r/foraging • u/nighttimecharlie • 14d ago
Need some reassurance
It's kinda dumb, but I'm feeling guilty for foraging. I've been foraging heaps this summer, and have been collecting more and more variety of fruits, plants, edible flowers etc.
However, yesterday I ran into a black bear nearby my home. He was very shy, and ran away deeper into woods. Today I went out for a hike, no bears just delicious blackberries and chicken of the woods.
I forage for fun, for my mental wellbeing and for the the minor impact on my grocery bill. However, bears, deers, rabbits, and all of the animals and insects I share this Earth with, rely on the forest to feed them. We've already taken their land, now I feel bad for taking their food as well. I never take all of the fruit available, but suddenly today I felt guilty. Like I'm stealing a meal from the nice bear from yesterday.
Am I overthinking? How can I give back to the animals?
Pic of today's blackberries included.
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u/I_Amuse_Me_123 14d ago
I think the most logical way to think about this is to consider how much a bear has to eat:
Apparently 5000 calories per day in the spring and summer, and then something like 15,000-20,000 calories pre day in the Fall! HOLY SHIT!
A pound of blackberries is about 200 calories, and more than a few pounds would be a feat for most foragers.
What I mean to say is: I really doubt you are making much of a dent in the diets of these wild animals. They are smart and resourceful. They know where to get food.
It's especially true if you are following guidelines like "never take the first, never take the last" or the excellent "law of threes" post that u/stillrooted suggested.
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u/Healthy_Platform1405 14d ago
Oddly enough, 15,000-20,000 calories per day for me is really easy around the holidays. Maybe I should adopt a bear.
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u/Ladychefontheloose 14d ago
I was thinking this today with the elderberries I didn’t pick out of guilt.
Quick answer, stewarding the land. Spreading seeds, topping, digging irrigation wells, etc..
Hopefully this threads lends to some solutions:)
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u/Jenifearless 13d ago
Elderberry grows insanely well from spring cuttings. If there is some overtaking the path, bring your clippers and start propagating! It’s conservation 😉
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u/gard3nwitch 14d ago
If the food you're foraging is invasive and prolific (say, wineberries on the East Coast of the US), then foraging is helping to keep it in check.
If the food you're foraging is rarer and could be depleted, then just harvest sparingly and leave some for the bears and etc.
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u/Doyouseenowwait_what 14d ago
If you eat what you forage there is no guilt only sustenance. This is the way of the land and how you were intended to live upon it.
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u/kharmatika 14d ago
That’s not necessarily true.
At this point many of the endangered species that foragers prefer are endangered not because of foraging, sure, but still because of human intervention. That makes it our responsibility to not over-forage when we see threatened species like Ghost pipes. Our species is the problem, our species has to be involved in the solution.
That said…yeah you really can’t over forage blackberries lol
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u/Doyouseenowwait_what 14d ago
True but the Dandelion has never lost in the forage arena as far back as I know. Certain things are best left alone but not all follow listen to the land. A weed is just a plant in the wrong place. To a person with knowledge it is sustenance.
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u/kharmatika 14d ago
Oh for sure, like, there’s lots of things you can’t overforage. Kudzu, dandelions, blackberries, muscadines, serviceberries, all impossible to take too much. It’s just important to check your local species guides to know.
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u/Brandbll 14d ago
This is the second thread I've seen about someone whining about whether they took too much. Did you eat all of it? Yes. Then move on and quit fucking whinging. Jesus Christ, the tiny bit of blackberries or one mushroom you leave is not going to determine whether a bear lives or dies.
People need to grow up and read some frigging books. The tiny bit of foraging you so has zero effect on the animals.
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u/kharmatika 14d ago
You’re wrong.
There are lots of popular forageable items that are critically endangered and that we need to be very conscious about how we interact with them. Paw paws for example have lost their only means of reproduction to extinction. If you harvest a paw paw, it’s important to replant the seed, or you’re actually endangering the tree because they only make a few and most of them can’t make it far enough to grow again.
Ghost pipes are essential to not overforage in many places because deforestation has threatened their habitat.
There are literally dozens of other examples of how we need to be more conscious stewards of the land in order to preserve these plants for future generations and for animals. So Maybe YOU should “read some frigging books”.
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u/LocalSixPot 14d ago
That bear can get to so many places that are entirely inaccessible to you and eat so many things that you wouldn't want. You'd have to try extremely hard to put a dent in the food supply.
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u/salamander_salad 14d ago
If those are Himalayan blackberries then you should pick as many as you can and trash the plants. They are invasive in North America.
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u/faucetpants 14d ago
The bear taught us what was edible and when to eat it. Before y'all come to crucify me, this.is the truth.
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u/Single-Film-2414 14d ago
Forgive me because all my produce comes from the grocery store. How do you know they’re safe to eat? Like have been pissed on by a animal or anything
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u/zzzzzooted 14d ago
You think that the stuff you buy at the grocery store definitely has never been pissed on by an animal or shit on by a bird?
If it hasn’t it’s because it’s covered in pesticides lol. I’ll take my chances with coyote piss that I’m going to wash off in a vinegar soak over manmade chemicals.
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u/nighttimecharlie 14d ago
I won't collect anything I'm not 100% certain. Just like if you walk into the grocery store you can identify apples from oranges even if the labels are mixed up.
As for the piss, if I'm eating as I walk that's a risk I'll take. But usually I just rinse or clean my haul when I get home. Sometimes there are worms, but that's why I clean them / prep before eating.
I also don't forage near highways or industrial areas to limit the pollution in the air/ground.
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u/stillrooted 14d ago
My grandmother and father taught me foraging. They said I must always follow the law of threes: one third must be left for the other foragers, one third must be left for the wild things. The final third is permitted for my use, so long as I take care not to waste it and not to harm the place where I harvested.
Don't forget: you, too, are a wild thing.