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By Diane Forrest
Many years ago you couldn't run down to the grocery store
or restaurant and fill your kitchen or stomach with food. People would have to go to the woods and
lakes for their meals. This was the
hunter and gatherer time period. These days’
people mostly hunt and gather for enjoyment.
You can tell when hunting season starts because my local newspaper
starts publishing pictures of hunters with their game. My stepson belongs to a hunting club, and
when he is home from work, he will take his family to the camp and spend time
in the woods hunting for deer to stock his freezer with. He and his wife hunt for sport, not out of necessity
as in the old days.
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Not only are you able to hunt for meat, but you can also
find other food in the wild, such as roots and berries, mushrooms and
greens. If you want to go grocery
shopping in nature, the first thing you need to know is what is edible, and
what is not. The ability of identifying
plants and berries is becoming a lost art much like many other talents passed
down from older generations. Before
gobbling up some leaves I would suggest you invest in a book to be able to
identify these plants. Organizations
such as the Boys and Girl scouts of America teach how to identify safe plants,
you can also check with your local forestry commission.
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Learning about what nature provides is very satisfying
and could possibly help you survive if you are ever lost or trapped in
nature. Plants are also useful with
medicinal care, and made me think of this story.
I have
an earache:
- 2000
B.C. - Here, eat this root.
- 1000
A.D. - That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
- 1850
A.D. - That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
- 1940
A.D. - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
- 1985
A.D. - That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
- 2000
A.D. - That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.
I was recently watching a segment of Blue Ribbon
Hunter. It's a little video article that
is published on yahoo.com every week or so where the host visits different
festivals or restaurants across the country.
This episode was about the road kill festival. The food prepared there was from critters
people had hit with their car. Click
here to see the different foods they prepared:
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http://screen.yahoo.com/the-roadkill-cook-off-30784538.html;_ylt=AnnneErsSKm8UKGIUOjJNTRZc0Iv;_ylu=X3oDMTJkbWozbmJ0BG1pdANVUFAgUmVsYXRlZCBWaWRlbzIgV2l0aCBWaWV3IENvdW50cwRwa2cDaWQtMzA3ODQ1MzgEcG9zAzYEc2VjA3ZjX25hdgR2ZXID;_ylg=X3oDMTFoOTlpZTNlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDdmlkLWdhbGxlcnk-;_ylv=3
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Today is Wild Foods Day.
Why not spend the day hunting and gathering in the woods or waters in
your area. You will be able to find some
food and it will be a lot stressful than fighting the crowds and standing in
line at the grocery store, and the foods will be preservative free.
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