Welcome
Welcome to wildfoodplants.com! I hope together we can create an organized, worldwide movement of people interested in wild food plants. Today is celebrated by Pagans as Imbolc, and Christians as St. Brigid’s Day. Regardless of how it is defined, today’s full moon reflects the fires which have begun to stir deeply within Mother Earth. It is also Groundhog Day. Although the groundhog is recognized here in the US for his ability to predict the weather, I am much more interested in the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which is officially released today. This consortium of over 2500 scientists from around the globe will give us a clearer picture of our upcoming weather forecast. In April it will release its observations and predictions regarding food production and climate change.
This site will continually evolve, including a database of wild food instructors, links to resources on wild foods, on-line videos showing how to harvest and prepare wild foods, interviews with wild food experts, and more. I have trips planned to Peru, the plains of North Dakota, northern MN, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Arizona this year. Join me on this adventure in wild foods and the wild people who love them.
Breathe life into your visions. The time to act is now. Those who hold deep-seated ecological knowledge, from experience, will be forced to share that knowledge as we enter the throes of global climate change more thoroughly. Lets transmute the negative energies around us into something positive and sustaining for our future generations.
Wild Foods Workshop
On January 27th over 10 brave souls earned their Hard Core Wild Food Foraging badges. Half the class had cancelled due to the torrential rain we were getting, but these folks braved it all. Shuttling back and forth with a friends 4-wheel drive, we got all the cars out of the muddy one mile driveway….except mine! We shared a fire, talked about wild food plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, and processed California buckwheat and toyon berries. Then we enjoyed a delicious feast of wild nettle/dandelion/spinach spanakopita, wild amaranth pesto, local meats, California buckwheat pancakes with raw buttermilk and butter we made ourselves, flaxseed crackers, toyon fruit leather, toyon magic balls, macademia nuts, acorn cookies, teas and juices.
Over 75% of this meal was made using locally grown or gathered ingredients. The California buckwheat pancake recipe can be found under the ‘Buckwheat Buzz’ post below. Please check back to see the remaining recipes posted.
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I Have a Dream
In honor of the King (and the dandelion too):
I have a dream that one day the people of this earth will love, appreciate, and utilize the wild foods right out their own back door. That people will no longer use harsh chemicals to get rid of plants that they could be eating. That immigrant workers and other farm laborers gain economic freedom by selling the weeds (wild food plants) they are now picking out of the fields. That every person in the US will plant at least 10 food producing trees per year. That plant nurseries will encourage individuals to purchase plants that have food uses. That city planners will incorporate wild food plants into urban design. That our national education policy require students be able to identify 10 wild food plants in their ecosystem. That the National Institute of Health will lead a well-financed national campaign encouraging the use of wild foods for good health. That all public establishments (schools, VA hospitals, etc.) be required to source at least 50% of their foods from no more than 250 miles away. That federal subsidies from the farm bill be provided to small business owners specializing in the sale of wild food plants. That the tall grass prairie, our most endangered ecosystem in the United States, be planted not with corn and soybeans, but with its native wild plants. Those wild plants have the potential to provide more energy per unit of biofuel than corn and soybeans.
As for Dr. King’s speech, who would have remembered that speech if it had started out ‘I Have a Complaint’? Be remembered for your dreams…don’t give that negative crap any of your energy. Like Dr. King…..I Have a Dream.
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