He hovers over a small inlet of water like a hungry grizzly bear watching for his prey. With his gray sweatshirt sleeves hiked up to the elbows, he lunges forward, grasping at what looks like empty water. He changes his stance but continues to thrust in his hand like a kid with a candy jar. Eventually, he pulls out a fish, barely wiggling within his firm grip. In a charming accent, he explains his actions to the camera and places the fish back into the water for a moment, though never releasing it. Then without warning, he begins to tear into it with his fingernails. Grunting and groaning, he roughly bends the fish in half and savagely rips the silvery scales off with his teeth to expose the innards. While Bear Grylls may have a handsome ruggedness to him, he has no problem turning back evolutionary time in order to meet the primitive version of himself.

Television shows like Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Survivorman with Les Stroud take humanity back to the bare basics. But what if you’re vegetarian? Is there a chance for survival? If you have overcome the difficulties of shopping at the grocery store, surviving in the wild for a week might not be that much more challenging. Maybe you will be surprised at how easy it is, or at the very least acquire a little more appreciation for your local grocery store’s veggie supplies.

Compared to the Paleolithic diet (hunter-gatherer diet) vegetarianism isn’t a modern day diet trend that many think it to be. In the Stone Age, along with meat, fruits and vegetables were essential staples that provided the hunter-gatherer with energy. Obviously, if hunters were not lucky enough to come across an animal, they would have no choice but to find an alternative source of protein through gathering.

If you’re ready to take a vegetarian adventure in the wild this spring or summer, stay tuned tomorrow for part two. Finding vegetarian options in the wild is possible, but you need to know what foods to look for.