The Joy of Foraging: a personal and political ramble

Foraging, or gathering food from our surroundings, is as old as human life on earth. Enclosure and privatisation of land, urbanisation, and industrialisation over the last centuries have shifted food practices away from local eating. This is compounded by mass production and trade under globalised food systems. However, the climate crisis, and unease at our increasing distancing from nature and biodiversity, are resulting in a revival of older relationships with food. Curious about ‘wild’ nutrition, and drawing on childhood memories of fruit, fish, leaves, and cactus thorns gathered in the mountains, plains, deserts of India, in early 2023, I chanced upon thriving foraging communities in the UK. This talk documents a year of rediscovering my surroundings through local herbs, spices (yes, its not all about cinnamon, cloves, pepper and nutmeg from afar), edible leaves and grasses, mushrooms, and fruit, and the range of products that have resulted—including a growing repertoire of wines and beers.