Kent Forager Prepares for Three-Month Wild Food Diet Study

An individual from Kent who practices foraging is collecting provisions from various sites throughout the South East as he gets ready to subsist entirely on a diet of wild-sourced food for a duration of three months. Fergus Drennan, whose origins are in Herne Bay, is participating in The Wildbiome Project 2, commencing in April. This scientific experiment involves 26 individuals who will exclusively consume food gathered from natural environments. The objective of this project is to investigate the impact of both processed and unprocessed foods on gut microbiomes, diabetes, and body mass index (BMI). Mr. Drennan, also recognized as ‘Fergus the forager’, has been actively accumulating items like acorns, fungi, and roadkill, including pheasant, deer, and squirrel, for this endeavor. Acorns have been consumed by humans in Europe for more than 12,000 years. Mr. Drennan, who conducts foraging workshops for the general public, expressed his strong interest in reintroducing this adaptable food source into contemporary diets. “They are a wonderful source of carbohydrates and starch. You can make flour with them and from there cakes, pancakes and biscuits,” he said. “They can also be added whole to stews and casseroles to really fill you up.” The acorns gathered recently by him from oak trees situated at the University of Kent in Canterbury are not immediately edible due to their high tannin content, which imparts a bitter flavor. Consequently, he is currently undertaking the process of leaching these tannins out, utilizing fresh water from a nearby stream and from the toilet cistern at his residence. This procedure requires approximately six weeks. Foraging is permissible under law provided that the landowner’s consent has been obtained, and Mr. Drennan stated that roadkill is also considered acceptable for collection. “As long as you haven’t used your vehicle to run over the animal and it’s safe to retrieve, you can take it away to eat,” he said. Nevertheless, individuals considering preparing roadkill are advised to select animals that are fresh and show no signs of decomposition. In cases of uncertainty, seeking expert advice is recommended. Mr. Drennan, a resident of the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex with over two decades of foraging experience, previously produced a television program titled The Roadkill Chef. The Wildbiome Project 2 serves as a continuation of a 2023 experiment conducted by foraging instructor Mo Wilde, who subsisted for an entire year exclusively on wild, freely available food sourced from central Scotland. Results from gut biome tests indicated that this diet restored her to a healthy BMI, and another participant, Matthew Rooney, achieved a pre-diabetic blood status after a period of nine weeks. For updates, follow BBC Kent on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story submissions can be sent to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp at 08081 002250. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.