EAT THE WEEDS

 

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.