1. IRREVERSIBLE LOSS: THREATS TO HUMAN HEALTH &
FOOD SECURITY
Zabta K. Shinwari
Quaid-i-Azam University

2. Scenario of Natural Resource
A large proportion of species in all assessed taxa are currently threatened with extinction (12% of birds, 23% of mammals, 32% of amphibians; 31% of gymnosperms; 33% of corals) and the best estimate of population trends of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish indicates that since 1970 global population sizes have declined by almost 30%.
Symbionts of other organisms, extinction of their
hosts can cause their extinction too.
Loh, J. et al. in 2010 and Beyond: Rising to the Biodiversity Challenge (ed. Loh, J.) (Living Planet Index, WWF, 2008).

3. Reduced Biodiversity unable to----
If ecosystems with reduced biodiversity are less able to provide the ecosystem services—such as carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and resistance to drought—on which humans rely.
Ecosystem functions decline as biodiversity is lost. Reduced disease transmission is an important ecosystem service provided by high biodiversity.
(Naeem et al. 2009, Oxford University Press).

4. Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases
Current unprecedented declines in biodiversity reduce the ability of ecological communities to provide many fundamental ecosystem services.
Reduced biodiversity affects the transmission of infectious diseases of humans, other animals and plants.
Evidence indicates that biodiversity loss frequently increases disease transmission.
Areas of naturally high biodiversity may serve as a source pool for new pathogens.
Current evidence indicates that preserving intact ecosystems and their endemic biodiversity should generally reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases.
Keesing et al., Nature vol. 468: Dec., 2010

5. Emerging Disease Events-----
Between 1940 and 2004, over 300 emerging disease events were identified in humans around the world. Concomitantly, other emerging infectious diseases also appeared in wildlife, domesticated animals, and crop and wild plants. Emerging infectious diseases include those in which the pathogen has evolved into a new strain within the same host species, for example, through the evolution of drug resistance (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA) or switched to new host species (for example, human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS). In some cases, the switch to new host species is accompanied by a change in geographic range (for example, West Nile virus in the Americas).

6. Drivers and locations of emergence events for zoonotic infectious diseases in humans from 1940–2005. a,Worldwide %age of emergence events caused by each driver; b, Countries in which the emergence events took place, and the drivers of emergence. The size of the circle represents the number of emergence events: for scale, the number of events in the United States was 59. Globally, almost half of these diseases resulted from changes in land use, changes in agricultural and other food production practices, or through wildlife hunting, which suggests that contact rates between humans and other animals are an important underlying cause of zoonotic disease emergence. ‘Other’ includes international travel and commerce, changes in human demographics and behaviour, changes in the medical industry, climate and weather, breakdown of public health measures, and unspecified causes.

7. Biodiversity loss may accelerate ---
Infectious disease include a host and a pathogen; often many more species are involved, including additional hosts, vectors and other organisms with which these species interact.
West Nile virus is a mosquito-transmitted virus for which several species of passerine birds act as hosts. Three recent studies detected strong correlations between low bird diversity and increased human risk or incidence of West Nile encephalitis in the United States
Allan, B. F. et al. Ecological correlates of risk and incidence of West Nile virus in the United States. Oecologia 155, 699–708 (2009).

8. Links between diseases and the diversity
In human bodies, for example, 90% of all cells are microbial. A number of studies have begun to show links between diseases and the diversity of an organism’s ‘microbiome’. Changes in the composition of microbiomes are frequently associated with infection and disease.
A rich microbial community appears to regulate the abundance of endemic microbial species that can become pathogenic when overly abundant
Turnbaugh,P. J. et al.Thehumanmicrobiome project.Nature449,804–810(2007).

9. Biodiversity loss may accelerate ---
For hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a directly transmitted zoonotic disease, correlational and experimental studies have shown that a lower diversity of small mammals increases the prevalence of hantaviruses in their hosts, thereby increasing risk to humans
With species losses increasing the transmission of two fungal rust pathogens that infect perennial rye grass and other plant species (Source: Roscher et al. Oecologia 153, 173–183 (2007).

