A recent item in Forests News, a blog by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), about a little known edible evergreen tropical plant induced a moment of reflection about food. Precisely, what is the definition of “food”? Does “food” shape human identity, imparting some ineffable stamp on our conscious life? Why are some edibles frowned upon because they’re not raised in fenced feedlots or in equally spaced, weed-free rows? Amid all the clarion over the dire prediction of planet Earth overrun with 9 billion hungry grasping humans by 2050, and the tremendous strain this will put on the resources we depend on for agriculture, there is little thought given to the contribution of so-called “bush” or “wild” foods that sustain many a rural household.
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