Objective:
Greece was until recently considered as a country where mushroom consumption was limited to few species per region. Mushroom were for most Greeks an occasional food, linked to poverty, the "meat of the poor", as they used to call them, that helped rural populations to survive the years of WWII. However, over the last 20 years the picture has changed dramatically as mushrooms are nowadays at the focus of a broader movement, which integrates individual research artistic-creative and entrepreneurial actions related to mushrooms to an activity with a strong social character.
Context:
Today there are 10 mushroom associations in Greece (9 local-regional and one panhellenic) and this is a big number for Greece. Regionals cover most mainland Greece and two islands: Lesvos and Corfu. Following their year of establishment, they are based in: W. Macedonia (1999), Thessaly (2004), E. Macedonia and Thrace (2006), Epirus (2007), Lesvos (2008), Mesogaia Attica, Thessaloniki, C. Macedonia (2015) and Corfu (2018). In 2012, the Greek Mushroom Society was founded based in Grevena. The objectives as mentioned i.e. in the statutes of the Association of Epirus are: the protection, rational exploitation and study of fungi, public awareness, dissemination and promotion of fungal knowledge and the protection of the natural heritage in general.
Contacts:
Giorgos Konstantinidis, manitarock@hotmail.gr, http://www.mycohellas.gr/mc/
Kalliopi Stara, kstara@uoi.gr, http://eco.bat.uoi.gr
Thanassis Ntinos, dalabel.ae@gmail.com, https://sites.google.com/site/manitarofiloi/
Further information:
Konstantinidis G., 2014. Mushrooms. Photo guide mushroom collector, 2nd edition, self-publishing (in Greek).