[MPWG] eat the weeds

Thu Feb 3 09:12:11 CST 2005

Friends,

For a wonderful, scholarly treatment of the questions discussed here see
the chapter on weeds in:

Crosby, Alfred.  1986.  Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of
Europe, 900-1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cheers,
Marla

Marla R. Emery, Ph.D.
Research Geographer
Aiken Forestry Sciences Laboratory
705 Spear Street, P.O. Box 968
Burlington, VT  05402-0968
(802)951-6771 ext. 1060
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/burlington/nontimb

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             on.org                    RE: [MPWG] eat the weeds            

             02/02/2005 08:21                                              
             PM                                                            

Bob, I have to disagree with with your statement about concern over using
unwanted plants that you refer to as "invasive". Actually that is what
needs
to happen and will eventually happen with all of these plants at some
point.
They will become useful. If you go back far enough eliminating plants
viewed
as invasive at some point there would be no plants in north america. Lets
not discriminate also. We need to get rid of apples, brown trout, tomatoes,

cabbage, and on and on. What we are really talking about is a political
system applied to nature that puts political timelines on species which
have
always moved about with or without mans help. When plants first arrive on
new land they become dense monocultures and can at first cause havic.
Eventually they come under control and just add to the biodiversity. If you

really think about it you will realize that is true. Nature finds ways to
bring things back into line.
As a knifemaker I use all sorts of materials and my favorite is multiflora
rose. This past weekend I sold three hunting knives with multiflora grips.
It is a truly beautiful wood with exotic grain and it is very hard. I am
running out on this farm between this use and the fact that both cattle and

goats eat it. It is very high in protein as a forage. The deer like it
also.
It helps as successional plants in old fields returning to forest and then
it gets shaded out as the canopy develops. These do gooders will do far
more
harm and waste a lot of time and money killing such plants than any harm it

could ever cause. The problem with the presence of too many of any kind of
plant has more to do with poor land management than anything.  As a
certified educator of Holistic Resource Management certain principles apply

that are unchanged over the eons. The way these plants behave is nothing
new. Fred Hays

>From: Bob Beyfuss <rlb14 at cornell.edu>
>To: MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org
>Subject: [MPWG] eat the weeds
>Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2005 16:40:45 -0500
>
>I think eating weeds is a good idea, many of them are far more nutritious
>than their cultivated counterparts, i.e. dandelion. I will send her lots
of
>recipes from an Extension bulletin I wrote in 1977.  I am not so sure
>publishing recipes for invasive plants is a good idea. The reason we have
>some of these plants today is because they were purposely introduced as
>food crops for us or cattle, i.e., Kudzu. As recently as last year I saw
>garlic mustard seed for sale in a catalogue as an edible green.
>Bob
>
>
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Disclaimer
Any advice given on this list regarding diagnosis or treatments etc.
reflects ONLY the opinion of the individual who posts the message. The
information contained in posts is not intended nor implied to be a
substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific
medical condition or question. All medical and other healthcare information
that is discussed on this list should be carefully reviewed by the
individual reader and their qualified healthcare professional. Posts do not
reflect any official opinions or positions of the Plant Conservation
Alliance.