On riches in plain sight: I was always into treasure hunting. Treasure is usually prized because it’s difficult to obtain because it’s rare and/or hidden. Wild foods, at least the common ones I focus on, are none of those things, yet they are even more of a treasure, much for the opposite reasons. I run an education company now, and no one is turned away for lack of funds, and still, most of our clientele are rich. When it comes to wild food, this richness is a state of mind.
Alan Muskat pauses for a mushroom education break during a guided foraging tour with his company, No Taste Like Home. (Mike Belleme)
On lessons from mushrooms: Over the years, I’ve come to recognize that what’s most valuable about mushrooms is the lesson they conceal. They are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, of a fungus that, in some cases, can spread out for more than a mile in a single inch of soil. The connections that are forged, through fungi, between trees function as a “wood-wide web” for the exchange of not only information but also energy. Plants literally contribute nutrients to each other, including other species. When one tree is sick, the others help out. This form of universal health care, which is also how hunter-gatherers operate, has a lot to teach us….