59 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
59 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
Weeds: A non-agricultural food crop
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Andrea Frank
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I have spent hours upon hours trying to write an introduction to
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this area of our almanac; pounding out angry tirades about the
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exportation of pesticides banned in the U.S. for use on crops we in
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turn import; the new dustbowl in the farmlands of eastern
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Washington; Seed bank conglomerates that "own" most of our food;
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bovine hormones; the lack of health standards in the fishing
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industry, the poultry industry, the beef industry, radiated
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strawberries; genetically engineered tomatoes; and so on. As a child,
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I just didn't like certain foods. Eggs made me gag and vomit, and hey,
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they're full of cholesterol anyway. When my favorite steer came to
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dinner in the form of steaks, I quite eating meat, and what d'ya know
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- beef is bad for your heart, bad for the environment, bad for your
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karma, and bad for the cows. But it just isn't that simple anymore.
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My queasy stomach alone won't save me from being a living toxic
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waste dump, nor from the hell fires for the politically-UNcorrect.
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Besides, I'm still hungry, in spite of all this contemplation. Other
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than oreos, what is left to eat? (Yes, I know about the Nabisco
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boycott).
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Well there are some very noble food projects under way such as
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permaculture communities and farm cooperatives. If you are
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involved with such an alternative and would like to share your
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philosophy or your address, please write to us- we'd love to pass it
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on. For now, I'd like everyone to step outside their front door and ask
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yourself, "WHAT IS HERE TO EAT?"
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Outside my front door I find dandelions, ferns, blackberries,
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bamboo (escaped from my neighbor's yard), violets, and more. I'm
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fortunate to have a yard full of weeds. Some of you may be more
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fortunate than I. Some of you living in New York high-rises may find
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nothing but concrete outside your dwellings- a sad reality indeed!
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But even there, I'd bet you could find a few good dandelions in a
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crack in the walkway or in Central Park to make a meal of salad or
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soup from. So, get in touch with nature, rid your lawn of those
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invading dandelions and plantains without pesticides, stretch your
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food dollars, boycott corporate food industries- EAT WEEDS!
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Alas, even weeds and other native plants require some caution:
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(1) PLEASE don't eat anything that you are not absolutely certain is
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edible. I personally will decline from giving any information about
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wild mushrooms since I know very little about them. Anyone with
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that knowledge is welcome to contribute to this section.
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(2) Some natural areas, parks, forest preserves, river banks, or
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vacant lots may be polluted or sprayed with pesticides. So know the
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area from which you collect plants for food.
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(3) A plant may be plentiful in my home state but on the endangered
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list in yours. Never pick a plant or parts of plants from protected
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areas. Also, unless you are purposefully intending to eradicate a
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species from your own garden or in an organized restoration project,
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never destroy an entire species population in a given area. Take only
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what you can use, some leaves from this plant, some more from that
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one, and only what the population can replenish. If you need roots but
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can only find one or two plants, leave them alone. Check back next
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year or later in the season. After all you just might like what you've
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found and want more.
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