10. Biodiversity loss – it will make you sick
A new generation of antibiotics, new treatments for thinning bone disease and kidney failure, and new cancer treatments may all stand to be lost unless the world acts to reverse the present alarming rate of biodiversity loss.
The natural world holds secrets to the development of new kinds of safer and more powerful pain-killers; treatments for a leading cause of blindness – macular degeneration – and possibly ways of re-growing lost tissues and organs by, for example, studying amphibians, salamanders etc.

11. Amphibian species
Nearly one third of the approximately 6,000 known amphibian species are threatened with extinction.
Promising Treatment for Peptic Ulcers Lost (Brooding frog (Rheobatrachus)
Alkaloids made by species like the Ecuadorian Poison Frog, which could be the source of a new and novel generation of pain-killers.
Antibacterial compounds produced in the skin of frogs and toads such as the African Clawed Frog and South and Central American leaf frogs.
One compound, known as ziconotide, is thought to be 1000 times more potent than morphine and has been shown in clinical trials to provide significant pain relief for advanced cancer and AIDS patients. Another cone snail compound has been shown in animal models to protect brain cells from death during times of inadequate blood flow.
Marine snail

12. Bears
Several medical benefits have already arisen from the study of bears, including the development of rsodeoxycholic acid, found in the gall bladders of some bear species such as polar and black bears, into a medicine.
The substance is used to prevent the build up of bile during pregnancy; dissolve certain kinds of gallstones; and prolong the life of patients with a specific kind of liver disease, known as primary biliary cirrhosis, giving them more time to find a liver transplant.
‘Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity’
Oxford University Press, April 2008

13. Pakistan: Geographical Dispersion of Districts13

14. Forest-based communities
Forest communities involved in relatively new initiatives in local forest management
Over-arching goals such as enrichment of forests, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods.
However, in Pakistan - forest –based communities getting marginalized in mainstream development with limited options
Now exposed to the worst (Extremism vs State actions)
Socio-economic context:
Widespread poverty
Substantial reliance on remittances from migrant household members.
Strong dependence on natural resources e.g. fuelwood, wild foods, medicinal plants, thatching grass, construction timber etc.
Wild plant products formed an important part of household diet.

15. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ?
Conservation goals cannot be divorced from economic development.
SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENT
Biodiversity encompasses the diversity of genes, species and ecosystems.

16. Link of reduce Biodiversity with invasiveness of species
Plants with weedy traits become more abundant when plant diversity declines. Consequently, the very species that have traits permitting persistence in degraded and species-poor ecosystems are also more likely to carry high pathogen and vector burdens.
Pilgrim, et al., Biol. Conserv. 120, 161–170 (2004).

17. Sustainability – an ethical concept
We are trustees, or stewards, of the planet's vast resources and biological diversity
We must learn to make use of the earth's natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, in a manner that ensures sustainability and equity into the distant reaches of time.
This requires full consideration of the potential environmental consequences of all development activities
We must temper our actions with moderation and humility
The true value of nature cannot be expressed in economic terms
This requires a deep understanding of the natural world and its role in humanity's collective development both material and spiritual
Sustainable environmental management is not a discretionary commitment we can weigh against other competing interests
It is a fundamental responsibility that must be shouldered, a pre-requisite for spiritual development as well as our physical survival. (based on Bahá'í International Community, Valuing Spirituality in Development. A concept paper written for the World Faiths and Development Dialogue, Lambeth Palace, London, February 1998)

18. JUSTICE AND EQUITY
It is unjust to sacrifice the well-being of the generality of humankind -- and even of the planet itself -- to the advantages which technological breakthroughs can make available to privileged minorities.
Only development programmes that are perceived as meeting their needs and as being just and equitable in objective can hope to engage the commitment of the masses of humanity, upon whom implementation depends.
(adapted from Baha'i International Community, Prosperity of Humankind)

19. Solidarity
The poor are most vulnerable to climate change and least able to protect themselves.
We should consider every human being as a trust of the whole.
The goal of wealth creation should be to make everyone wealthy.
Voluntary giving is more meaningful and effective than forced redistribution.

