Does bamboo count? It’s a common wood flooring and cutting board option. Lots of furniture is made from it. It’s used like wood, even though it doesn’t grow quite the same as a normal tree. And people have been eating bamboo shoots for a long time.
still at least part of wood though, a part that’s edible, as far as I’m aware, mercury has none of those (adding the bread, and extra ingredient, is cheating).
If something is part edible and part not, then it really depends on the nature of that not edible bit. If it’s inert, then great. If it’s not, then you could be kinda fucked.
The fact that something is 45% edible says precisely nothing about whether or not it is edible.
Wood is mostly cellulose and lignin, which holds no nutritional value to us humans. Another comment said that termites have certain enzymes which digest it, but it’s actually the bacteria in their guts which break down the woody fibres so they can turn it into glucose. So, theoretically, maybe we could isolate those bacteria and somehow incorporate them into our guts too? I mean it probably wouldn’t work, but you never know until you try right?
That’s interesting in that it’s the termites’ gut flora that break down the woody content they ingest, considering that a mycelial presence is required to convert grassland to forest as the bacteria present in soil are unable to process the dendritic xylem in order for reuse in the substrate. Do you know if these termite bacteria are viable alternatives to fungal synthesis in reforestation projects?
So there is a future, where us humain, go to the restaurant and open the Wood card, and a waiter specialized in wood (certainly french too) will go, Hello, Monsieur, Madame, have you chozen your wood for tonight
And our grand kids will respond: “Yes, We will take the Cypress of Bordeaux”
And this wonderful french waiter will respond "Very Good Choice with a Fish Sir, It creates a wonderfool Surf and Turf taste
I should think you can, depending on the wood, many can be toxic.
The bark of a Willow tree is used to make Aspirin, we smoke paper and eat many plants with less woody stems. There are certain other barks and cambium (the soft layer between the bark and the wood) that contain nutrients, such as birch, pine, elm and a few others that have been eaten by our ancestors for centuries and even have medicinal properties. We also grate cinnamon and a few others as spice. Dog food is often bulked up with ash.
The real issue is that the hard cellulose in the actual wood part is not particularly digestible and basically pure fibre and devoid of any real nutrient value. So it would need to be boiled or blended first I imagine, or steeped as a tea. It would be revolting or taste like nothing and probably give you constipation but I doubt you would die.
As a raw bite of a chunk of wood, no. It would be considered inedible.
I just got started testing Google Bard, so I fed this question to it and got this reply:
No, humans cannot eat wood. Wood is made of cellulose, which is a type of fiber that is not digestible by humans. If you eat wood, it will pass through your digestive system without being absorbed. In some cases, eating wood can cause blockages in the digestive tract, which can be dangerous.
There are some animals that can eat wood, such as termites and beavers. These animals have special enzymes that help them to digest cellulose. Humans do not have these enzymes, so we cannot eat wood without getting sick.
I looked up cellulose and it does say that it is used in some drugs and other consumables yeah, but it’s still indigestible, so it wouldn’t give you any nutrients to survive if eaten by itself, I guess.
Depends on the wood. Some wood we use for spices like cinnamon so you’ve probably already eaten that. But other types of wood are considered toxic not only to consume, but to the plants around it. Take what I say with a grain of salt as I’m certainly no expert on the matter.
Hemlock comes to mind, as with or without your proffered grain of salt, it can be eaten but is definitely not edible. Those defs are posted in a non-pedantic way above, incidentally.
Also, thanks for the chance to use the word ‘proffered’ in conversation, it’s vanishingly rarely used outside the legal field.
The tree makes the best bedtime tea I’ve ever had. The herb is a common poison notorious for killing Socrates. You’re still technically accurate, but they’re very different plants.
Saw dust have been mixed with flour multiple time in history during famine period. However it was mostly done to increase profit, not for its nutritional value and multiple bakers have been killed by angry mob because of that.
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Does bamboo count? It’s a common wood flooring and cutting board option. Lots of furniture is made from it. It’s used like wood, even though it doesn’t grow quite the same as a normal tree. And people have been eating bamboo shoots for a long time.
Cinnamon is tree bark.
Cellulose is an ingredient in a lot of foods, and some might call it wood pulp?
Wood is just less than half cellulose by weight, so wood must be safe to easy.
This mercury sandwich is just less than half bread by weight, so it must be safe to eat.
still at least part of wood though, a part that’s edible, as far as I’m aware, mercury has none of those (adding the bread, and extra ingredient, is cheating).
If something is part edible and part not, then it really depends on the nature of that not edible bit. If it’s inert, then great. If it’s not, then you could be kinda fucked.
The fact that something is 45% edible says precisely nothing about whether or not it is edible.
I never said otherwise (nor argued that all wood was edible in its entirety), but your comparison was still a bad one.
You think a mercury sandwich isn’t a realistic representation of wood.
