Getting Into the Weeds with Monica Wilde
Exploring the benefits of wild food with forager, ethnobotanist and research herbalist Monica Wilde.
Welcome back to the Earth to Humans Podcast!
In this episode I speak to Mo Wilde - author, forager, ethnobotanist and research herbalist.
Artwork by Jasmine Hortop
I read Mo’s book, The Wilderness Cure, while living in Indonesia and it very much sparked a journey that I am still on three years later. Being from the UK, widely known to be one of the most nature-depleted areas in the world, the wildlife and ecosystems of exotic places always seemed a lot more interesting than those I’d been surrounded with my whole life. But, this book totally flipped that on its head.
Throughout my life, I’d never ventured further into foraging than picking blackberries when they were in season. But reading Mo’s book opened my eyes to the incredible diversity of wild food that fills our forests, grasslands, hedgerows and coasts. On returning to the UK, I began to discover the abundant plants that could not only feed me, but heal me too. And thus began my foraging journey. So, I was intrigued to hear about what started hers, and delve deeper into her work…
Foraging (historically known as ‘hunter-gathering’) is something that once sustained all human beings, but is something that has been largely lost in many western cultures. Knowledge has been replaced by fear and assumptions that everything that isn’t pre-packaged on supermarket shelves is poisonous to us - ironically for many products the exact opposite is true. Having said this, there’s been a huge resurgence in its popularity of late (especially in the UK) and with that, concerns about people becoming a bit ‘too’ interested - something we debate is even possible in this episode.
Since reading Mo’s books I’ve learned numerous plant and fungi species using her one plant a week method, and it has connected me with nature on a completely different plane. I have followed Mo’s advice and recipes, and have seen her speak live about her project exploring how wild foods impact gut health - The Wild Biome Project. Having read her most recent book, Free Food: Wild Plants and How to Eat Them, I was excited to speak to Mo about her journey to become a professional forager, her experience living off of wild food for a year, land rights, and how anyone around the world can start collecting wild food.
Monica Wilde
Speaking with Mo really solidified my view on how important food sovereignty is for all of us, especially in today’s unsteady, uncertain world. By harnessing, developing and sharing this knowledge, it gives us power over our own health and a deeper sense of stewardship over these wild places that contain freely accessible food larders and medicine cabinets. Yet another reason to fight for their protection, and for our rights of access.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Ultra Processed Women - Milly Hill
Association of Foragers (worldwide)