Usufruct: The legal right of using and enjoying the fruits or profits of something
belonging to another. The right of enjoying all the advantages derivable from
the use of something that belongs to another as far as is compatible with the
substance of the thing not being destroyed or injured.
This word is derived from the Latin words “uses” and “fructus” which literally mean use and fruit, respectfully. The word has Roman origins. In a legal sense it represents the general idea of having the right to eat from a fruit tree that is not yours or not on your land. The conditions include the tree having an abundance of fruit on it or having excess fruit that is literally dropping on the ground, unused. The other important caveat here is that no damage is done to the tree.
To me, this idea applies to fish from a river or sea, or other fruits, vegetables or animals. I believe it helps to summarize why many of the poorest and unsophisticated populations are so much healthier than the wealthier ones. Although not necessarily their property, they eat what they can from the land directly, fruit, vegetables, fish, or whatever they can get and gather for free.
Although eating fruits and vegetables that are truly organic verses processed can be quite important, eating foods that are still subject to their original natural ecology moves them to the top of the purity scale. Foods that are a part of the original human evolutionary diet, directly from their true wild ecology are the best ones to eat. Consider seafood; generally, any ocean fish that are caught in their natural state vs. farmed, are naturally the better foods to eat. Mushrooms are another great example. Fruit from the trees in your backyard is yet another. These foods are easier to access than you might think; you just have to look. I buy much of my seafood at the regular grocery store noting carefully that the particular type was “caught wild” and that it is sustainable.
This last year I stayed with some friends for the summer and into the fall. My friend’s father is a cagey old Lithuanian guy. He’s about 89 years old and still prides himself on managing his own garden in the backyard of the house. He put me to work a few times helping him with the summer “harvest”. I’ve known these guys for a long time but never noticed until this summer that in the small yard surrounding their house they have a number of fruit trees. They have 3 cherry trees, 2 apple trees, a plum tree, a pear tree, and some thick raspberry and blackberry bushes. Aside from this, John (the old guy) has a compost heap and grows a small plot of flowers, tomatoes and other assorted vegetables. Going outside to eat a free breakfast is something I had never considered. Last summer I did it for 3 straight months.
These guys live in the middle of the city on a very busy 4 lane road, so I usually remembered to wash the fruit off, but that was all. I would get up, go to the nearby Starbucks, pick up a large coffee and newspaper and just wonder into the yard to eat. It was incredible – thick, perfect bundles of wild cherries falling off branches. I didn’t have a chance to get tired of each fruit because they came into bloom in almost perfect succession; one after the other ending with the apples in the early fall. I would just wander over to the raspberry patch and gather handfuls of the ripe berries. Then I would sit outside eat my fruit, drink my coffee and read the paper. I’ve never eaten better fruit, and I didn’t buy any for over 3 months. I never would have done this had my eyes not been opened up to the philosophy I am presenting here.
To learn more about a natural diet that’s both scientifically sound as well as one followed by our ancestors, check out the eco-diet to see if this diet and exercise plan can help you.