Bruce French’s extensive catalog of edible plants began in the 1970s. Working deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea as an Agricultural Scientist, he observed something disturbing. Despite being surrounded by nutritional edible plants, the villagers were suffering from malnutrition and disease. To help the locals take advantage of the resources available, Bruce began a 54-year long journey to gather data on over 30,000 edible plants from around the world. (1)
Ending Hunger With Edible Plants
Bruce’s early trip to Papua New Guinea began as a mission to show locals how to grow different foods. He found that the villagers didn’t want to know how to grow Western foods. Rather, they wanted to know how to grow the foods already around them. “That’s where it all started,” Bruce told The Advocate, “helping people feed themselves well with the food available to them.”
This mission took Bruce all over the world, creating a catalog of edible plants for each region he visited. Each plant in the database includes its country and climate of origin, growing method, cooking method, parts of the plant that are edible, and photos and drawings for identification. Calling his project Food Plants International, the database contains 30,000 plants and growing, making it the most comprehensive of it’s kind in the world. (1, 2)
In 2007, Food Plants International partnered with Rotary to create a new project, Food Plants Solutions (FPS). Based on the extensive information Bruce had gathered thus far, Food Plants Solutions aims to help end hunger around the world. By teaching locals how to sustainably grow and harvest local edible plants, their populations can solve the problem of malnutrition. With a staggering 5 children under 5 years old dying from malnutrition every minute, FPS’s goal is to empower communities and save lives. (3)
Continuing The Mission In Tasmania
Bruce and his wife, Deb, live in the Tasmanian town of Bernie. As the headquarters of Food Plants International is in their home, their garden is full of exotic edible plants that include many fruits and vegetables. The pair tries to practice what they preach, including a variety of plants with each meal. Since Bruce has visited over 40 countries to date, he focuses his time at home creating recipes with the many plants in his catalog. There’s stinging nettle that helps with prostate issues, for example. Another tasty snack? Roasted watermelon seeds that contain plenty of zinc.
In addition to his home garden, Bruce has converted an old church into a physical plant library. The walls are covered with thousands of pictures of plants he’s cataloged over the years. There are books, binders, and drawings with extensive information on how to harvest and eat these wild foods. Bruce hopes that university and agricultural students will come to the space to learn. With over 181 edible plants in Tasmania alone–that most consider weeds–the knowledge he’s collected is invaluable. (4)
Bruce’s obsession with cataloging plants is rooted in more than a love for greenery. As part of his deeply held beliefs, he wants to practice what he preaches. “My aim is to help the hungry of the world,” he told The Advocate. “It’s all my Christian faith.” (1)