20. Moderation in Material Civilization
The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men.... The day is approaching when its flame will devour the cities...
Bahá'u'lláh ( )
Global warming is a perfect illustration of this

21. Contentment – moderate lifestyles
All faiths have taught the spiritual value of a simple life and detachment from material things:
...be content with little, and be freed from all inordinate desire.
(Bahá'u'lláh)
What does this imply for the consumer society and its energy consumption?

22. Human population growth

24. Note correlations in the data.
The Ozone Hole
Global Warming

25. Climate change will bring great environmental changes (Aral Sea, from UNEP, GEO 3)
Food insecurity
Water shortages
Terrorism, refugees
Natural, economic and social disasters
Loss of biodiversity

26. Human Impacts of Climate Change
An increase in extreme weather events: floods, droughts, cyclones
Less winter snowfall, melting glaciers, water shortages
Changing conditions for agriculture and forestry, shifting fish stocks
Sea level rise, flooding low-lying areas and islands
Millions of environmental refugees
High costs of mitigation and adaptation
Greatest impact on the poor

27. Global warming is driven by our addiction to cheap energy
Our industrial economy was built on cheap energy, mostly from fossil fuels
Transportation, communications, trade, agriculture, heating/cooling, consumer lifestyle all depend on energy
Energy demand is rising rapidly and the supply is shrinking
Global warming is just one more reason to address the energy challenge urgently
Adaptation will be extremely expensive

28. Controlling greenhouse gases?
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Rio, 1992) call for controls
Kyoto Protocol on reduction of greenhouse gases – return emissions to 1990 levels by 2012
CO2 emissions rose 4.5% in 2004 to 27.5 b tonnes, 26% higher than 1990
China and India have doubled CO2 production since 1990, US +20%, Australia +40%
US released 5.8, China 4.5, Europe 3.3, India 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2004

29. Fossil energy use is still growing
World oil use is growing 1.1%/year, Latin America 2.8%, India 5.4%, China 7.5%
From , world oil consumption will rise 56%, with OPEC production doubling, but non- OPEC production has already peaked
Oil provides 40% of world's primary energy
Two thirds of future energy demand will come from developing countries where 1.6 billion people have no electricity.
Energy demand and global warming are on a collision course

30. Religion and the challenges of today
- Progressive globalizing of human experience
- Loss of faith in the certainties of materialism as its negative impacts become apparent
- Lack of faith in traditional religion and failure to find guidance there for living with modernity
- Still longing to understand the purpose of existence
- Now there is a sudden resurgence of religion, based on a groundswell of anxiety and discontent with spiritual emptiness.
- Desperate people without hope are easily attracted to radical, intolerant, fanatical movements.
- The world is in the grip of a war of civilizations based on irreconcilable religious antipathies
- This situation paralyses our ability to address global challenges such as climate change

31. We can choose
Business as usual in a materialistic society ignoring the future
Retreating to a fortress world of old values
Making a transition to sustainability with science and religion in harmony

32. Age structure in MDCs and LDCs
24.1 Human population growth
Age structure in MDCs and LDCs

33. Our unsustainable society
24.4 Working toward a sustainable society
Our unsustainable society
Population growth in the LDCs is at a high rate
Consumption in the MDCs is at a high rate
Agriculture uses a lot of the land, water and fossil fuels and produces pollution
Almost ½ of the agricultural yield feeds our farm animals
It takes about 10 lbs of grain to produce about 1 lb of meat therefore the overeating of meat in the MDCs is wasteful
Currently we mostly use nonrenewable forms of energy leading to acid deposition, global warming and smog
As the human population grows we encroach on other species that results in habitat loss and species extinction

34. Indoor air pollution and rural like
The health and demographic impact of biomass fuel use: A cross country comparison
Indoor air pollution
and rural like
Dependence on biomass
exacts a heavy price on
quality of life and health,
especially among rural
population, women and
children

