WorldWild Podcast
Episode 20 13th September 2019
Plants Native to Humans with John Kallas
In the late 1970s, if you were in Europe and you picked up a long-haired guy from the USA who was hitchhiking through the continent, and the first question he asked upon getting in the car was: ‘Do you eat any wild foods?’ then that guy might have been our guest this week on the WorldWild Podcast, John Kallas.
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John is an influential wild food researcher, educator, and author, who got his start in wild food through an interest in survival skills and nature. In this conversation, John and Miles discuss community-building, elderhood, declining botanical knowledge, the potential of agroforestry and hydroponics, seaweeds, and tackling inertia to bring about change...
'Plants native to humans; we disturb the soil and they grow, they're easy'
- John Kallas, episode 20
About John Kallas
John Kallas, PhD., is an influential figure in the wild food world and his love for teaching shines through his entire life. He was travelling around Europe in the 70s where often a free lift would turn into a place to sleep and a hearty meal too when he got inspired by the plethora of wild food stories he heard. After returning to the USA and undertaking a PhD in wild food nutrition, he moved to Portland, Oregon, to be close to the snow-capped mountains, the ocean, rain forests, and a population of outdoors people, hungry for wild things. From there, for many years he has run Wild Food Adventures and written numerous articles on wild food nutrition including the very popular Wild Food Adventure quarterly newsletter (1996-2006) which he did the majority of the writing, photography, and printing for.
Further reading
> More on Wild Food Adventures
> Get Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt to Plate (Vol 1) by John Kallas
About the show
We offer a series of conversations to tap into the wildness within ourselves and to uncover what is possible when we do. It is our hope that through the WorldWild Podcast we can contribute to the revitalisation of wild food culture and conversation around the world.
Through people who know their landscapes intimately, we gather the threads to weave a rich tapestry. Piece by piece the vision of a wilder world comes into view. The wild embrace of nature welcomes us back and offers us a seat at the table. A feast, no less!
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