Food

Food is not urgently needed in survival situations, since a human can survive for several weeks without it. However, much like dehydration, hunger can bring about many consequences long before it causes death, such as:

* Irritability and low morale
* Weakness
* Loss of mental clarity, such as confusion, disorientation, or poor judgment
* Weakened immune system
* Difficulty maintaining body temperature

It is actually rather easy to find food in most wild environments, provided one knows where to look. A basic knowledge of animal trapping, hunting, and fishing will provide meat. Equally important is a knowledge of edible plants, fungi, and lichens. One cannot always rely on the most abundant or most easily accessible type of food. To survive for long periods of time, one must maintain a balanced diet. In order to do this, one must consume a balanced variety of foods.

Many survival books promote the "Universal Edibility Test": allegedly, one can distinguish edible foods from toxic ones by a series of progressive exposures to skin and mouth prior to ingestion with waiting periods and checks for symptoms. However, many other experts including Ray Mears and John Kallas[9] reject this method, in main part because a very small amount of some "potential foods" can cause anything from gastric distress to illness or death. An additional step called the "scratch test" is sometimes included. In this step (before mouth contact of the proposed food) one makes an abrasion on the surface of an area of skin (such as with fingernails) and then lightly rubs some of the food product on the abrasion. Foods that cause surface inflammation, discomfort, itching or eruption should be avoided.

Finding food in the wild depends on your environment (i.e. vegetation, animals, and water sources).