35. Indoor air pollution from household fuels in Pakistan
Household energy use by type of fuel in Pakistan

36. disability-adjusted life
Indoor smoke 4th in global ranking factors for burden of disease in developing countries
disability-adjusted life
years (DALYs)

37. Where we are? Countries who learnt lesson from 9173-4 oil embargo:
Japan drive towards energy efficiency
France nuclear energy (78% of electricity needs & waste is reprocessed)
Brazil ethanol from sugar cane, today between domestic oil production & Ethanol industry it does need to import crude oil.
Denmark political will (CO2 tax)
1980s economy grew 70%, energy consumption same
16% energy from solar & wind power
Two of world most innovative manufacturer of enzymes converting biomass to fuel are in Denmark
73 they got 99% energy from middle East, today is zero

38. Green house gases Fuel from Heaven (come from above ground)
Wind, hydroelectric, tidal, biomass, solar (renewable, produce no harmfull emissions)
Fuel from hell (come from undergorund)
Coal, oil, gas (emit CO2 & other pollutants.

39. Green house gases
Other green house gases (e.g Methan CH4) from rice farming, petroleum drilling, coal mining, animal defecation, solid waste landfill sites, cattle belching.
CH4 heat trapping power in atmosphere is 21 times stronger than CO2
1.3b cows belching in the world
When cow chew their cud, they re-gurgitate some food to rechew it (gas comes out)
Avg cow expels 600L CH4 daily
Trap the sun’s heat near the earth surface before the heat radiates back into space.
Composition of earth’s atmosphere has been relatively unchanged for 25m years.

40. Population Current 6.7 b (9.2 b in 2050) Less dev. 5.4 (7.9 b in 2050)
1.2 b extremely poor (less than 1$ a day); half live in India-Pak (Pak 50 m).
1800 London was world’s largest city (1m)
1960 (111 cities with pop. More than 1m)
1995 (280 cities with 1m & more)
2007 (310)
Ten million or more (1975-5; & )

41. Population & Governance
Countries where population grow rapidly, governance is difficult (Afghan; Niger; Congo; Pak).
Population is expected to triple by mid century
Large pop. Results in lack of basic freedom, basic needs, food, housings, edn, employment; so they are attracted to violence, civil unrest & extremisms.

42. Green house gases CO2 Industrial, residential & transportation
Go to earth’s atmosphere which is like a blanket, regulate planet’s temperature
CO2 build up thickens the blanket, making globe warm
Deforestation in places like Indonesia & Brazil is responsible for more CO2 than all the world’s car, trucks, plans, ships and trains combined (20% of all global emissions)

43. Environmentalism
We are running an uncontrolled experiment on the only home we have.
We can no longer expect to enjoy peace & security, economic growth, & human rights, if we continue to ignore key problems of energy-climate Era:
Energy supply & demand, climate change, energy-poverty & biodiversity loss
Friedman, 2008

44. Edible Wild Plants In Asia

45. Use of wild food resources by rural households in Limpopo Province, South Africa (Hansen 1998):
Wild herbs and vegetables – 92%
Wild fruit – 81%
Insects – 77%
Bushmeat – 32%
Cultivated food crops (Giannecchini 2000);
Homestead garden plots – 98%
Large fields outside of village – 89%
Animal ownership (Twine et al. 2003)
Cattle – 34%
Goats – 56%

46. Wild Vegetable Products
KING VEGETABLE, INC.
Wild Mushrooms and
Wild Vegetable Products
In thousand tons
Sun Zhigang, General Manager

47. Company’s Financing: $2.5 million $100M sales in 2007
Sales Successes
Japan
500 Tons per year
Korea
400 Tons per year
Domestic China
3,000 Tons per year
Company’s Financing: $2.5 million
$100M sales in 2007
Partners
Partners with supermarket chains (Wal-mart, Huilian)

