ABSTRACT
Fungi have been little used as domestic animal food and their use in this manner constitutes a virtually unexplored area. There is no question but that production of fleshy fungi for direct use as food for humans could and should be increased several-fold. This is especially true for Oriental countries where protein is already in short supply and much of the current edible mushroom production is conducted by primitive methods. A sharp distinction exists between the Occident and the Orient with respect to the nature of the substrates which are processed with fungi for the production of various foodstuffs. In the Occident, milk proteins are processed with mold type fungi to form two basic cheese types, Roquefort and Camembert. In the Orient vast quantities of soybeans, rice and wheat are processed with fungi in the preparation of a great variety of different foodstuffs. The fungi must be considered as one of man's few remaining relatively unexplored food resources.
