Foraging is all about sustainability.
It’s important to harvest away from other people where you can, and to only gather what you need. Greed can lead to waste on your part, and starvation for animals.
Similarly, it’s important to be aware of how endangered a species is in the country you find yourself in.
Lastly, never pick something if you’re not 100% certain what it is. Accidental death happens all too easily.
In this day and age, the importance of the relationship between man and nature is largely diminished, despite the increasing evidence of our dependence on the natural world. We continuously take and destroy without regard for sustainability, until irrevocable damage has been done and widespread consequences can be seen.
We see this with excessive logging: when too many trees are cut, land becomes more susceptible to flooding and top soil erosion.
We’ve also seen this with over-hunting of certain animals, such as wolves and lynx, in the UK:
https://arbtech.co.uk/extinct-and-endangered-animals-uk/
These consistent violations of the natural world could be regarded with a practical, emotion-free eye, but it does appear that both those interested in conservation and those interested in the full utilisation of all resources available take a rather personal approach. In doing so, all interactions become ad-hominem attacks rather than any real attempt at teamwork.
To my mind, the farmer who helps feed the nation should not be abused for their work, just as those who strive for the wellbeing of our wilder natural world should not be derided. The only way to an ideal world is for cooperation and collaboration across the board.
Foraging is the ultimate example of the importance of collaboration. In some ways, it can be easier to have love, care and respect for the environment than it is to have them for one’s fellow man. Maybe a love of nature could be the bridge needed to bring the two together.
