Wildculture
Encyclopedia
Wildculture is the umbrella term used to include all aspects and styles of "hunting and gathering" food harvesting. Wildculture - harvesting the bounty of nature - was the method of food gathering prior to the development of agriculture
thousands of years ago. Some wildculture has persisted side by side with agriculture, with some cultures and communities using both styles of food acquisition, and a few reliant solely on wildculture.
As well as organic standards for agriculture, there are now standards for organic wildculture. The total hectares of wild harvested organic land now exceeds the total of certified organic agriculture land. Finland
, Zambia
and Brazil
lead the world, and together account for more than half of the 33.8 million hectares of certified organic wildculture land reported in 2008. http://orgprints.org/13568
Wildculture is not to be confused with the term "wild culture", first used in 1986 by the Canadian artist, Whitney Smith (multidisciplinary artist)
, to refer to the "the articulated ecotone
between what humans do and what they can't control in nature". Through his experiences foraging unfurled ostrich ferns and other wild foods in the southern Ontario forest, he was inspired to explore this concept through the medium of a literary magazine, The Journal of Wild Culture
. It was published in Toronto by the Society for the Preservation of Wild Culture
from 1986-1991, and followed by the book, "Wild Culture: Ecology and Imagination", edited by Whitney Smith
and Christopher Lowry. There is much press coverage from the period recording Smith and other collaborators on the subject. The journal published two editions of a "Wild Foods Field Guide" in 1988 and 1990, plus wild food recipes in various issues. An online relaunch is anticipated in 2012.
Australian author Juleigh Robins has advocated the use and consumption of wild food and presents a series of recipes for introducing the flavours, looks, and textures of Australian wild foods.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
thousands of years ago. Some wildculture has persisted side by side with agriculture, with some cultures and communities using both styles of food acquisition, and a few reliant solely on wildculture.
As well as organic standards for agriculture, there are now standards for organic wildculture. The total hectares of wild harvested organic land now exceeds the total of certified organic agriculture land. Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
lead the world, and together account for more than half of the 33.8 million hectares of certified organic wildculture land reported in 2008. http://orgprints.org/13568
Wildculture is not to be confused with the term "wild culture", first used in 1986 by the Canadian artist, Whitney Smith (multidisciplinary artist)
Whitney Smith (multidisciplinary artist)
Whitney Smith is an artist and activist working in a variety of fields, including music, publishing, performance art and theatre. He is best known for his work as the publisher and editor of The Journal of Wild Culture....
, to refer to the "the articulated ecotone
Ecotone
An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes but different patches of the landscape, such as forest and grassland. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local or regional...
between what humans do and what they can't control in nature". Through his experiences foraging unfurled ostrich ferns and other wild foods in the southern Ontario forest, he was inspired to explore this concept through the medium of a literary magazine, The Journal of Wild Culture
The Journal of Wild Culture
The Journal of Wild Culture was a short-lived magazine combining, among other things, artistic perspectives on ecology and environmental issues...
. It was published in Toronto by the Society for the Preservation of Wild Culture
The Society for the Preservation of Wild Culture
The Society for the Preservation of Wild Culture or S.P.W.C., was a Toronto arts organization in existence from 1986 to 1991 that explored environmental and ecological issues from an artistic perspective, and in a “quirky and innovative” way. The S.P.W.C...
from 1986-1991, and followed by the book, "Wild Culture: Ecology and Imagination", edited by Whitney Smith
Whitney Smith
Whitney Smith is a professional vexillologist, i.e., scholar of flags. The term vexillology, which he coined in his 1958 article Flags of the Arab World, refers to the scholarly analysis of all aspects of flags. In 1961, Smith and colleague Gerhard Grahl cofounded The Flag Bulletin, the world's...
and Christopher Lowry. There is much press coverage from the period recording Smith and other collaborators on the subject. The journal published two editions of a "Wild Foods Field Guide" in 1988 and 1990, plus wild food recipes in various issues. An online relaunch is anticipated in 2012.
Australian author Juleigh Robins has advocated the use and consumption of wild food and presents a series of recipes for introducing the flavours, looks, and textures of Australian wild foods.
See also
- Intensive gatheringIntensive gatheringIntensive gathering entails the tending-to of wild plants. Intensive gathering or "tending" methods include weeding, discouraging predators, pot-irrigation, and limited harvesting to ensure reproduction. The same system of methods is involved in cultivation, a process which additionally requires...
- Forest gardeningForest gardeningForest gardening is a food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans...
- Organic farmingOrganic farmingOrganic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
- Organic wildOrganic wildOrganic wild refers to organic agriculture products which are collected from wild land. As of 2005, organic wild products are farmed on approximately 62 million hectares. According to the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements 36% of these were bamboo shoots, 21% were fruits and...
- Mushroom huntingMushroom huntingMushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating...