Back to our Roots
Our hunting-gathering roots, that is, back to the time of pre totalitarian agriculture (as Daniel Quinn calls it), when our ancestors' diet consisted of numerous edible weeds and fruits collected from the forest. Today, after the collapse of the Argentinian economy in late 2001, research institutions are urging communities to explore the wild-growing fauna as a source of nutrition. IPS reported that scientists of the National University of Comahue have been classifying edible wild plants and have been providing instructions on how the plants can be cooked and prepared. The research found that in part of the southern region of Patagonia alone, there are 200 native species of edible wild-growing plants and around 100 edible exotic plants, many of which are consumed in other countries . Although, the nutritional value of many of those plants in still unknown, the scientists have determined that some have higher nutritional value that their cultivated cousins. For example, the dandelion has three times more protein, seven times more fat, four times more carbohydrates, five times more calcium, four times more iron and a much greater amount of vitamins B1, B2 and C than lettuce. But for poverty stricken people the most important benefit of the weeds is that they are free and abundant.