So is this the solution? Unfortunately, although more viable, securing enough meat and fish to sustain yourself would be practically impossible. If you were lucky enough to catch a salmon run and were able to preserve the fish, this could give you several months worth of calories. Unfortunately, game and fish stocks are closely monitored and controlled. If abiding by hunting and fishing legislation (UK), you can catch 1 or two large fish or up to 20 smaller fish per day. Lets say the fishing season lasts for four months, that will give you approximately 200-300 fish. That will provide approximately 250,000 calories in total, which works out to 78 days worth of calories. That would still leave approximately 280 days worth of calories to procure. Similarly, with hunting, you would need to eat 24 squirrels per day to provide you with sufficient calories. Throw into this mix England's restrictive hunting and fishing laws and you will soon see that this is not a sustainable way to live.
Many survival programs insinuate that the best sources of wild energy are roots and tubers. The most commonly quoted examples are burdock and bulrush. These can sometimes be a decent source of carbohydrate but try finding a decent harvest in the winter. The tasty succulent leaves and stalks would have matured into chewy, wood like sticks, providing very little to no nutrition, this goes for the roots too. One may think, watching these survival programs that a few sticks of old bulrush provide a satisfactory meal, but believe us, this is a nonsense! A few stalks will only provide a handful of calories at best. Consumption of vast forest of stalks would undoubtedly lead to a myriad of stomach upsets.
At best (speaking about the UK), we can expect to find a few tasty treats, now and again. Foraging wild edibles is a great way to experience the countryside and may provide you with a nice top up, both flavour and calorie wise, for your home kitchen. Some people even make a business out of foraging, producing jams or pickles etc. However, as far as it being a sustainable way to live, we would argue that this is simply not possible, in our day and age.
Big D An avid outdoors man and explorer, Big D has been studying the art of bush craft and survival for over 15 years. Initially instilled with forest and coastal knowledge from his grand parents, Big D has practiced and expanded these skill sets to a high level. Ever knowledgeable on many outdoor skills and gear, Big D is always ready to help with useful advice and tips. Professionally, he has been involved in the industry for 8 years and has published hundreds of articles and videos, which have been enriching social media sites for years. Big D has been a solid member of the Bushgear team since June 2016.
We are committed to finding high quality outdoor gear – not necessarily an easy task these days – so we don’t go straight for the cheap, often Chinese-made, option. Outdoor shops and mail order catalogues are full of cheaply-made equipment that has not been properly tried and tested. We believe that those who have had equipment fail to perform when needed understand the benefit of high quality gear that has been specifically designed for extended outdoor use.
