Let's say you did not stock up, or if you are really hungry and have no money, or if your neighbor who works at the FDA came by and stole all your food with his AR-15. It's time to get creative! Here is a guide on how to identify which plants and berries are safe to eat (bonus, you'll likely lose a ton of weight):
Separate a plant into parts. Some plants have edible
parts and poisonous parts. In order to test if a plant is edible, you
actually just want to check if one part (leaf, stem, or root) of one
kind of plant is edible. After you have separated the plant into parts,
inspect each part you are preparing for parasites. If you encounter
worms or small insects inside the plant, discontinue the test with that
sample and consider seeking a different sample of the same plant.
Evidence of worms, parasites or insects indicates that the plant is
rotten, especially if the organism has vacated the plant. Many parts of
plants are only edible during certain seasons (for example, acorns
collected after the fall are usually rotten). If you find grubs inside
the plant, the plant is rotting, but the grubs are edible and contain
high amounts of protein (although they taste sour and are gritty).
Find out if the plant is contact-poisonous. A
contact-poisonous plant is one that causes a reaction merely by touching
your skin. Rub the selected plant part on the inside of your elbow or
wrist. Crush it so that the sap touches your skin, and hold it there for
15 minutes. If the plant causes a reaction in the next 8 hours, do not
continue testing that part of that plant.
Prepare a small portion of the plant part. Some plants are poisonous only when raw, so it's a good idea to cook the plant part you are testing if possible. If you can't cook the plant
or if you don't anticipate that you will be able to cook it in the
future, just test it raw.
Hold a small portion of the prepared plant part against your lip for 3 minutes. Do not put the plant in your mouth. If you notice any burning, tingling, or other reaction, discontinue testing.
Place another small portion of the plant part on your tongue. Hold the plant on your tongue without chewing for 15 minutes. Discontinue testing if you notice any reaction.
Chew the plant and hold it in your mouth for 15 minutes. Chew the plant well, and do not swallow. Discontinue testing if you notice any reaction.
Swallow the small portion of plant.
Wait 8 hours. Do not eat or drink anything during this period except purified water. If you feel sick, immediately induce vomiting and drink plenty of water. If activated charcoal is available, take
that with the water. Discontinue testing if you experience any adverse
reaction.
Eat 1/4 cup of the same kind of plant part prepared the same way.
It is critical that you use exactly the same part of exactly the same
kind of plant, and that you prepare it in exactly the same way as you
did the initial sample.
Wait an additional 8 hours. Abstain from any other food except purified water. Induce vomiting
immediately as above if you should feel ill. If no reaction has
occurred, you may assume only that particular part of the plant is safe
to eat, and only as prepared during the test.
Begin a new test, if the plant part you have chosen fails any of the tests.
If the first plant part you choose appears contact-poisonous, you may
immediately test a new plant on your other arm or behind your knee. If
the plant causes a reaction before you have swallowed it, wait until the
symptoms have disappeared before testing a new plant. If you have an
adverse reaction after you've swallowed the plant, wait until symptoms
have disappeared and start a new test. Although there may be edible
parts of the plant you initially chose, it is preferable to move on to a
different plant for subsequent tests.
