Growing styrofoam...

[fajrdrako]

I just watched Eben Bayer: Are mushrooms the new plastic?

Since I rather hate all plastics, but put up with them because I haven't much in the way of alternatives, this strikes me as a good idea. And everyone ants to clean up the planet. So if it works - why aren't people doing it? Or if they are doing it, why have I not heard about it, and why do I find Styrofoam in just about every package I open?

Could a person drink coffee out of a mushroom cup? ...I suspect not.

Looking up mycelium on Wikipedia, I was led to info about a book called Mycelium Running, about the applications of mycelium, though I don't see 'packaging' as being listed among the uses. That was in 2005.

I couldn't see any indication as to when this video was made. Here's something similar from Paul Stamets in 2008. Though his pronunciation of 'fungi' strikes me as odd - seems I've stumbled across another American/Canadian difference I never knew about.

Starhawk is into this too: she's one of my heroes. But her article here dates to 2005, though her video <a href="http://www.belili.org/permaculture/Permaculture_GrowingEdge.html@>on Permaculture</a> seems to be newer. Starhawk is one of my heroes. One problem I can think of in using fungi for packaging is laws governing export and import. Almost all the electronic goods I buy are made in the Far East or the US. I'm sure there are laws about importing mushroom products from other countries. I remember customs trouble when some book my father ordered from India, probably in Sanskrit, came packed in tea leaves instead of Styrofoan or bubble wrap. Still: laws can be changed (even in Canada), especially if there is a good reason for it. <br>