Authors: Teixidor Toneu, Irene; Giraud, Nicolas J;Karlsen, Pål;Annes, Alexis;Kool, Anneleen;

Wild food plants are well recognized as local sources of nutrition that can contribute to food security. In Europe, the use of wild food plants as an emerging trend in high-end gastronomy has raised concerns about the conservation of the foraged plant. Here, we co-designed a research project with the Norwegian Association for Mycology and Foraging to characterize and assess sustainable foraging in Norway. We conducted 19 face-to-face interviews and produced an online questionnaire. We enquired about what species are harvested, by whom and how, where do foragers learn, and what are their perspectives on the sustainability of foraging. Foragers base decisions on when and how much can be harvested on moral judgements considering location, plant, and plant part being harvested. They pay attention to plants’ conservation status and local abundance, the plant individual’s survival after foraging, and aim to not spread invasive species. We visualized their decision-making process as a flowchart that, combined with academically-produced data on ecological and social aspects of foraging, we use to assess sustainability of foraging in Norway. Finally, we propose ways to apply this co-created knowledge to support transmission of knowledge about low-impact practices and sustainability ethics in Norway and other geographical contexts.