Nat Bletter, ethnobotanist, is taking right action. So many in his field are working to manipulate indigenous medicinal plant knowledge, but Nat has a very respectful approach and sincere desire to help humanity with the knowledge he holds. He’s currently finishing his dissertation on the ‘Quantitative Cross-Cultural Medical Ethnobotany of Peru and Mali’. People like himself are wooed by pharmaceutical companies, but this go-getter is instead forming both a raw chocolate company and a company which uses our invasive species.

Nat is an excellent forager in New York City, and offers classes in both ethnobotany and foraging. He recently started a blog, The Quest for Khao Soi, to document his adventures searching for his favorite Thai dish. Our intersecting relationships with plants is incredibly fascinating, as we certainly shape eachother. Check out the video above…where Nat discusses intellectual property rights, takes us through a few New York City parks to forage, and cooks up a delicious meal of burdock root/burdock petiol’s/pokeweed greens covered with shepard’s purse/garlic mustard root topping, sauteed mulberry leaves, a chickweed/shepard’s purse/garlic mustard/wild chive/redbud salad, california bay laurel nut chocolate, and roasted Kentucky bean ‘coffee’!