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Food from tree leaves using fermentation and fungi.
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Description
Details are sought of methods of deriving human food from tree leaves. Rapid methods, using fermentation or fast-growing fungi, which could be used during droughts or in difficult areas are particularly wanted. In some parts of the world tree leaves are eaten directly, as 'tree greens', this is not included in the topic.
Fermentation is commonly used to render plant materials more palatable or edible, for example maize leaves are fermented in silos to give silage, fed to cattle. Some ants harvest leaves which they use to grow fungi in their nests for food.
In both cases, success may depend on specific strains or mixtures of fermentation microbes or fungi. Ideally, famine food sources could be provided by shipping in inoculated starter kits or fungus growth boxes. Sources of effective materials would be useful, but not required, for this zomb.
Fermentation processes should preferably yield edible product within 7 days, fungal processes within 6 weeks. (ZBL#151).
Zomb Results
Results for this zomb have been placed in the vault.
You can access it for free.This study describes what might be called the "Brantmier Pot", an artificial analogue of a rumen (the primary stomach of a ruminant). The Pot is seeded with cultures extracted from local ruminants who have the ability to digest tree leaves and other cellulosic-fibre materials which cannot be handled by the human digestive system. Tree leaves are fed in, and the Pot Product is drawn off and used as the basis for human food.
The Brantmier Pot is put forward as a feasible last-resort food source for drought-stricken and other deprived populations -- even in drought areas, trees usually retain their leaves and many ruminants in these areas subsist on them. This technique is not proven and still requires checking and trialling in the field.
The rumen product can obviously sustain the local ruminant animals. For human use, further treatment of the rumen product may be desirable, such as cooking, filtering, and adding other substances such as limestone powder to amend the product.
Further work would also be needed to determine how to maintain the rumen cultures without continuing access to the ruminants, and perhaps to culture and blend Brantmier Pot seed cultures for use elsewhere.
[Poly, 2013 Mar 4]
No comments yet.
Clarifications
Certainly an interesting prospect.
Based on the purpose I gather the kits should be able to be used with minimal equipment and chemicals, likely things commonly available around the world?
You are looking primarily for a theoretical model/composition?
Likely you would want it to be nutritious for sustainment but for how long? Weeks, months, years ect..?
Asked by pbrantmier on Dec 19, 2012
OK, good luck with this. There is no rush, no commercial purpose, just a wish to make available stuff on emergency food from and wider use of tree leaves for edible purposes. I've no real idea how much information is out there, I'll leave it to you to include whatever might be useful for the world. Season's greetings!
Poly / 2012 Dec 20.
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