Six Ways To Save The Planet With Mushrooms

[PersianPaladin]

This is a very interesting presentation indeed: -

http://permaculture.org.au/2009/07/28/six-ways-to-save-the-planet-with-mushrooms/

[Chris Knight]

This is a very interesting presentation indeed: -

http://permaculture.org.au/2009/07/28/six-ways-to-save-the-planet-with-mushrooms/

Magic! PP, don't forget to post in the 'flu thread that the Japanese are being saved from swine flu by eating Reishi and shi*ake with their antiviral and antimicrobial properties, as mentioned by Stamets! Nice link tho.

[Methuselah]

Indeed PP, it's a very intersting link.

What I find really amazing, is how little we Brits (and possibly Americans too?) seem to understand mushrooms - many of which, too-many faery tales call toadstools IMO... But, my Latvian/Polish friends know precisely what to look for and where to look for it!

I believe that, as children, we were influenced by negative publicity when, what we really needed was education.Because, IMO, mushroom cultures could go part of the way towards alleviating world poverty - as they are EVERYWHERE!??

Good subject, PP!

[PersianPaladin]

Another interesting fact is that mushrooms are able to synthesise the most complex organic chemicals known to man. There are also several compounds in many wild mushrooms that are unknown to medical science. Interestingly, the biosynthesis mechanisms of some known poisons in certain species are not fully understood either. For example, I was told that one particular species contained agents that could lie dormant in the body for up to 15 years before it finally killed the person that consumed it.

[Methuselah]

Another interesting fact is that mushrooms are able to synthesise the most complex organic chemicals known to man. There are also several compounds in many wild mushrooms that are unknown to medical science. Interestingly, the biosynthesis mechanisms of some known poisons in certain species are not fully understood either. For example, I was told that one particular species contained agents that could lie dormant in the body for up to 15 years before it finally killed the person that consumed it.

In the first case: such as?

In the second: really? And, such as?

[PersianPaladin]

In the first case: such as?

In the second: really? And, such as?

The information I detailed there is available in the following book: -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mushrooms-Toadstools-Collins-Nature-Guide/dp/0002199947

I will try and get the specific quotes.

[Methuselah]

Good idea PP. Because, as it stands, neither you nor I is aware of what medical science isn't!

[PersianPaladin]

Good idea PP. Because, as it stands, neither you nor I is aware of what medical science isn't!

But it would be very arrogant and foolish for medical scientists or chemists to claim to know all of the active chemical constituents that make up the toxicological profile of the worlds' mushrooms. The main ones, however, are well known. Thankfully, they are learning more and more about them.

[PersianPaladin]

Some interesting info on the toxicology: -

http://mycos.blogspot.com/2006/02/thirty-plus-years-of-mushroom.html

A quote from the book I mentioned: -

"Paxillus Involutus is a particularly dangerous poisonous fungus because it is harmless if eaten singly and well cooked. Eaten raw, or insufficiently cooked, it causes severe or even fatal poisonings. After repeated consumption it can lead to sudden poisonings even if prepared correctly; even with an interval of years between eating the fungus, several people have been fatally poisoned. This fungus contains an as yet unknown agent which accumulates in the blood and triggers the formation of antibodies. If, after repeated intake a critical threshold is surpassed, a poisoning that appears like leukaemia is observed. Do not taste this fungus, or use it for cooking."

(p. 140)

[Methuselah]

But it would be very arrogant and foolish for medical scientists or chemists to claim to know all of the active chemical constituents that make up the toxicological profile of the worlds' mushrooms. The main ones, however, are well known. Thankfully, they are learning more and more about them.

So PP? What you are implying then, is that it's good that the medical community is as up-to-date on these things as are you?

How condescending of you!

I have friends and relatives in that domain PP...And - they know a darned site more about it than you do!

Isn't it arrogant of you, to claim that you know more than the professionals? What is it that you have a degree in? Social Services?

[PersianPaladin]

So PP? What you are implying then, is that it's good that the medical community is as up-to-date on these things as are you?

How condescending of you!

I have friends and relatives in that domain PP...And - they know a darned site more about it than you do!

Isn't it arrogant of you, to claim that you know more than the professionals? What is it that you have a degree in? Social Services?

Lol...I think you misunderstood me there. Probably bad wording on my part.

Yes, they know more about it than you and I. But, we can still quote what the experts are actually telling us (i.e. that there are still unknown facts that need to be pursued).

[Phil UK]

An interesting fact.

There are something like 6,500 species of mushroom and toadstools. (Or fungi if you like!) that exist in the UK.

Only a handful of them are actually deemed fit for human consumption. The rest have certain toxicity so perhaps PP is correct as regarding the 15 year issue. Some will kill you within 24 hours. (septicemia) So don't eat the red capped ones.

As for mushrooms saving the Earth, I'm not too sure about that but I've always maintained that the likes of the Amazon Rain Forest and such are the Earth's natural medical cabinet. And what is man doing??

Cutting it down, rather than preserving. No sense in that.

Phil.

[Shiny_Bottom_1]

Magic!

was that meant to be a slip of the tongue there Chris?

[Chris Knight]

was that meant to be a slip of the tongue there Chris?

Isn't it a contraction of "MAnchego, GromIC?" (aimed at the Eastern European Market!)

I love wild mushrooms, but they have been rather late in my part of the world this year. They need both warmth and rain. So far, some Agaricus and Marasmius since the end of July, both species on grass in "fairy rings", but a world away (in taste and texture) from the supermarket mushrooms.

[PersianPaladin]

Isn't it a contraction of "MAnchego, GromIC?" (aimed at the Eastern European Market!)

I love wild mushrooms, but they have been rather late in my part of the world this year. They need both warmth and rain. So far, some Agaricus and Marasmius since the end of July, both species on grass in "fairy rings", but a world away (in taste and texture) from the supermarket mushrooms.

I don't trust myself or anybody I know to pick wild mushrooms; except for a few distinctive varieties that I'm certain have no poisonous look-alikes.

[Methuselah]

I don't trust myself or anybody I know to pick wild mushrooms; except for a few distinctive varieties that I'm certain have no poisonous look-alikes.

Field mushrooms, Chestnut mushrooms and Chanterelles will do me fine...