June 20, 2008 - News

Go wild! Popularity of organics feeds appetite for indigenous foods that grow in wild
Milkweed pods marinated in cider vinegar? Curry soup with cattail hearts? Wild salmon with white spruce sauce? Brie with wild rose petal jelly? Who knew that many of the things that grow along Canadian trails, ditches and back roads are not only edible, but in demand? A red-winged blackbird perches on a cattail. The cattail hearts are harvested in late spring and are similar to hearts of palm. In fact, back fields and forests from coast to coast are a natural grocery store for those who have a keen culinary eye and a sense of adventure. Forbes argues that the wild food that grows in abundance in remote areas throughout Canada could be harvested as a source of income by people in rural communities with high unemployment. His company hires a network of independent harvesters throughout the country to pick food that is in season. Among his harvesters are indigenous peoples, including First Nations groups in Tofino, on Vancouver Island, who harvest a variety of west coast berries, and an Ojibwa co-op in northwestern Ontario that supplies Forbes with wild rice.