{"id":6474,"date":"2019-12-27T22:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T21:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/?p=6474"},"modified":"2019-12-27T22:00:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-27T21:00:12","slug":"lament-for-the-loss-of-wild-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/lament-for-the-loss-of-wild-food\/","title":{"rendered":"LAMENT FOR THE LOSS OF WILD FOOD"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wild Fact of the Day: <\/span><\/div>\n
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Once humankind used 7000 species of plant and 1069 species of fungi as foods.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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A single community averaged 120 wild species in their daily diet providing a massive range of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) \u00a0and phytochemicals, such as plant-made serotonin that keeps us all happy. Each country studied records a dietary range of 300 to 600 wild species once eaten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were no simple divisions: we were hunter-gathers, cultivator-collectors, farmer-foragers, agro-pastoralists, fisher-foragers, and our strength was dietary diversity. It was never just farming until around 300 years ago (UK) and many other modern cultures still have over 20% wild food in their diets. In 12 remaining traditional hunter-gather communities studied, between 30% and 93% of calories are wild not farmed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly today over 50% of the entire globe\u2019s daily calorie intake (and, I would argue, nutrient intake) comes from just 3 species \u2013 carb laden corn, wheat, rice. And 80% of calories from just 12 species \u2013 you know the other 9, those sad, tasteless, watery supermarket vegetables. No wonder city dwellers only have a third of the beneficial gut bacteria species that foragers have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The result of the loss of our wild food diversity \u2013 and the exercise spent collecting and catching it \u2013 is that we have become sick, sad and obese!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Edible<\/a>As one researcher puts it the \u201cgradual replacement by store-bought produce causes discernable and significantly negative impacts on nutritional security at household and community levels\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just saying\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

I live in a field in West Lothian. 4 wild acres where I am planting and encouraging medicinal and foraging species. I have been fascinated by herbs and plants since childhood. My original interest was sparked by a wild childhood in Kenya, where I was introduced to herbal medicine by a local Kikuyu herbalist at the age of six. We were outdoors most of the time and I remember with joy the freedom of those early years. I love foraging for wild food as well as wild medicine and would happily never visit a supermarket again.<\/em><\/span><\/h6>\n
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For the latest on events and courses please visit Monica on\u00a0www.monicawilde.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h6>\n

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