Wildcrafting.

[sylvie]

We are just getting started with wildcrafting this season so a lot of our extra time over the winter will be spent on learning all we can before getting into it more extesively.
We also are being cautious about what we gather until we are sure of what we are doing.
On the sassafras there was some research done quite a long time ago that said it can cause cancer. I researched this and it seems they fed lab rats and mice mega doses of the stuff over an extended period and it did cause some rats and mice to develope cancer. Although this was the case all of the research I did could not show one case of human contracted cancer that could be attributed to sassafras ingestion.
It has been used for hundreds of years and in fact was a trade good the early settlers here would ship to England to be used for teas and flavorings. Also one of the roots used in old time rootbeer.

Sadly i didn't keep the source, but last week when i found a bunch of sassafras trees on my property, i did a lot of reading, and apparently, sassafras has about 1/200th (or something like that ) the chance of giving you cancer that alcohol has. So, the general consensus seems to be that if we try not to drink several gallons of it per day, we'll probably be fine. I just love the smell! It's incredible!

When out walking I will grab an occasional Sassafras leaf to chew for the great flavor. I read that dried powdered Sassafras leaves are used to thicken stews and soups.
I was under the impression that it was mainly the root with the questionable properties. I quit digging and using the root when that info was released. Good to know that it can be used in smaller quantities.

 

[big brown horse]

Just go to the thread you want to link to and open it. Then way up high on your monitor screen tool bar is the address http://www.suffcientself.com etcetera. Right click on that which will open a box. Left click "cut". Then go to the thread you were chatting on, click reply as you usually do for a comment and right click in there. The box will open again and you just left click on "paste". Done.

Thanks sylvie!! (Off to practice!)