The Ethnobiology of Wild Foods: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Security and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 December 2024 | Viewed by 2316

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ethnobiology of wild foods has received increasing attention in recent years, since traditional foodways around the world are still based on several wild plant, animal, fungal, microorganism, and mineral ingredients, as well as their food products and culinary preparations.

In the last few decades, wild foods in different parts of the world have been the subject of revalorization and commodification processes, with complex outcomes at the social, cultural, and economic level. Within these processes, wild foods have also come under the attention of the tourism and gastronomic sectors, which are bridging innovation and the (re)invention of traditions. Their commodification has, however, sometimes led, in different contexts, to over-harvesting and has threatened the continuation of their use for subsistence.

Wild foods around the globe therefore urgently need to be documented and evaluated, not only in terms of their biological, chemical, technological, nutritional, and pharmacological aspects, but especially in their social, cultural, and religious significance.

Original research on traditional/local wild foods will be particularly welcome, as well as attempts to determine the impact of the survival of these food items for fostering community-centered strategies of local development and sustainable food systems, attuned to local ecologies and cultural heritage.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Pieroni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ethnobotany
  • ethnomycology
  • ethnozoology
  • ethnozymology
  • TEK
  • local development
  • gastronomy

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 1256 KiB  
Article
Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau
by Mousaab Alrhmoun, Naji Sulaiman, Shiekh Marifatul Haq, Syed Abidullah, Julia Prakofjewa, Nikos Krigas, Andrea Pieroni and Renata Sõukand
Foods 2024, 13(22), 3588; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13223588 - 10 Nov 2024
Viewed by 574
Abstract
Wild greens (WGs) play a significant role in Mediterranean diets (MDs), reflecting botanical and cultural diversities, mainly influenced by a complex conglomerate of local human ecologies. This study investigates local ecological knowledge (LEK) linked to traditional gathering and consumption of WGs in the [...] Read more.
Wild greens (WGs) play a significant role in Mediterranean diets (MDs), reflecting botanical and cultural diversities, mainly influenced by a complex conglomerate of local human ecologies. This study investigates local ecological knowledge (LEK) linked to traditional gathering and consumption of WGs in the Lasithi Plateau of eastern Crete, where human genetic studies one decade ago showed very peculiar patterns, hypothesising that the Minoan civilisation took refuge there before it disappeared. A field ethnobotanical study was conducted to document the diversity of WGs and their detailed local culinary uses in the Lasithi area by interviewing 31 study participants. Fifty-nine folk taxa (species and subspecies) were recorded, corresponding to fifty-eight botanical taxa. A quotation index was measured to assess the cultural significance of WGs in the study areas; logistic regression analysis was adopted to understand the impact of sensory classifications of WGs and their local cooking methods. Lasithi’s foraging showed a notable prevalence of bitter-tasting WGs, which play a central role in local cognition and culinary practices. This bitterness aspect of WGs, potentially influenced by cultural preferences and genetic factors, probably suggests a connection to the ancient Lasithi’s inhabitants, i.e., Minoan dietary habits. We found that bitterness is the predominant sensory attribute in Lasithi, characterising 45.76% of the WGs. These findings underscore the complex interplay between local ecologies and biodiversity, LEK, and dietary traditions, highlighting the importance of WGs in understanding the evolution of foraging and plant culinary diversities across the Mediterranean. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Ethnobiology of Wild Foods: 2nd Edition)
Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 6767 KiB  
Article
Effect of Different Seasons and Development Stages on the Chemical Composition and Bioactive Potential of Cardoon
by Filipa Mandim, Márcio Carocho, Spyridon A. Petropoulos, Celestino Santos-Buelga and Lillian Barros
Foods 2024, 13(16), 2536; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13162536 - 14 Aug 2024
Viewed by 763
Abstract
Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon) is a wild species of the Mediterranean basin and is highly appreciated due to its rich nutritional value and versatile industrial applications. It is widely known that environmental conditions, such as air temperature, humidity, and solar radiation, among others, [...] Read more.
Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon) is a wild species of the Mediterranean basin and is highly appreciated due to its rich nutritional value and versatile industrial applications. It is widely known that environmental conditions, such as air temperature, humidity, and solar radiation, among others, play a crucial role in plant phenological variations and the chemical composition and bioactive properties of different plant tissues of cardoon. This study applied several statistical methods to uncover the variations in biomolecules of different cardoon tissues collected in Greece over the growth cycle. The influence of the different seasons on the species is evident, resulting in a clear discrimination between the samples harvested throughout the growth cycle. In addition, the observed fluctuations in chemical composition are consistent with each vegetable tissue’s functions and the plant’s different physiological processes. This work allows for a better understanding and knowledge of the species, encouraging more profitable and sustainable use of all the plant parts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Ethnobiology of Wild Foods: 2nd Edition)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop