Why are people so Terrificationized* by mushrooms?
Warning this is a rant and I'll explain why at the end, or you could just skip reading this but you will miss out on the grunt of the text.
Ready to cook
Boletus edulis (the prized Cep or Penny bun more commonly known as the Porcini Mushroom, prized by the Italians and many other Europeans).
Is it because we were told all of this BS from our parents who were also told the same BS from theirs etc etc.? That if you even touch them you will die? Is it from fairy tales we were read as children; crazy stories in the press??
First up I want to say GREAT!!!! (in response the above question in the title because that means all the more for our family to pick and enjoy LOL!
For example: in the United Kingdom there is an unwritten code that one should definitely kick over/trample any mushrooms they see whilst out walking the dog etc. EVEN if it is a protected area. I've challenged many a walker over this and the response is always the same and goes a little something like this:
"I don't want my dog eating them as they could kill them". I smile and nod and don't bother to reply as it is useless against such ridiculous logic (well it's not logic to begin with is it?).
The same can be heard from people in Australia and some of my (yes anecdotal of course) American compadres have looked at me like I've lost the plot when I suggested we go mushroom picking.
No, no, this is a strong fear in many and most of those many just reply that they have zero intention of eating any wild mushroom unless it came out of the supermarket and even then they steer clear of the super market ones.
This is as close to a superstition as possible I reckon LOL.
Across Europe where mushroom picking is supposed to be part of the culture; well it is part of the culture but no longer in the most part for the young person who spends their time bogged ten feet deep into a small screen. They will only dare to eat a mushroom if it comes from Lidl!
The only significant "culture' who is picking wild mushrooms are those engaged in the commercial side of things. IMHO.
For example in Bulgaria, a culture steeped in hunting traditions where hunting is and can be enjoyed by all and NOT only for the wealthy; out of doors activities does not extend to mushroom picking amongst the young and is as rare as finding hens teeth.
How do I know this? am I talking out of my....?
Well I've travelled a lot and lived in many places and when in these regions where the mushrooms abound, no one to be seen except commercial pickers (if you even see them as usually they have "secrete' locations" just like fishermen LOL!
Go out into the forests and only pensioners to be seen walking/Hiking. In all of my adventures across Bulgaria I can count on two hands at most the number of young people out walking hiking let alone picking mushrooms and or fishing and only the "older set" shooting.
Maybe you are now saying hey in that little country there is nothing to hunt. Well that's not true, or there is so little forest there are no mushrooms to pick, still not true (for Bulgaria at least). No, my dear friend's this all stems from the fact that most are:
TERRIFICATIONIZED by the diminutive mushroom.
YES YES! There are some which can kill if you (Amanita phalloides- The Death Cap) eat them, no antidote but just learn which ones they are; how much simpler could that be? No need to be afraid of everything, right?
I learnt my trade globally (and believe it or not to begin with in Australia- yes we have edible mushrooms) from Polish, French and Russian friends who are all avid collectors of wild mushrooms.
I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy these fruits of the forests and can profess that it might be great to be able to build your survival shelter come what may, but without food and water your shelter will contain a skeleton at the end of the day.
You must know as many things as you can to eat safely if you want to be into "bushcraft" survival (it's not just about how to light a fire or build a shelter, it's about water and food, then a shelter and fire if you can) and also it's great to be able to build a fire from anything but again no good if you are now at a stage where you wished you could have identified those wild mushrooms and you will starve to death in front of a warm camp fire with food growing all around you (ok not just mushrooms of course -all of that "green stuff' you failed to learn which was edible and which will poison you LOL.
How can we profess to want to be in touch with nature but at the same time terrified of her?
Many (young) people (age range 13- 30) could not light a fire even if given a box of matches, dry wood and a cigarette lighter for good measure, let alone a can of petrol just to make sure. They would rather spend away their free time in the shopping malls.
That stupid joke about: "Where does milk come from"? is beginning to sound not that stupid anymore these days. Puntzy schools where the parents pay dearly for their child's education have subjects like "getting in touch with nature" where at best you might find some teachers trying to show certain age groups how to light a fire out of doors. You're paying for this stupidity.
It's all good and well to know that one could probably eat most animals (with few exceptions and or special treatment (such as fish from the puffer family) but another thing to know about what plant and fungal foods are available from the perspective of the survivalist. Then it will become a challenge to all if they can only find mushrooms and abundant plant material but no fish or four legged creatures in sight let alone be carrying a rifle/bow and know how to use it in regards to hunting.
We don't have to be into killing animals if hunting is not your thing but at the same time why kick over mushrooms, they are one of natures most beautiful things (ask any macro photographer engaged in this activity).
Now as to the "why kick over mushrooms and WHY this is a very dumb ass thing to do, especially if you are terrificationized by them;
BECAUSE if you do happen to trample over the Death cap mushroom or the Destroying angel mushrooms and then get all of this stuff all over your shoes, there is a much greater chance that you will end up touching this stuff and or your beloved animal will come unstuck by licking your shoes biting them picking them up and carrying them around the house etc. Just leave the mushrooms alone eh? For similar reasons I'm not shooting anything I don't intend to bring back and eat. (with the exceptions of feral animal control)
So what does (one of) the most deadly mushroom look like?
click this link
https://www.facebook.com/Bushcampingtools/videos/1952293955043948
*My son made up this great word and I love it!
I hear ya. Even I, as a 59 year old was taught not to eat wild mushrooms or 'weeds' when I was a kid. As a 9-year-old I got in trouble for eating chewing gum buds off a native shrub another kid showed me. My mother, even though we lived in the bush for my early years was a bit of a city girl but dad taught me a lot before he had to go overseas for work. I learned most of my bush skills from about age 15 on. Mostly self-taught by reading books and putting those lessons into practice. However, I also learned a lot from locals in Far North Queensland.
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