Survival Food Rules of Thumb

There are certain truisms about wild edibles that might help you survive. No one plans on going off into the bush and subsisting on fat multi-legged grubs dug out of rotting fallen trees, but if you have nothing else and are determined to do what's needed to survive, they are there.

This is not intended to be a thorough guide to wild edibles, it emphasizes only some basic knowledge that could assist you in a survival situation.

All grasses and their seeds are edible. Throughout history, from World War II POW camps to refugees streaming from bombed-out cities, people have eaten grass to keep from starving to death. Naturally, edible doesn't mean palatable, but that's not the point, is it? Note: Do avoid grasses or seeds with black fungus, to keep from getting ergot poisoning.

All birds and mammals are edible. In preparation for cooking, be certain to skin it and discard the skin (by burying or burning). Check the mammal's liver. If spotted, avoid contact with bare hands and cook very thoroughly. Note: Cook thoroughly is a good rule of thumb for anything, especially meat. If there is any suspicion of rabies present, discard. If it gets by you, just be certain to thoroughly cook over the fire; that kills the rabies bacteria.

All snakes are edible. Snakes should be skinned and can be wrapped around a stick and cooked over an open fire. If it is a poison snake, cut off the head well back so as to also get rid of the poison sacs. Bury the head or put it in the fire. Obviously, use extreme care in approaching a live snake if there is any chance it is poisonous. Pin it with a forked stick jabbed down behind its head, remove head, peel the skin off by stripping it tube-like down the length and off, cook. Turtles can be killed and tossed into the fire and cooked until the shell is flaking off.

All bird's eggs are edible. Just be sure they are not spoiled.

All freshwater fish are edible. Cook thoroughly due to possible presence of parasites. Catch with net, line and pole, line alone, trot line, bow and arrow, or spear, or with patience, you can stand still and slowly move in to grasp a curious fish as it passes between your legs. You can also construct a fish trap which will concentrate the fish ( for more information check my AC article ) and use net, spear, or other method to harvest the fish. Hammering the water near the fish with a heavy club will stun it, but fish can respond pretty quick to an oncoming attack.

Extremely common freshwater crayfish (or crawfish, crawdad), a smaller version of the saltwater lobster, can also be netted in shallow stream beds as it flips from hiding place to hiding place. Lacking a net, use a narrow-necked container trap with bait inside...crayfish eat almost anything. Bury upright in the stream bed, they get in they can't get up and out. Break off the head section from the tail section and carefully pull out the innards along with the head section. Toss in boiling water, eat the meat of the tail.

Most ocean fish are edible but there are exceptions, especially among the more colorful species like the lion fish. Watch out for the toxic puffer fish as well; their poison kills by paralysis.

Dandelions and plantain can be eaten raw as a salad green or cooked in multiple changes of water (see my AC article on dandelions ). Nettles can also be cooked and eaten like greens. Cattail is a virtual supermarket with its many uses (see my AC article on cattails) . Fern shoots are good, just wash off the brown fuzz, it's pretty bitter although the shoots themselves are tasty. For more on determining edibility of wild plants checkthis AC article. .

Insects are generally fine with exceptions. Seek out grasshoppers, grubs, snails, slugs, termites, and spiders, especially the big ones like tarantulas. Cooked on a fire-heated flat rock to kill parasites or toasted on a stick or even grass stem over a fire, especially with grasshoppers and termites. Remove legs of grasshoppers, along with head, carefully pulling out the innards with the removal of the head. Do not eat ants alive...the pinchers on the head part can create problems. For more insect edibility, check out this article.

One good rule of thumb in avoiding problems, cook whatever you get thoroughly whenever possible.