From wild foraging to modern agriculture: The fascinating evolution of vegetables

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors discovered the first edible plants through a dangerous method: foraging. This empirical strategy allowed humans to understand and carefully select plants, which, through slow and multiple transformations, now offer a wide range of vegetables that make up our modern diet.

But what exactly is a vegetable? Fruit, leaf, flower, root, stem, tuber, bulb, or seed? Which parts are edible? What selection processes and human experimentation have they gone through over time, and based on what criteria?

This tour through the medicinal beds of our garden offers a journey through time, exploring the fields—both the stage and witness to the inseparable bond between agriculture and humankind, in its most essential form: our food.

As part of Botanica 2025 : https://www.botanica-suisse.org