A Forager’s Notebook: Invitation to Drift with(in) Tastes, Crops, and Landscapes

In October 2024, Lukáš Senft and Tereza Stöckelová from the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, along with Will LaFleur from the University of Helsinki, organized a workshop titled Foraging for Planetary Health: Exploring Multispecies Metabolism in a Postindustrial Landscape. The idea behind the workshop was to make standard production and distribution chains visible by bypassing them. We aimed to return to the roots of food preparation, learning to create meals and beverages without relying on industrial food production. This was the intended purpose of the workshop. However, after a few days, we realized there was no true escape. Our attempt to step outside the boundaries of contemporary food production only underscored our deep dependence on standardized tastes, social and business infrastructures, and the ways we navigate the modern landscape. The booklet documents the outcomes of our passions, disappointments, and struggles. Despite the challenges, our de-romanticizing adventures led not only to moments of disillusionment but also to opportunities for rethinking and remaking our relationship with food-producing landscapes.