Wow, you know, after careful consideration I think you may be right. Thanks for your wisdom. Truly enlightening.
I’ll go eat some wood.
Wood is mostly cellulose and lignin, which holds no nutritional value to us humans. Another comment said that termites have certain enzymes which digest it, but it’s actually the bacteria in their guts which break down the woody fibres so they can turn it into glucose. So, theoretically, maybe we could isolate those bacteria and somehow incorporate them into our guts too? I mean it probably wouldn’t work, but you never know until you try right?
Your mom is mostly lignin.
lignin ma ballz
So you’re saying if I eat enough termites I can gain their power?
That’s a question for an anteater. Of course, it may need to ingest something with the power of speech before it can say.
That’s interesting in that it’s the termites’ gut flora that break down the woody content they ingest, considering that a mycelial presence is required to convert grassland to forest as the bacteria present in soil are unable to process the dendritic xylem in order for reuse in the substrate. Do you know if these termite bacteria are viable alternatives to fungal synthesis in reforestation projects?
So there is a future, where us humain, go to the restaurant and open the Wood card, and a waiter specialized in wood (certainly french too) will go, Hello, Monsieur, Madame, have you chozen your wood for tonight And our grand kids will respond: “Yes, We will take the Cypress of Bordeaux” And this wonderful french waiter will respond "Very Good Choice with a Fish Sir, It creates a wonderfool Surf and Turf taste
Bon appetit!
Your mind is an enigma.
You can eat absolutely anything at least once.
“All mushrooms are edible. Some are only edible once.” - Terry Pratchett
I should think you can, depending on the wood, many can be toxic.
The bark of a Willow tree is used to make Aspirin, we smoke paper and eat many plants with less woody stems. There are certain other barks and cambium (the soft layer between the bark and the wood) that contain nutrients, such as birch, pine, elm and a few others that have been eaten by our ancestors for centuries and even have medicinal properties. We also grate cinnamon and a few others as spice. Dog food is often bulked up with ash.
The real issue is that the hard cellulose in the actual wood part is not particularly digestible and basically pure fibre and devoid of any real nutrient value. So it would need to be boiled or blended first I imagine, or steeped as a tea. It would be revolting or taste like nothing and probably give you constipation but I doubt you would die.
As a raw bite of a chunk of wood, no. It would be considered inedible.
I just got started testing Google Bard, so I fed this question to it and got this reply:
What about those dried wood snacks?
I have never heard of this and I can’t find anything online.
Got a link?
I think our dude’s been eating potpouri.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/oak-bark
Ohh, so it seems like bark is edible but wood isn’t. Definitely chimes with other answers above.
Bard says “we” cannot eat wood… OK Bard, then try a Cheeseburger.
So what you are saying is, we just need to put wood and beaver enzymes in a blender…
Bard is wrong. Look at any vitamin/supplement type pill bottle. Cellulose is listed in almost every one.
I looked up cellulose and it does say that it is used in some drugs and other consumables yeah, but it’s still indigestible, so it wouldn’t give you any nutrients to survive if eaten by itself, I guess.
There’s only one way to resolve this argument and one of you isn’t going to like it
Depends on the wood. Some wood we use for spices like cinnamon so you’ve probably already eaten that. But other types of wood are considered toxic not only to consume, but to the plants around it. Take what I say with a grain of salt as I’m certainly no expert on the matter.
Hemlock comes to mind, as with or without your proffered grain of salt, it can be eaten but is definitely not edible. Those defs are posted in a non-pedantic way above, incidentally.
Also, thanks for the chance to use the word ‘proffered’ in conversation, it’s vanishingly rarely used outside the legal field.
I think you’re confusing the hemlock tree https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuga
With poison hemlock https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conium_maculatum
The tree makes the best bedtime tea I’ve ever had. The herb is a common poison notorious for killing Socrates. You’re still technically accurate, but they’re very different plants.
Wood has no nutritional value to humans, but a few things come close:
The center of banana tree trunks are cooked and eaten, and a common parts of some asian dishes, but they aren’t really “wood”.
The inner part of tree bark is digestible by humans, but it is not classified as “wood” either.
Sure you can but you probably shouldn’t…
removed by mod
One of my favorite YouTube videos from William Osman How Much Sawdust Can You Put In A Rice Crispy?
Food theory covered this in terms of Christmas trees. The answer is yes, mostly, with a lot of caveats, and also probably not really.
Saw dust have been mixed with flour multiple time in history during famine period. However it was mostly done to increase profit, not for its nutritional value and multiple bakers have been killed by angry mob because of that.
So while eating wood may not kill you, serving it could?
William Osman and crew attempted to find the breaking point on this in his video “How Much Sawdust Can You Put In A Rice Crispy?”
https://youtu.be/AKDal51f5LU
See also: Bark bread, aka “pettuleipä” in Finnish