Purslane growing through holes in the black plastic ground cover, in my rock garden. This took one month to grow 2 feet across. |
Eating the weeds
might be the best alternative to being force-fed corn and other by-products that are already genetically modified. Large corporations would like to make genetically manipulated corn, soy and wheat so that it will be immune to ever more toxic herbicidal chemicals. The goal is to try to kill weeds that compete with domestic grains. The genetically modified grains would supposedly be able to withstand being sprayed with stronger chemicals. Meanwhile the weeds seem to adjust and become ever more immune to the toxins.
The exponential volume of grains produced, will of course, also contain their
portion of these poisons being produced
for farm animal and human consumption. These increased toxins will also be hidden in hundreds of
processed foods appearing under names hard to recognize. We are being told there is no harm in eating these products.
Ironically, some of the
weeds that would supposedly be overwhelmed by poisons that have so far failed to be
killed by previous herbicides, are much more high in nutrients than the grain
products that would survive being sprayed with toxins. (Info from Just Label It. See previous post.)
PURSLANE- Portulaca oleracea is a very nutritious and edible weed.
Purslane is a low growing succulent plant
that grows wild. It can be either an annual or biennial. It has fleshy
decumbent stems, leaves that are opposite, spatulate and sessile with a
slightly pinkish tinge. There are different varieties, some with leaves that
are very small, and others that are quite large, with varying amounts of red in the stems.The plant bears yellow flowers
in groups of two or three to eight, appearing in late summer, and soon replaced by
seeds.
Purslane is widely
distributed from Greece to Mainland China, and has been introduced elsewhere, growing all over the USA. Asian and European countries do not all have ready access to the vitamin and mineral
supplements that we have in the USA and Canada, but many people in these
countries can meet their need for Vitamin A,
C, iron and potassium as well as some other minerals, by eating Purslane.
Purslane contains about 700
mg per 100 grams of Vitamin C and about 75% of the daily needs for those
minerals, about equivalent to that found in cooked Spinach. It also supplies
other minerals.
When made into a tea, Purslane is
good for all respiratory disorders and
skin afflictions. Boil 2 cups of water, pour over the herb and steep for 30
minutes. Drink 1 cup of tea twice daily. (From John Heinerman’s Encyclopedia
of Healing Herbs and Spices.)
My mother fed Purslane to our family as a
pot herb when I was a child, in Michigan, and it grows in Colorado as a back
yard garden or lawn weed, edible, if you avoid
poisoning your lawn. Purslane is a nice addition to salads, adding a
different texture as well as nutrients.
I do not know exactly which weeds are targeted by the companies promoting herbicides to farmers. I only know of some of the widely available edible weeds that might be a better choice for the table, than the vegetables being grown for us and modified in ways that do not select for improved nutrition.
Writing and images are the Copyright © of Ruth Zachary.
I do not know exactly which weeds are targeted by the companies promoting herbicides to farmers. I only know of some of the widely available edible weeds that might be a better choice for the table, than the vegetables being grown for us and modified in ways that do not select for improved nutrition.
Writing and images are the Copyright © of Ruth Zachary.