant lot? What was on that lot before it was vacant? These are important questions.
- Don’t be a jerk to wild plants. Don’t be all ripping off their leaves, or tearing off their flowers, or cutting into their roots. Use clippers, and knives, and maybe consider keeping your clippers and knives and other tools clean so you’re not spreading diseases around when you’re cutting down different species. Just, be nice and have some manners, okay?
- Clean up after yourself. This is especially important in more ‘urban’ wilderness areas, like parks and such — keep aesthetics in mind. Don’t leave a bunch of plant clippings hanging around, or big holes in the ground. Don’t leave dirty plastic baggies on the trail, or sharp gashes in the plants in a park. And, finally….
- Unless you’re 100% sure you know what something is, DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH. I’m repeating this because it’s important.
Think of those rules as a kind of ‘checklist.’ Obviously, there are always exceptions, but generally speaking, if you follow those fairly simple guidelines, you’re going to be able to collect wild ingredients in a way that has minimal negative impact on you and your Metaentity, and you’ll be able to enjoy eating that dandelion salsa, or nettle dip, or chocolate-covered ginkgo leaves, as a participant in your local ecology. Good for you!
For some amazing examples of using “wild” foods as ingredients, you should absolutely check out Gather, a group based in Victoria, BC who have really mastered the art:
When not studying Permaculture or drinking licorice fern and salal berry sodee-pop, Jeremy Puma writes some things and cooks some things. Jeremy will be teaching a class in urban foraging with the Seattle Farm School on May 30, 2015. Click here for more details.
