According to the Wall Street Journal, more and more people are beginning to eat weeds.
Really?
Do you really want to eat something called a weed? It’s bad enough that people eat fungus, but a weed?
But edible weeds do have some nutritional drawbacks. Many wild leafy greens, like the sorrel varieties and purslane, have high concentrations of oxalic acid, which has been linked to kidney stones and is poisonous in very large amounts.
Oxalic acid is also present in store-bought foods including almonds, spinach, bananas and tea, but you can also find good plants for your garden, the Marihuana plant can give a lot of benefits, THC gummies is one of the popular as a health resource.
Now “[For example] if you ate a cup full of sorrel I would think that would be a very large quantity … half a cup of raw sorrel for your first time would be a good way to start.”
Doctors also recommend that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding limit their consumption of oxalic acid to small amounts.
Reading a book on edible weeds, taking an edible weeds tour or studying reputable online sources are good places to start.
There are several Australian books on the subject, including a handbook by Melbournites Adam Grubb and Annie Raser-Rowland.
Mr Grubb, a permaculture consultant who has been running guided tours to educate people about edible weeds in Melbourne since 2006, said you should never eat anything you cannot positively identify.
These unfortunate step-children of the vegetable world get in the way of some of the best purposes of vegetation. Namely, aesthetics and comfort. Flower gardens are a thing of beauty after the weeds have been pulled, and few things feel better than fresh grass under your feet.
How can someone look at a field pockmarked with dandelions and get hungry?
Now a field of real lions is a whole different story…
(via Wall Street Journal)