Pros and Cons of Foraging Pros of Foraging Save Money You will definitely notice that you spend less money on food Awareness You become more aware of your surroundings and gain a new appreciation of nature and different ecosystems Adventure You spend more time outdoors (once you start foraging, you want to go out on more foraging adventures to discover what wild foods are available) Appreciation You appreciate your surroundings more as you start to observe nature, the different seasons and different ecosystems Exercise You exercise more, as foraging requires you to go out on fairly long walks and sometimes the terrain can be difficult so you engage more muscles for climbing or avoiding obstacles Learning Learning about plants can be great fun as it's learning with all your senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) Nutritional Value Foraged wild foods can have a better nutritional value compared to shop-bought foods, so you can get more vitamins and minerals Cooking Cooking with foraged foods opens a whole new world of possibilities in the kitchen as you familiarize yourself with different flavors and experiment with them Taste Your palate will become more sophisticated and you will notice that processed meals don't taste as nice as they used to; you will find that most ready meals are too sweet or too salty Fun Foraging can be either done solo or as a group; when you go foraging with friends it can be a great day out and a lot of fun Skill You learn some essential life skills, which used to be passed on from generation to generation but that need revisiting Ecosystem Foraging requires the presence of wild spaces where insects, birds and other animals can thrive; this creates an ecosystem that is more diverse than manicured lawns and gardens Quality of Life Foragers have a better quality of life as they prioritize going out for walks over watching television Mood You appreciate a gloomy rainy autumn day if you are picking delicious wild mushrooms New Technologies You can use mobile applications like Forager's Buddy for Android to mark on a map all remarkable places and routes, where you can find various kinds of wild food resources (Using the GPS module of the device). You can use this application as a reference in various outdoor activities like: wild herbs / mushroom gathering, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, etc. Download Forager’s Buddy For Android Scan the following QR code to download the application from Google Play Store. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gh_its.foragersbuddy)

1. Forager’s Buddy for
Android
Pros and Cons of
Foraging

2. Pros of Foraging

3. Save Money
You will definitely notice that you spend less money on
food

4. Awareness
You become more aware of your surroundings and gain
a new appreciation of nature and different ecosystems

5. Adventure
You spend more time outdoors (once you start foraging, you
want to go out on more foraging adventures to discover what
wild foods are available)

6. Appreciation
You appreciate your surroundings more as you start to
observe nature, the different seasons and different ecosystems

7. Exercise
You exercise more, as foraging requires you to go out on fairly
long walks and sometimes the terrain can be difficult so you
engage more muscles for climbing or avoiding obstacles

8. Learning
Learning about plants can be great fun as it's learning
with all your senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch)

9. Nutritional Value
Foraged wild foods can have a better nutritional value
compared to shop-bought foods, so you can get more
vitamins and minerals

10. Cooking
Cooking with foraged foods opens a whole new world of
possibilities in the kitchen as you familiarize yourself with
different flavors and experiment with them

11. Taste
Your palate will become more sophisticated and you will notice that
processed meals don't taste as nice as they used to; you will find
that most ready meals are too sweet or too salty

12. Fun
Foraging can be either done solo or as a group; when you go
foraging with friends it can be a great day out and a lot of fun

13. Skill
You learn some essential life skills, which used to be passed
on from generation to generation but that need revisiting

14. Ecosystem
Foraging requires the presence of wild spaces where insects,
birds and other animals can thrive; this creates an ecosystem
that is more diverse than manicured lawns and gardens

15. Quality of Life
Foragers have a better quality of life as they prioritize
going out for walks over watching television

16. Mood
You appreciate a gloomy rainy autumn day if you are
picking delicious wild mushrooms

17. New Technologies
You can use mobile applications like Forager's Buddy for Android to
mark on a map all remarkable places and routes, where you can
find various kinds of wild food resources (Using the GPS module of
the device).
You can use this application as a reference in various outdoor
activities like: wild herbs / mushroom gathering, hunting, fishing,
camping, hiking, etc.

18. Download Forager’s Buddy
For Android
Scan the following QR code to download the application from
Google Play Store.

19. Cons of Foraging

20. Cons 1/2
 You need to allocate plenty of time to learning to prevent
risking food poisoning or worse; you might find that in your first
year of learning you prefer taking pictures and taking notes
and discard the foods you have picked
 You will need to brush up on your Latin as knowing the
scientific name of plants alongside their common name is
essential
 Some wild foods, especially mushrooms, can have high
toxicity (some can cause kidney or liver failure)
 It is not advised to teach yourself foraging so learn by
attending several foraging walks run by experts (these can be
quite expensive)
 Some plants may taste disgusting even if they are edible so be
prepared for some shocks!

21. Cons 2/2
 Parks and green spaces in urban areas can be polluted,
especially if they are near traffic; careless dog owners
may not pick up waste after their dogs – dog waste
contains harmful toxins so you have to avoid foraging in
many green areas
 Beware of fields sprayed with pesticides
 Foraging takes time, as each foraging walk takes 1 to 2
hours each, sometimes more, and sometimes you come
home empty-handed
 Careless foraging can harm plants, especially protected
plants
 Winter can be a difficult season for foraging as there
won't be many plants to forage

22. Thank you for watching!
Source: Paola Bassanese Energya Ltd