As mentioned in the previous trend, a large part of this informal food economy and its distribution in Latvia deals with picking mushrooms and forest fruits, as well as many Latvians are still receiving their food from relatives in the countryside. Therefore they are using all kinds of delivery from visiting every weekend to delivery by public bus companies, friends to delivery by members of a social network group. Almost every city has a private group on one of the common social networks.
Besides the own kitchen garden, Latvia still counts a large movement of pickers. During the mushroom and fruit forrest season, the Latvian forests are used as an enormous food source. In the Nordic countries, mushroom pickers are protected by law defined by the concept of Everyone's Rights. Namely, as already mentioned, everyone is free to walk through the forest and collect forest fruits.
Of course, this right must be exercised wisely, it is not allowed to pick protected species, you are not unauthorized to access foreign yards and farmland. Latvia is one of the few countries in the world where picking forest fruits is free of burocracy and everyone has the right to pick.
Latvian law on forests states that everyone has the right to trespass, stay and pick forest fruits in the forest which belong to the State or municipality unless these are protected areas, plant or wild animal husbandries, or other limitations according to law. If somebody's rights to walk the forest freely are limited, there is an obligation for the owner to install visible warning signs in protected areas.In case warning signs are installed, there is a right for the owner to take away collected forest fruits.
In Latvia today more than 3600 species of mushrooms are defined and most of the people know species by heart. Yearly approximately 60 000 tonnes of edible produce is taken out of forrest. Out of the 1000 cap mushroom species 300 are recognized as edible, whereas only 30 are poisonous. Mushroomers normally recognize and choose to pick an average of twenty to thirty species of fungi. Mushroom specialist Inita Daniele mentions that mushrooms can be found almost anywhere - for example, last year in the center of Riga, in the park near the Latvian National Opera, a mycologist discovered a new species of mushroom.
“Data show that the consumption of mushrooms increases slightly from year to year. In 2006, on average, one person living in a household consumed 1.66 kg of mushrooms, and in 2016 – already 1.76 kg. Mushroom consumption has grown faster in rural areas, where in 2016 every resident consumed an average of 2.18 kg of mushrooms, and this is one of the highest indicators in the last ten years. These forest products are used less by the townspeople - the lowest figure was in 2015, when on average one resident consumed less than a kilogram of mushrooms.”
Central Statistical Office (CSB)
Research data proves that from the mushrooming and forest fruit admirers only 17% of the younger generation (16-19years old) point out that this is their beloved activity, while almost 60% of the people above 50 years old. The amount of course differs from the place where the respondent lives, countryside or city. Of course most of admirers are living in the countryside regions of Latvia.
Already today we can determine that less and less people pick mushrooms or other forrest fruits. The knowledge disappears as it no longer passes along from generation to generation.
This seasonal activity brings prosperity to the inhabitants of the countryside where the unemployment is the highest. Owing to the fact that a big part of the people are leaving and the older inhabitants are slowly become extinct there is a decrease in pickers.