Wildcrafting

Wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural, or "wild" habitat, for food, medicinal, or other purposes. It applies to uncultivated plants wherever they may be found, and is not necessarily limited to wilderness areas. Ethical considerations are often involved, such as protecting endangered species.

When wildcrafting is done sustainably with proper respect, generally only the branches or flowers from plants are taken and the living plant is left, or if it is necessary to take the whole plant, seeds of the plant are placed in the empty hole from which the plant was taken. Care is taken to only remove a few plants, flowers, or branches, so plenty remains to continue the supply.

Wildcrafted plants are regulated by The Organic Food Production Act of 1991. Harvesters must designate the area they are harvesting and provide a three-year history of the area that shows no prohibited substances have been applied there. A plan for harvesting must show that the harvest will sustain the wild crop. No prohibited substances can be added by processors.

Wildcrafting was written about in the novel Where the Lilies Bloom, a story about a poor family in the Applachian Mountains in North Carolina.

External links

* [http://www.newfarm.org/features/0304/wilds/wild_ethics.shtml Wildcrafting: A “simple” life fraught with a host of complex ethical and practical considerations]