Foraging

Foraging is the collection and use of wild or feral edible or medicinal species. Foraging requires less time and energy than farming per calorie obtained; however, it supports lower population densities, as the wild landscape has a lower proportion of usable species biomass available than the agriculturally altered landscape. Nonetheless, foraging naturally occurring food sources, including so-called agricultural weeds, can lower the cost of food even in an agricultural setting, in addition to diversifying the base of species on which we rely and increasing the nutritional value of the diet. Furthermore, knowledgeable foraging can provide very cost-effective medical treatments to supplement industrial medicine.