{"id":7638,"date":"2026-08-28T19:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7638"},"modified":"2026-08-28T19:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:40:15","slug":"an-old-school-food-habit-is-making-a-comeback-and-killing-people-across-several-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7638","title":{"rendered":"An old-school food habit is making a comeback \u2014 and killing people across several states"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

You won\u2019t have mush fun if you make a wrong move in this trendy outdoor pastime.<\/p>\n

An ancient food practice is enjoying a major comeback, fueled by social media, the wellness boom, culinary curiosity and a growing desire to reconnect with nature, even in cities like NYC.<\/p>\n

Read more Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos nabbed by ICE in Louisiana<\/a><\/p>\n

But the age-old hobby comes with major risks, and experts are warning its resurgence is contributing to a wave of illnesses and death across several states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past two weeks, 13 people in northeast Ohio have fallen ill after eating toxic wild mushrooms, including one who needed a liver transplant.<\/p>\n

The danger has also surfaced in Montana, where 11 people were hospitalized last month after foraging near Yellowstone National Park, with several of them in serious condition.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in California, health officials have been dealing with an \u201cunprecedented\u201d wave of wild mushroom poisonings, with at least 49 people sickened between last November and May, including a toddler.<\/p>\n

The outbreak has resulted in multiple hospitalizations, organ failures, emergency liver transplants and four adult deaths. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s just over the past nine months. Accidental poisonings linked to wild mushroom foraging have been on the rise in recent years, as the hobby has surged in popularity since COVID-19.<\/p>\n

The activity involves searching for and gathering fungi in the wild, with foragers descending on forests, parks and green spaces in search of edible varieties.<\/p>\n

But some poisonous species look remarkably similar to their safe-to-eat counterparts.<\/p>\n

For example, toxic jack-o\u2019-lantern mushrooms, which can cause severe gastrointestinal problems, can be mistaken for orange chanterelles.<\/p>\n

Meadow mushrooms can likewise be confused with destroying angels, a deadly lookalike that can damage vital organs, including the liver and kidneys.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the death cap, which is responsible for about 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide. Foragers can mistake the highly toxic fungus for edible paddy straw mushrooms, puffballs or common field mushrooms.<\/p>\n

Experts warn that confidently telling the difference between edible and toxic varieties takes time, practice and real-world experience.<\/p>\n

Read more Garth Brooks\u2019 daughter draws ire for Dolly Parton tribute post: \u2018An utterly ridiculous comment to make\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

But as foraging has surged among amateurs, so has reliance on technology. Beginners are increasingly turning to social media, smartphone apps, chatbots and AI to help identify their finds, sometimes with dangerous consequences.<\/p>\n

In 2022, an Ohio man required emergency treatment after eating deadly Amanita mushrooms found in his backyard that an identification app had mistakenly labeled as edible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will never eat [a wild mushroom] again,\u201d he told CNN. \u201cI found some the other day, my app told me they were edible, and I said to it, \u2018I don\u2019t believe you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Mycological Society has also warned that Amazon and other retailers are selling mushroom foraging and identification books generated with AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease only buy books of known authors and foragers, it can literally mean life or death,\u201d the group wrote on X in 2023.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean you have to hang up your foraging basket for good. <\/p>\n

Experts at the Cleveland Clinic recommend that beginners take classes with experienced guides, join a local mycology club, attend guided plant walks or sign up for a botany or wilderness survival course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a skill you should be learning from TikTok,\u201d said Dr. Christopher Bazzoli, a wilderness medicine specialist. \u201cLook to get some expert, hands-on training so you can feel confident you know what you\u2019re looking at when you forage.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the wrong mushroom can fool your senses. Some toxic varieties look, smell and even taste perfectly normal \u2014 and symptoms may not appear until long after you\u2019ve eaten them.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Early symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, dizziness, confusion, weakness, a racing or irregular heartbeat and trouble breathing.<\/p>\n

In the worst cases, poisoning can trigger seizures, paralysis, organ failure and death.<\/p>\n

If you start feeling sick after eating a wild mushroom or plant, don\u2019t wait it out to see if your symptoms improve. Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.<\/p>\n

And if you can, save a sample of what you ate or snap a photo for identification. There\u2019s no one-size-fits-all antidote for mushroom poisoning, so knowing exactly what you swallowed can help doctors determine how to treat you. <\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | Dolly Parton\u2019s emotional loved ones gather at Nashville burial site 3 days after her death<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past two weeks, 13 people in northeast Ohio have fallen ill after taking part in the outdoor activity, while 11 people were hospitalized in Montana last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nAn old-school food habit is making a comeback \u2014 and killing people across several states - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7638\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An old-school food habit is making a comeback \u2014 and killing people across several states - 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