48. Impediments to The Biodiversity Conservation in Pakistan
Lack of funding
Funding is insufficient
Not enough taxonomists, field botanists
Taxonomy is too difficult to learn and to practice
Requires years to accumulate literature, specimens etc.
Critical resources are scattered and available to only a few workers
Literature
Herbarium specimens
There are few centralized sources of information
Lack of Sharing information
Not enough trained HR to domesticate wild plants
Not enough use of modern knowledge in Botanical Research

49. Hurdles Common Lessons Learnt:
Existing bureaucratic/political procedures
Top-down communication channels
Absence of a pro-poor stance amongst the officials
Only political will can make it happen
‘Top-down’ system - still the main vehicle of governance.
Common Lessons Learnt:
Strategic forest management – Institutional forestry rules changed for involving local communities in decision-making/action
Bettering access of the poor to NTFPs – Poor worse off in absence of forests -crucial to increase their access to such resources
Monitoring food-livelihood security – food-livelihood security implies good forestry Building social capital –nurturing local social bonding
Respecting indigenous knowledge – Knowledge/Experience of local communities needs to be respected and integrated into local level decision-making

50. Revolution
Revolution is not a dinner party, not an essay, nor a painting, nor a piece of emroidery; it cannot be advanced softly, gradually, carefully, considerately, respectfully, politely, plainly and modestly.
--Mao Tse-tung

51. "The sun, the moon, and the stars, would all have disappeared a long time ago...if they had happened to have been within the reach of the predatory human hands". (Havelock Ellis, "The Dance of Life", 1923)

53. Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
Parts used: roots, leaves, flowers, and crowns.
No poisonous look-alikes
Leaves can be eaten raw in salads, steamed, or sauteed. Flowers can be made into wine or dipped in batter and deep-fried like fritters. Roots can be made into a coffee substitute.
Most older leaves can be made milder-tasting if covered with a bucket or other container for a few days up to a week

54. Dandelion
Has more beta carotene than carrots, more iron than spinach. Also has vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, E, P, and D, biotin, inositol, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc

55. Watercress Nasturtium officinale
One of the oldest-known leaf vegetables eaten by human beings
Member of the cabbage family, related to Mustard
contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C.

56. Watercress

57. Plantain Plantago major
Broad leafed plantain, also a narrow- leafed species
Young leaves are edible but not very tasty
More useful in medicine and first aid; has been used to stop bleeding, and to treat burns, skin irritations, bee stings and mosquito bites.

58. Shepherd’s Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris
Relative of mustard, very mild-tasting green. Can be eaten raw in salads, steamed, sauteed, or cooked in soups and stews.
provides vitamin C and K, some protein, sulfur, calcium, iron, and sodium.
Used in Medicine to stop bleeding and as an astringent
Seed pods are also edible

59. Milkweed Asclepias syriaca
young shoots, young leaves, flower buds and fresh fruits are all edible
primary source of food for the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly
mature stems, leaves and pod bark contain compounds that are toxic in large qualities and have been known to poison sheep, cattle, and other livestock.

60. Cattail Typha latifolia
One of the most important and common wild foods
The shoots, flower stalks, rhizomes and pollen are all edible

61. Wild Ginger Asarum species
root can be used in place of `regular' ginger in recipes
despite the name and similar flavor, it isn't related to Asian ginger

62. Daylily Hemerocallis fulva Introduced species, escaped into wild.
Shoots, buds, flowers and tubers all edible
Use the shoots raw in salads, or sauté, steam, stir-fry, deep-fry, bake, simmer in soups, or pickle.
Cook the unopened buds like green beans.
Use the flowers raw in salads, in soups, or deep-fried.
If you dig up a lily and it *doesn’t* have tubers…DON’T eat it, it’s poisonous!

63. Arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia
Also known as wapato, duck potato, and indian potato
The buds and fruits of this plant in late summer are edible, but plant is mostly prized for its tubers, which were traditionally gathered by wading into ponds and dislodging them with one’s feet so they’d float to the surface of the water.
Can be eaten raw but best when cooked, like the name suggests, tastes almost identical to a potato, but with a slightly nutty taste.

