Fungi and Forests

Abstract

WHERE WE LIVE, WHERE WE COME FROM AND the organisms that surround us shape our culture. What we eat or do not eat often hints at our deepest ancestral roots. The peoples of the world have been characterized as being either mycophilic, those who use and incorporate mushrooms and other fungi in their cuisine or mycophobic, those who avoid them. Southeast Asia, Italy, the Slavic countries, areas of the Amazon and Mexico are among the regions recognized to support cultures that are mycophilic but much of the English-speaking world is traditionally considered to be mycophobic. Some have argued that these biases are deeply rooted in religion and migration patterns. A recent study concluded that both tradition and external input in Europe, such as trade and cultural exchange, are strong factors shaping modern mushroom consumption behavior. Given the mix of indigenous populations, high historic and recent immigration and the development of exotic tree plantations in parts of South America, particularly in Chile and Argentina, the Southern Cone provides a rich context for reflection on concepts of native, foreign, wild, exotic and introduced as related not only to consumption of fungi but also to trees, forests and people.