class:textShadow ## Reaping without Sowing:
Wild Food and Urban Foraging
## Philip B. Stark, Tom Carlson,
Kristen Rasmussen, Eric Berlow ## http://forage.berkeley/edu ### Berkeley Food Institute Seed Grant Forum
6 May 2015 --- background-image: url(./ForagePics/salad.jpg) class:textShadow # .blue[There _is_ free lunch] --- ### Eating the "volunteers" + What's a weed?
Primarily, a plant growing where it isn't wanted.
+ Many "weeds" are
*nutritious, delicious, traditional wild foods*
. + Suburban lawns are
_green deserts_
: no food. + .blue[**Many urban "food deserts" are accidental lush gardens where you can reap without sowing.**] + We've found 99 edible species in the East Bay—so far + IPM: ingestive pest management. .blue[invasivory: eat the aliens]
--- ## What's the science? + US diet lacks micronutrients & fiber (not calories, mostly) + Record drought in California + **Wild foods are self-sustaining, drought tolerant (zero water), carbon neutral.** + Hyper-local, hyper-fresh, hyper-nutritious: micronutrients & fiber + Mapping occupancy, availability, servings of wild edibles in 3 urban food deserts: Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland + Testing soil for lead and other metals + Testing plant tissue for nutritional value and toxicity + Measuring seasonal variations in abundance and nutritional value + Socioeconomic questions, sensory questions (mouth feel, bitterness, etc.) --- background-image: url(./ForagePics/iNat-15-5-3.jpg) --- background-image: url(./ForagePics/iNat-15-5-3b.jpg) --- ## Farmers Market Surveys 1. Phat Beets North Oakland (double EBT/SNAP Market Match) 1. Phat Beets Destiny Arts (double EBT/SNAP Market Match) 1. Temescal (EBT/SNAP) 1. Grand Lake (EBT/SNAP) 1. Richmond (WIC EBT/SNAP) ≈ 240 respondents
--- ## Improving nutrition in food deserts + Increasing rates of childhood obesity and Type II diabetes; high in food deserts + Healthful, fresh food is _already growing_ where it's needed—and it's free. + What's missing is _information_. + Access to information—knowledge—translates directly to access to nutritious food: species eaten for eons. + Opportunity for educators to help feed people by providing information.
--- ### Soil tests + Tested 28 samples for lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals. + Lead levels elevated in one sample from W. Oakland, but all within "safe" range for gardening. ### Plant tissue toxin tests + heavy metals (Pb, As, Cd, Cr, Cu) + nitrophenols + pthlates + organophosphates (including TCP) + BTEX + chlorinated benzenes + polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDD), also TCDD + polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) + polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) + polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Intend to water wash to simulate home preparation ### Nutritional tests + standard panel + polyphenols, antioxidants --- ## Farming, foraging, and fine dining + Edible weeds comprise up to 40% of the biomass some farms produce.
*We're throwing away delicious, nutritious food, during a drought.* + 11 of the top 15 "nuisance" plants reported by Bay Area urban farmers are edible (Altieri, Pallud, Matzen, Arnold) + Same soil/toxics issues apply to farming and foraging + Top-rated restaurant in the world is Noma (Copenhagen): foraged menu + Partnered with Cesar, Chez Panisse, The Perennial+Mission Chinese, Mission:Heirloom & local farms to get weeds on plates, including: acorns, black locust, bristly ox tongue, calendula, cow parsnip, dandelion, douglas fir, lambsquarters, madrone, manzanita, mugwort, nasturtium, nettles, nodding onions, oxalis, pineapple weed, plantago, redbud, sweet fennel, wild almonds, wild mustard, wild radish, yarrow, yerba buena + Seeking/connecting with "weed-friendly" farms (Green String, Cannard Farms, Say Hay, Capay Valley Farm Shop, F.E.E.D. Sonoma, LivingWild) ---
--- ## Student and community involvement + 14 undergrads (Ethnobotany) helped map the abundance of wild foods in the three study areas + 10 undergrads conducted surveys about barriers to consumption of wild foods (Human Food Practices, part of the American Cultures Engaged Scholarship Program) + 3 undergrads investigated toxins in wild edible plants: which to measure, sample preparation, etc. (Human Food Practices, part of the American Cultures Engaged Scholarship Program) + 2 grad (MPH) students researched legal parameters of serving foraged wild foods in restaurants (Foodservice Management, final project) + 1 grad (Stat) student worked on data cleaning, aggregation of abundance measurements by address + Community volunteers for mapping + Berkeley Path Wanderers, Peralta Community Garden, Gill Tract, Wild Oakland --- ## Milestones & Public Events .left-column[
] .right-column[ + Abundance maps (nearly 600 observations) + Soil tests for heavy metals (28 samples) + Guide to Bay Area Baker's Dozen Wild Edibles
(donate ≥$15 givetocal.berkeley.edu/BOSF) + Surveys in farmers markets + Tastings with chefs + Wild Food Week + Public food identification walks and garden visits (Berkeley Path Wanderers, Peralta, Gill Tract, Wild Oakland, Simons Institute, BIDS)
] --- ### Press http://forage.berkeley.edu/#press BBC, The Times of London, The Atlantic / Citylab, Salon.com, Grist, Civil Eats, TakePart, onEarth, Earth Island Journal, California Magazine, Motherboard / Vice, SF Chronicle, SFGate, East Bay Express, Edible East Bay, Growing Magazine, KQED, KALW, KPFA, NBC, CBS, UC Newsroom, …
--- .framed[
We work on food equity, sustainability, nutrition, and gastronomy. We focus on increasing the supply of fresh, affordable, nutritious, drought-resistant, low-carbon-impact greens, especially in urban food deserts. Our work includes mapping the availability and abundance of wild and feral edible plants. We test urban soils and plants for nutrition and toxicity. We promote urban foraging through education and outreach, including teaching plant identification and publishing field guides. We work with community and commercial farms, produce suppliers, markets, and restaurants to create a supply chain and a market for wild and feral edible plants, thereby reducing food waste, improving farm yields, improving nutrition, and providing interesting, exotic new ingredients for chefs. We seek to change public policy to increase the availability of free, fresh nutritious foods in cities, in part by stopping the use of herbicides on public lands and allowing foraging of invasive species on public lands, and in part by promoting the design of parks that provide food and habitat for wildlife. ]