64. Wild Carrot Daucus carota Ancestor of cultivated carrots
Also called Queen Anne’s Lace
Root is edible when young, then becomes tough
Crushed seeds have been used since ancient Greece as a contraceptive/abortive, and recent studies have proven this effect

65. Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus
Member of the Sunflower family
Also called the Sunchoke
Cultivated in some gardens and found wild
Produces inulin instead of starch

66. Amanita Mushrooms Account for 90% of mushroom fatalities
With very few exceptions, amanitas grow on the ground near trees
Very young amanitas, called buttons, resemble puffballs, but when you cut puffballs open, they're undifferentiated inside. An amanita button has a cap, stem, and gills inside.
Warning
unless you’re 110% sure you have right species, don’t risk it!

67. Amanitas continued…
Unfortunately even the most deadly Amanitas supposedly taste wonderful, and symptoms don’t appear until 8-12 hours after ingestion, when it’s too late.
amanita toxins prevent cells from making new proteins, which kills them…if untreated death comes after days of suffering from liver and/or kidney failure
Doctors can shunt the blood through filters to remove the toxins. They use dialysis to replace the kidneys, and give the patient a liver transplant. Sometimes the patient can be saved

68. Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria poisonous, but not deadly
Various peoples have used mushroom in shamanic rituals
Aspects of Santa Claus were inspired by this mushroom. His red coat and white buttons symbolize the red mushroom with its white patches. Santa flies because the mushroom sometimes creates the hallucination of flight. He uses reindeer because they're fond of the mushroom, and herders who eat reindeer that have eaten the mushroom get high too.
The Koryak shaman would bring prepared fly agarics to ceremonies in a sack, like Santa's bag of toys, and enter the yurt (portable circular domed dwelling) through the smoke hole (like a chimney).
Santa lives at the North Pole because for most Europeans, Siberia might as well be the North Pole. And in Europe today, Christmas cards still often depict the fly agaric

69. Chanterelles Cantharellus cibarius
Found in summer and fall on the ground in Oak, Conifer and Beech forests
Often sent to France to be canned, and are then imported back into the US as over-priced `French Gourmet Mushrooms’

70. Fried Chicken Mushroom
Lyophyllum decastes
very prolific in fall and spring.
found in grassy areas and on disturbed soil
best used in soups, stews, and sauces.
Not so good fried because of chewy texture

71. Honey Mushroom Armillaria mellea
comes in two main varieties: brown and yellow
found in fall at the foot of living or dead trees or stumps, especially Oaks
Like previous, best used in soups, sauces and stews, but good fried too

72. Morels Morchella species Considered a choice edible
Cut in half; should be hollow from top to bottom, with no division between the cap and stem.
Found in old orchards, near dead trees, in soils with limestone in it

73. Morels… Are particularly prone to appear after forest fires…
So much in fact that in the 19th century the Russian government passed a law making it illegal to burn down forest areas, which people were doing to harvest the morels that would pop up the following year.

74. Hen of the Woods Grifola frondosa
Grows in almost all the USA, in the fall at the bases of deciduous trees; living or dead
Ranges in size from 3 to up to 50 pounds
Sold as Maitake mushrooms in specialty foods and health stores

75. Puffballs Calvatia gigantean
Cut open before eating to distinguish puffballs from inedible (but not deadly) earthstars, and deadly amanita in their button stages.
When cut open a puffball will be solid white throughout with a texture like cream cheese. A button Amanita will have a stem inside.

76. Oyster Mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus Choice mushroom
Looks, smells and tastes like what it’s named after
Used in recipes as a Vegan substitute for seafood
Can be found all year round.

