Mushrooms and the Strange People Who Hunt Them

By Jeff Severns Guntzel
Published on June 23, 2009
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<p>It’s not something we set out to do, but we’ve carved out something of a mushroom beat for ourselves. We’ve written about <a href=”https://www.utne.com/science-and-technology/mushrooms-to-save-the-world.aspx” target=”_blank”>mushrooms at Chernobyl</a>, <a href=”https://www.utne.com/community/truly-magical-mushrooms.aspx” target=”_blank”>a rennaissance mycologist</a>, <a href=”https://www.utne.com/science-and-technology/themedicalmagicofmushrooms.aspx” target=”_blank”>the medical magic of mushrooms</a>, <a href=”https://www.utne.com/arts/the-russian-art-of-shrooming.aspx” target=”_blank”>an annual Russian mushroom hunt</a>, and <a href=”https://www.utne.com/community/theguerrillagatherers.aspx” target=”_blank”>clandestine mushroom harvests in America’s protected forests</a>.</p>
<p>Now there is a <a href=”http://sphinxproductions.com/films/mushrooms/” target=”_blank”>movie about mushrooms</a>, and it seems to play right to our sweet spot. The trailer for <em>Know Your Mushrooms</em> tells us little, but it’s beautiful:</p>
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<p>The film’s website is less coy:</p>
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<em>The oldest and largest living organisms recorded on Earth are both fungi. And their use by a new, maverick breed of scientists and thinkers has proven vital in the cleansing of sites despoiled by toxins and as a “clean” pesticide among many other environmentally-friendly applications.</em>
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<em>Inspired by a chance conversation with fellow filmmaker and mushroom buff Jim Jarmusch, Rob Mann set off to the annual Telluride Mushroom Festival in Colorado. It was there he encountered the unique sub-sub-subculture surrounding fungi that includes an unlikely assortment of nerds, nuts, hipsters, tripsters, artists, chefs, musicians, foodies, foragers, and seekers all paying homage to the mighty mushroom.</em>
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<p>(Thanks, <a href=”http://www.thefader.com/articles/2009/6/12/video-know-your-mushrooms” target=”_blank”>The Fader</a>.)</p>
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