Mushrooms to the rescue
The long relationship between humans and the fungal kingdom has often been fraught. As nature’s decomposers, fungi are associated with decay in the ecological cycle. In humans’ everyday lives, they are most commonly encountered as harmful black moulds, on furry unidentified pieces of food found at the back of the fridge or in the form of fungal infections on the body. Found in the wild, there are valid concerns about their potential toxicity, and they cannot escape being sometimes associated with tripping hippies.
Distinct from the plant family due to fundamental biological differences, fungi are a fairly mysterious realm largely waiting to be discovered; only a small fraction of the estimated 2.2 to 3.8 million species on Earth have ever been described. Mycology is the name for the study of mushrooms and fungi, and a term for negative attitudes toward them is called mycophobia. They tend to be polarising, and attract a cult following of loyal mycologists, some of whom travel long distances to attend conventions and workshops.
What we are now learning is that mushrooms may have properties that could make them an essential part of the sustainable solutions we develop to save and protect the
