What types of food can we obtain from our environment?

WhenoutintheAustralianbush,therearemanythingsyouhavetodotosurvive.Buildingawell
insulatedhutwouldbeoneofthem.Findingenoughfoodwouldbeanotherone.Butmanypeople
dontunderstandthateatingbushfoodcanbeverydangerous.Thisisbecausemanyplantslook
similarandpeopledonthowtoproperlyidentifythem.Becauseofthis,ititgoodtofindoutwhat
foodsareandaren'tsafetoeatandhowtoproperlyhandleandfindthem.Sowhattypesoffoods
canweobtainfromourenvironment?

Meat
TherearemanyindigenousanimalsthatareoutintheAustralianbush,mostofthemedible.Some
includekangaroo,emus,possumsandlizards.Eventhoughtheseanimalsareedible,theyshouldnot
becapturedandeatenunlessabsolutelynecessaryastheyarenativeandaredangeroustohandle.If
needingtoeatmeat,kangarooisagoodoption.Ithasonlyaround2%offat,whichmakesitagood
sourceofprotein.

Bushes/Trees
Whenoutinthebush,fruitandnuttreesareagoodfoodoption.However,itisimportanttomake
suretheycanbeidentifiedcorrectlyincaseofpoisoning.SometreevarietiesincludeMacadamia
BushNut,DwarfMacadamia,NoniFruit,StrawberryGumEucalyptusandDavidsonPlum.The
DavidsonPlumisagreatoptionwhenitcomestoneedingfood.Ithasanexcellentsourceof
potassiumagoodsourceofVitaminE.

StrawberryGumEucalyptusDavidsonPlumNoniFruit
Insects
Althoughtherearen'tmanyinVictoria,insectsandbugsaresoughtafterbemanypeopleandare
evenconsideredasacuisine.Therearemanyediblebugsaswellasmanywaystoeatthem.Ifinthe
bush,insectscomeasagoodfoodoptionastheyareagoodsourceofprotein.Forinstance,100
gramsofgrasshopperscontains20.6gofproteinand6goffat.Someexamplesofediblebugs
includecrickets,cockroaches,honeyantsandtheWitjutiGrub.

CricketHoneyAntWitjutiGrub
Whattoremember
Thereareafewthingsthatshouldberememberedwhensearchingforfoodinthebush.
- Mostoftheplantsinthebushareinedible
- Stayawayfromanyunknownwildplantsthathaveamilkyordiscolouredsapandthathavea
bitterorsoapytaste
- Donotpickortakefromplantsunlessabsolutelynecessary,astheyareprotectedby
Nationalparks
- Manyspeciesaredifficulttoidentify,sobeabsolutelycertainbeforeeating
- Ifindoubtwhentryingtoidentifyaplant,leaveanddonoteatit

Obtainingfoodfromourenvironmentissomethingthatcanonlybedonewithknowledgeand
experience.ThisguideshowswhattypesoffoodbecaneatenintheAustralianbushandwhat
categoriestheyfallinto,aswellasthingstorememberwhenfindingfood.Thesefoodsshouldonly
betakenfromtheenvironmentifabsolutelynecessary.Yet,iftestingyoursurvivalinthebush,they
shouldbehandledwithcare.Itisgoodtoknowwhatfoodwecanobtainfromourenvironmentasit
couldbeausefulsourceinthefuture.

Bibliography:
- https://www.google.com.au/search?q=kangaroo&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahU
KEwi6gJ_Ei6HVAhUIUbwKHUc0BpgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1440&bih=803#imgrc=hmmxgFnDM1NceM:
- https://www.google.com.au/search?q=australian+possum&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&v
ed=0ahUKEwi6oo3ojKHVAhUKwbwKHXFiDzMQ_AUICigB&biw=1440&bih=759#safe=strict&tbm=isch
&q=australian+lizard+you+can+eat&imgrc=VYTocrSZApIK_M:
- http://austsuperfoods.com.au/nutrition/davidson-plum/
- https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/bushfoodintro.htm
- http://gourmetgame.com.au/nutrition/nutritional-facts/
- https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/09/why-how-and-where-you-should-start-eating-bugs/
- http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1380e/I1380e01.pdf
- https://www.survival.org.au/bush_tucker_survival_guide.php