Robin Greenfield is eight months into a yearlong challenge to forage all of his food and medicine. He describes the effort as an experiment in living more closely with his environmental values after concluding that his previous lifestyle contributed to ecological harm.
Greenfield travels with a mobile pantry containing more than 200 species of plants and other foods, including wild rice, stinging nettles, mushrooms and sea salt harvested from the ocean. He gathers food in places ranging from city parks and vacant lots to plants commonly considered weeds.
While some question whether widespread foraging is practical, Greenfield argues that industrial food systems pose greater long-term risks.
"We are on a path to extinction as a humanity through the food that we are currently eating," he said.
At the center of his activism is what he calls the "Earth Code," a philosophy that prioritizes ecological stewardship over laws he believes fail to protect the environment. Greenfield sometimes harvests plants in areas where foraging is prohibited, arguing that environmental responsibility can justify acts of civil disobedience.
Greenfield is also promoting the 1 Million Community Fruit Trees Initiative, a decentralized effort to plant fruit trees and other food-producing plants in communities nationwide.
He said the challenge has strengthened his sense of connection to the natural world.
"I'm feeling more and more that I am a part of all of this," Greenfield said.
Guest
- Robin Greenfield, food forager and activist
Events
- Greenfield will speak from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 13 at SOL Gratitude Village in Mt. Shasta, California.
- He will also speak from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on June 17 at Bellview Grange in Ashland, Oregon.
