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While foraging for wild edibles can be fun and delicious (in the BDN recently), consuming plants collected near parking lots, busy roads, or commercial buildings can be a health risk. Runoff from parking lots and roads can contain automotive chemicals including heavy metals, as well as residue from chemicals used to treat icy surfaces. The grounds surrounding offices and other commercial buildings are often tended by lawn care companies whose use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers might be unknown.
Furthermore, when buildings adjacent to foraging areas are constructed of wood and more than 50 years old, it is quite likely that their lead-painted exterior surfaces might have shed toxins that endure in soil for decades. Some plants chelate lead and other heavy metals from soil, absorbing these substances through their root systems into their tissues. Some plants may be exposed through splash-up of soil-borne toxins. None of these plants make for healthy eating.
The best choice, then, is to forage farther from build-up areas, where you can be more confident that your wild edibles won’t be adding unwanted, unhealthy ingredients to your salad.
Mary Dickinson Bird
Orono
