If you are what you eat, what happens if you only eat wild food?

Hi friends! For anyone that is not already acquainted, my name is Cathryn and I am a wild food freak that now has the opportunity to go full nerd by taking part in the Wildbiome Project 2025 , a research project that will track the impact of an entirely foraged diet. I have been avidly foraging for many years as well as teaching wild food and medicine through my business Wild Wanders, making plant medicine for Meadowsweet Herbs and leading events for the Western Montana Mycological Association on the side.

The Wildbiome Project is coordinated by expert forager and academic Monica Wilde, author of the Wilderness Cure, and will be researched by the Universities of Bradford and Rzeszów. Using state of the art Medichecks researchers will assess the health of our gut microbiome, blood sugar, liver, kidneys, hormones, vitamins and minerals to give a better picture of how health markers change with the transition to a hunter-gatherer diet. This will help inform research into mesolithic diets of the past, as well as aid understanding into the health benefits and food security implications of wild food for the future. Gah, how cool is that!?

I will eat nothing but regional wild food for either one month or three months(I haven't decided), track all of my meals and undergo a range of lab testing to see how my body changes as my diet shifts to entirely wild food. So far I am one of five people in the United States taking part in the study; others being in Hawaii, Los Angeles, North Carolina and Washington. There have been more than 190 applicants total so far, most being in the UK.

This is such an exciting opportunity to be able to put legitimate science and direct personal experience behind what I teach in my classes regarding the superior nutrient density and diversity of wild foods. This will also be a time for so much learning and creativity as necessity is a beautiful motivator and while I DO already eat a lot of wild food, there are areas where I lack, like wild grains and starches.

Due to the high number of applicants and being outside of the UK, the project is asking each of us to crowdsource from our communities to help cover costs. I am asking for funding to cover the cost of the lab tests which are priced at 680 pounds, so around $1,000 US. There is also a central fund if you would like to consider donating to that. Any funds raised beyond the cost of the tests will be put into this central fund to help cover costs for other participants.

I am also, and more excitedly, accepting donations of wild game, wild fat, bones, organs, fish, seafood, wild grains, offers to go out hunting or fishing together, and offers to share a completely wild meal with me during this time. Foraging was not an isolated activity when it was the main mode of subsistence so I would like to involve community as much as possible in this project. I will be doing a LOT of foraging during this time and a little traveling to do so and everyone is invited to join me.

The findings of the project will be featured by Dan Saladino in BBC Radio 4’s The Food Program later in 2025 as well as in a documentary film. I will of course be documenting my personal journey on Instagram @wildwandersmt

Thank you for any support you can offer, financial or otherwise. This will be such a wild challenge and I am beyond pumped for the opportunity!

Wild thanks,

Cathryn aka one very giddy Kitty.