I understand the merits , but I doubt I could identify any of the plants

[Rick]

The UET is fine if you are in a foreign country where you don't know the flora. There is no reason to use it in your homeland where it's easy enough to learn a hand full of edible plants and continue to expand your knowledge.

[rwc1969]

The UET is basically an "I'm gonna die if I don't eat", so it can't hurt scenario. I saw a vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7ElJ1oJEWM where they revamped this, and put it to the test. It failed in some areas and passed in others. The problem with this test, other than the obvious, is that most people who recommend it, don't recommend it properly, they leave out important parts of the test, get rushed, or skip steps. You have to follow it to a T, and even then it's not foolproof.

The best thing, as the person who presented that video suggested, is to learn to identify a few very common and abundant wild edibles that are not easily confused with anything else, and that grow in a good portion of the world. Cattails, oaks, willows, mustard family plants, grasses.

Aside from that a good class in Botany 101 at the local community college or even high school would be a great start and likely provide the proper foundation for future work. Knowing the difference between a dicot or monocot, opposite vs. alternate leaved, pinnate vs. simple, etc. etc. will go a long way.Most of this information is at the beginning of every ID book, but we tend to skip past it and just start looking at pictures and descriptions. This works, but it can be long and tedious process.

I can't remember if I posted this vid here or not, but it was 1sttimestar, a member here, that first mentioned this or something very similar, and it's been a big help both in plant and tree ID.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnRZo...9DFB2A4ED09C68

Once you get a basic understanding of plant structure ID becomes much, much easier. MUCH EASIER! so much easier, hehehe.

But, plant ID and, even more so, plant use is a tough subject. That's probably why you don't see many survival schools and such teaching it, there's just not enough time in the day. It's much easier to simply say that food is not required for short term survival or refer them to the UET.

[Cousin-IT]

i'd like to point out that i may not have had all my facts straight, but the general idea was good and got the ball rolling. and i did mention it was a "B-grade doco" and that there is a difference between "advise" and mention something i heard of

[your_comforting_company]

There is no excuse for poisoning yourself. If you can't identify a plant, assume it is poison. You can go for a really long time without food. There are so many plants out there that are completely safe to eat (like all plants in the brassicaceae family) and have no look-alikes, that I think anyone who knew a handfull of the plants would have no trouble.

The military has piles of soldiers at their disposal, so certainly they can afford to teach dangerous methods like the UET. As one "regular" guy with a stack of books about plants, I cannot suggest it to anyone, even if starving. It's just bad advice. There are plants in my area that would pass parts of the UET (like the berry color crap) that will most definately kill you before you can get to the hospital. I don't know how many different ways I can say "it's a bad idea"...