77. Wintergreen Gaultheria procumbens
Most `wintergreen’ flavorings used today come from the sap from Sweet Birch trees
The leaves are made into tea, and the berries (perfectly edible) can be made into pies, jellies and tarts

78. Food from Leaves and Young Shoots
Rumex spp. - The bitter succulent leaves were roasted . (Young leaves of some species are more edible, and even used to be cultivated as a vegetable in Europe.  A native African dock, 'Abyssinian spinach', R. abyssinicus has been domesticated.) Zygadenus venenosus. Don't eat what you don't 'know' is safe!). Murderous tribal wars were fought over this resource. Sedge, ?  Scirpus sp. -  grows in damp and marshy places by lakes. The young shoots are edible. Phragmites communis, a plant of damp places and lake shores Mint, Mentha sp. Wild parsnip, ?Phellopterus montanus, Amaranthus spp. - the young leaves are very mild. Lamb's quarter, Chenopodium album - An introduced annual. The leaves are quite mild. Mustard, Brassica campestris - the lower leaves, or very young plants, which are least hot, are eaten. Wild lettuce, Mimulus guttatus - a low growing plant found on wet ground, the leaves are like a somewhat bitter watercress. Peppergrass, Lepidium freemontii - A small land cress with 'hot' tasting leaves Wood sorrel, Usually, Oxalis sp. ? Oxalis tuberosa, or O. enneaphylla. (Oxalis species leaves and bulbs were once commonly eaten wherever in the world they were found - Africa has around 130 indigenous species - in spite of their oxalic acid content.)

79. Solomon's seal, ?Polygonatum giganteum - the very young shoots of the related European P. officinale were used like asparagus; perhaps the Paiute used P. gigantuem the same way. (The rhizomatous roots of P. giganteum are also starchy, and were used by the Ainu people of Northern Japan as a food source. P. giganteum grows in both Asia and America) Purslane, Probably Portulacca oleracea, a sour tasting introduced annual weed with succulent crisp textured leaves; possibly Portulacca retusa, known to be used by tribes in the Southwest as a vegetable, or Calandrinia sp. - adapted to dry western parts of USA. Or maybe even Lewisia rediviva, a purslane more commonly known as 'bitter root', altho' it is usually harvested for its very nourishing flour (in spite of its common name!), rather than as a vegetable. Bracken fern, Pteridium aquilinum - the very young shoots ('fiddle heads') are eaten raw or cooked, when they taste like somewhat bitter asparagus. Sow thistle, Sonchus sp. - very young leaves are edible. Chickweek, Stellaria media - a common small annual plant with vaguely cabbage tasting leaves. nettle, ?Urtica sp. - in other countries, fresh nettle tops are regarded as a very nutritious spring 'spinach', usually used in soup. Wild violet. Viola sp., possibly V. palmata, or V. papailionacea - While viola flowers, at least, have been used in food in Medieval time, the roots are poisonous - except the mucilaginous roots of V. palmata. The basal leaves of V. papailionacea  are still collected for greens today. They are quite extraordinarily rich in vitamin A.

80. Food from Roots and Tubers
Wild onion, ?Allium validum - 'swamp onion'. - there are many species of wild onion, most have small bulbs, and are found in a variety of habitats, depending on the species. Mariposa lily, Calochortus sp. - 'Indian potato'.- a wide ranging genus with corms that can be eaten raw or cooked. They can also be dried and pounded into flour. Camas, Camassia sp. - a bulbous plant of damp places, marshes and lake edges. The bulbs were baked, or cooked and dried and the flour extracted. Brodiaea, a pretty flowering 'bulb', most species of which are edible. They produce their edible corms in a wide range of habitats, according to the species. Primrose, ?Primula sp. In Europe the leaves and flowers of 'cowslip', P. veris, have a history of use as salad greens. Water parsley, Oenanthe sarmentosa - the black tubers are said to have a 'cream-like taste'. The leaves and stems are also edible, tasting a bit like celery. Some similar looking species are poisonous. Balsam root (Oregon Sunflower), ? possibly a species of sunflower, Helianthus. Many sunflower species have edible roots. Wocus (water lily) N. advena - the roots are starchy, and can be baked, grilled, pounded for flour, or stored whole for winter use

81. Top 10 leading risk factors
2.7 million deaths per year