We have largely forgotten the closeness we had to plants in the past, buying our food in the supermarket and our medicines in the pharmacy, not to mention the way that plastic has replaced wood for a whole range of former uses. Artificial fibres have replaced plant fibres in much of our clothing and bedding. We no longer rely on the willow weaver to make our baskets and other containers, or collect rushes to light our homes, and firewood and brush to cook with and keep us warm. But if we stop to think about it, we do still rely on a wide variety of plants in our daily life, both for eating and medicine, for wooden furniture and linen or cotton clothes. But now the plants are a good step removed from our daily life, both in terms of collection and manufacture.
In the past and especially before the Industrial Revolution, people lived closer to the earth and to a large extent, looked after themselves as much as they could. Ordinary people living in the countryside were of necessity, what we now call 'foragers'. Foraging has had a raised profile in recent times, building on the earlier work of people like Richard Mabey with his 'Food for Free' book first published in 1972. Nowadays up-market chefs use foragers to supply them with a whole range of wild leaves and berries for their restaurants. Celebrity foragers have Instagram accounts and have appeared on recent mainstream TV programs as diverse as 'Countryfile' and ‘Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig'. As well as providing unusual cocktail ingredients and tasty additions to salads, plants are being re-discovered for other uses - such as nettles for fibre, and elderberry juice for its anti-viral properties. Read more
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