Henry Browne
Omnivores dilemma pt2
The chapter on fungus immediately grabs my attention by pointing out how humans take great joy in performing primal necessities , although today they usually have no connection to our survival. This immediately made me reflect on my own behavior and why this might be. Despite our lives I think these needs to perform survival tasks is wired into our brains and if necessity doesn’t force us into realizing this we at least get gratification out of it. This kind of thinking would explain the dedication of mushroom hunters, since Mushrooms are one of the edibles that can be largely harvested from nature without propagation this kind of gathering seems like it would strike the most primal nerve. Success depending on skill and timing and beating out your competitors. Treasure hunting, going out into the woods and coming back rich or broke depending on your savvy and determination. The limitless possibilities or disappointments.
Another factor in mushroom hunting may be the mysterious nature of the mushroom that Polan expresses. Fungus is very different than all the other organisms the material has examined. Most obviously the fact that it’s a fungus and not a plant or an animal, to my understanding it’s basically a large bacterial colony. The way the fungus functions is also very different from any of the other organisms, it has a very indirect relationship with solar energy almost unlike anything. The only real solar energy they get is in the converted forms of rotting materials it feeds off.
When reading about mushroom hunting I first thought that perhaps over collection could be a problem. The book seas it isn’t but it seems like with hundreds of pounds being picked that’s a lot less spores around. Then I happened to pick up another book that assures me that for many mushrooms humans are beneficial. Apparently fungus have long life cycle for much of which they are dormant, however in disturbed areas many mushrooms flourish. This implied that humans with there many destructive processes (construction sites, parks) creative perfect habitats for fungus. It went on to say that some places like parks and playgrounds with mulch beds create great fungus habitats. It would seems like rats and pigeons perhaps fungus’s work well with humans.