Humans and Wild Plants
Come with me on a journey – not just through fields and forests, but deep into ourselves. Guided by the world of plants, this is more than a walk in nature. It’s an invitation to rediscover the richness of the world around us – and perhaps, to rethink who we are.
Let’s begin with a simple truth: the natural world around us is teeming with wild plants. For centuries, many of them have nourished humankind. I’ve catalogued nearly 1,600 edible species for Europe in my book Le Régal végétal. In the Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America, I’ve described more than 4,000 from that region. Worldwide, I estimate the total could approach 80,000 species.
To put this into perspective, the average Westerner consumes altogether no more than about thirty plant species – all cultivated. And globally, just 29 species account for 90% of all plant-based food consumption. This reality raises a crucial question: why are the abundant resources we mentioned earlier so underused?
Are wild plants unpleasant to eat? If they’ve stood the test of time, perhaps it’s not the plants that have changed, but our perception of flavor. Some do have bold, even bitter tastes that jar our modern palates. Yet others – like young hogweed shoots or burdock stems, tender wild lettuce leaves, or fully ripe cornelian cherries – can delight even the most refined taste buds. My collaborations with Michelin-starred chefs speak volumes about the fascination these plants still inspire.
Is foraging and preparing wild plants simply too time-consuming? It is true that some species – like the tiny leaves of wood sorrel or delicate pixie nuts – require a bit of patience to gather. But others, such as hogweed or Good King Henry, can yield enough to feed ten people in just a minute’s picking. And what about those vast carpets of wild garlic, spreading across the forest floor, offering anyone who stoops a handful of fragrant leaves? These plants grow freely, without the need for sowing, watering, or weeding – saving both time and effort.
Is it fear that keeps us away from wild plants – the idea that they might be poisonous? Indeed, some species are toxic, and a few can be deadly even in small amounts. But they’re the exception, not the rule. Only about 4% of wild plants are harmful to humans. By comparison, around 20% of ornamental garden plants are toxic – and up to 80% of the plants we keep indoors. In fact, dangerous plants are usually easy to recognize – if we take the time to study them. It’s no harder than learning to read, using a computer or driving a car.
But do wild plants really matter? Could it be that we stopped eating them because they hold no nutritional value? If so, that would be understandable. To find out, I had the chance to consult Nestlé’s library, the world’s largest food company, where I discovered numerous nutritional analyses of wild plants – most of them conducted by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). And the results are clear: compared to cultivated vegetables, wild plants usually come out far ahead in terms of nutrient content.
Nettle, so common and often dismissed, contains eight times more vitamin C than oranges, three times more iron than spinach, as much calcium as cheese, and a notable amount of magnesium. Rose hips are the undisputed champions of vitamin C, with fifteen times more than citrus fruits!
All green leaves – like nettle’s – contain complete proteins, with all essential amino acids, equivalent in quality to animal protein. A true nutritional powerhouse, quietly ignored. These plants are also rich in healthy fats, with a balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, and packed with antioxidants like flavonoids and anthocyanins.
In short, wild plants are natural superfoods: nourishing, delicious, and free. What more could we ask for?
You’ll find all the details on the nutritional value of wild plants in L’Art de la cueillette (The Art of Foraging).
For curious minds, then, the question arises: why did we abandon the plants that fed humanity for most of its history? Agriculture is barely 10,000 years old, while humans have been around for millions – and our species for some 300,000 years.
The key reason lies in the medieval elite’s drive to set themselves apart from the common folk – through their homes, clothes, language and above all, their food. The wealthy feasted on meat, refined goods, and exotic fruits and vegetables from far-off lands; the poor ate coarse grains, rustic vegetables and local wild plants.
Eating green beans or peas meant: “I’m someone of status – look, I can afford a gardener to grow delicate, exotic plants.” Relying on nettles and dandelions signaled poverty: “I have no choice but to eat what nature provides and costs nothing.”
When peasants moved to cities as workers, they quickly adopted bourgeois habits, themselves shaped by the nobility. In this social hierarchy, wild plants became a mark of low status – the food of peasants.
Even today, this divide lingers: many still can’t imagine eating wild plants, considering them fit only for animals. Interestingly, Anglo-Saxon wild gatherers call themselves “foragers” – a word borrowed from the French “fourrage,” meaning fodder, a rather derogatory label for human food…
The roots of this socio-economic divide stretch back to the dawn of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago. But here’s a myth to bust: agriculture wasn’t invented to rescue starving hunter-gatherers. Its origins are complex – climate shifts, sedentary lifestyles driving population growth, the pursuit of status, a spirit of experimentation, and more.
Far from improving human health, archaeological evidence reveals that early agriculture actually led to a decline in nutrition and well-being. This choice – perhaps the most decisive in human history – triggered a cascade of consequences: war, slavery, famine, epidemics, wealth accumulation, power concentration, social hierarchies, monotheistic religions, technological leaps, pollution, widespread environmental destruction… even the atomic bomb can trace its roots back to the Neolithic revolution.
Yet it’s not all doom and gloom. Agriculture also brought us warmth in winter, the music of Bach and Jimi Hendrix, and the joy of savoring delicious meals.
(https://couplan.com/livres/ce-que-les-plantes-ont-a-nous-dire-2/)
It is time to face the truth: our modern world is built on a specific relationship with plants – one of domination. Instead of embracing nature’s gifts, as our Paleolithic ancestors did, we force it to meet our ever-increasing demands – gradually, or rather quite rapidly today, destroying it bit by bit along the way.
Understanding our history is no trivial matter; it is the essential step toward reclaiming our future.
Radically transforming our relationship with wild plants – putting them back at the heart of our lives – could grant us greater freedom and effectiveness. Moreover, it would empower us to actively reshape society and inspire positive change for all living beings. Far beyond mere food or medicine, wild plants hold the keys to understanding our place in the Universe. The opportunity is ours to seize.
