Foraging

Foraging is an activity described under the rubric weed, but it deserves its own entry for its popularity among often comfortably-off people at the turn of the 20th, and into the 21st centuries. It is the gathering of wild fruits and plants growing in the landscape and along the seashore. It should not be be confused with ‘urban foraging’ or ‘dumpster diving’, indulged in by freegans.

It is, of course, the oldest stratagem of food supply. A modern instance that has resonances with age-old habits is described in Ronald May’s book on papua New Guinea. Nearby, in australia, bush tucker was enjoyed by the earliest colonists, and has experienced a significant revival since the 1970s.