Foraging Is a Skill That Is Based

Foraging is a skill that is based on the lives of the ancestral hunter-gatherer society. It is the act of searching the environment for resources, such as food (O'Neil). Although this is an ancient concept, the idea behind this sort of behavior as a genetic inherent trait has been explored (Goldstone et al., 508). Individuals who are looking for ways to save money and for easier forms of attaining food, have wholeheartedly supported the idea of modern foraging.

In the article, The Ultimate in Eating Local: My Adventures in Urban Foraging by Tara Lohan, the idea of urban foraging was addressed. Her support for this concept was evident in the advice that she gave her readers and in her advocacy for this form of living (Lohan). Another great supporter of this idea was Michael Pollan, the author of The Modern Hunter-Gatherer. He went as far as considering hunting a part of the foraging concept and detailed his hunting experience (Pollan).

Numerous supporters of foraging have also come forth in support of this form of living. The foraging concept has once again gained popularity. According to Lohan, more and more individuals are foraging because of the financial state of the economy. People are willing now more than ever to resort to getting their own food from the natural environment than they were in the years prior. Lohan describes herself as being a newbie, someone who is now getting used to the idea of foraging.

She credits a close friend as being the person who has helped her get in touch with their ancestral roots. Her article focuses on the popularity gained in California, as foraging becomes an alternative form of living (Lohan). There are groups of people in urban areas of California that get together and go foraging into the woods in places such as the California valley.

Local fisherman and foraging connoisseurs gather local edible plants, nuts, fruits, and trees and pack them together into boxes that could be given away to people who are interested in absolute natural products (Lohan). The author views this as an ideal form of living, although she admits that her expertise in this field is minimal; she does however support the idea of individuals learning how to fend for themselves, in terms of their own nutrition.

Lohan introduced the term "freeganism." She defines this as being the idea that being a part of America's capitalist economy allows individuals to comply with the exploitation that corporations that manufacture goods expose people to (Lohan). She describes foraging as the modern dumpster diving.

People throw good things away all of the time, and although she does not encourage literally diving in a dumpster and looking for items that have been tossed away, she does encourage the idea of people finding food sources around their surroundings -- items that grow naturally in people's back yards are at times just as edible as the fruits and vegetables that one purchases at a local supermarket (Lohan).

Lohan supports the concept of foraging because she does not see an urban environment as a hindrance for those individuals who truly want to live a foraging lifestyle. The nutritional values, as well as both environmental and health-related benefits, are far superior because of the natural resources attained through foraging. Michael Pollan's article, The Modern Hunter-Gatherer, also depicted the health benefits of foraging. However, unlike Lohan who only depicted gathering as part of foraging, Pollan also included hunting as part of this concept.

Both articles were narrative depictions of their personal experience with foraging, however, Pollan had a much more emotional account of hunting (Pollan). He wanted, along with his more experienced friend, to go hunting for their own food. In this case, they wanted to be able to shoot a boar, strip it themselves, and then make actual food products from it. His excitement over killing the boar as some sort of ritualistic hunting scheme was soon replaced with the apprehension about the actual killing.

He noted how his instinctual drive to kill as a means of attaining food sources kicked in when he was able to focus solely on the shooting and killing of the boar (Pollan).

After he killed the animal and was in the process of transforming it into a meal, he began to feel slight remorse for having done this; he explained this by acknowledging that people do not experience guilt while eating processed goods or food sold at supermarkets because the sense of responsibility is removed when the meat is already killed and cut for the individuals to readily consume (Pollan). Pollan brought up the idea of hunting and foraging as being a natural part of people's genetic ancestral roots (Pollan).

The perfect meal for people is that which is already packaged or cooked for people. His hunting and forging lifestyle was like a ritual to him -- a ritual that he is now able to say that he went through. He saw the foraging life as being a part of the history of his people, and therefore insisted on participating in it. When one personally hunts game, there is a feeling of being able to sustain oneself without the assistance of corporations that monitor and distribute food sources.

On this note his opinions on the purpose of foraging were shared with Lohan's view on the same topic (Lohan; Pollan) In order to reduce the amount of dependence that people have on the food industry, foraging should be implemented so that one is fully aware of everything that is in everyday food. Just as Lohan and Pollan viewed this idea as one that has a genetic basis and an immense nutritional and environmental advantage, numerous authors feel the same way.

As a part of a research study conducted at Indiana University the idea of foraging as a having genetic merit is explored. This study was presented by the author Wray Herbert who supported foraging in the Modern World. He too agreed with the foraging philosophy of Pollan. His support stemmed from the concept that biologically, human bodies are prepared to encounter other animals and fight for their territory and for the resources available to them (Herbert).

The research team at Indiana University tested this by implanting a computer game where participants were able to pretend to have to get resources in order to sustain themselves (Goldstone et al., 510). The conclusion informed the readers of this biological connection with foraging and they saw this form of living as a sustainable one (Goldstone et al., 513).

This article supported both Lohan's and Pollan's views on why people are supporting foraging, and how going back to this idea that existed during the Paleolithic era would be able to maintain the human.