Hemlock and livestock

Here's a question for you ... 

How much poison is there in our food?

I ask this because, while out walking with my dog yesterday I found quite a lot of Hemlock growing in a field of barley. 

Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a member of the annoying complicated carrot family; complicated in that many species look similar but some are good to eat, some don't taste great and some are deadly poisonous.

Compare and contrast ...

Cow Parsley (harmless and edible)

Common Hogweed (harmless and edible)

Yarrow (harmless and edible)

Giant Hogweed (poisonous and will cause blistering on skin if touched)

Hemlock (DEADLY poisonous)

You can see how similar the plants are. I can tell at a glance which is which. But it took me some time before I was 100% sure enough to eat any of them. 

The devil is in the details - the shapes of flower petals and leaves, the colours and structure of the stems etc. 

One easy way to identify Hemlock is to look at the stems. If you see purple blotches - it's Hemlock. Other members of the carrot family may have purple areas of stem but not blotches.

See the blotches? That's Hemlock.

Now compare to Cow Parsley - areas of purple and green but not blotches.

The poisonous nature of Hemlock has been known for millennia. It was the plant that was given to the Greek philosopher Socrates at his execution. And Shakespeare mentions it as 'the insane root' in one of Banquo's soliloquys in Macbeth (the three witches also include it as an ingredient during their 'Double double toil and trouble' incantation). 

Hemlock contains alkaloid toxins including coniine and gamma-coniceine, which cause muscular paralysis, leading to respiratory failure and eventually death. Only a tiny amount of Hemlock can prove fatal to a human or to livestock.

Which is what prompted my question at the top of this post. 

I spotted at least five large Hemlock plants yesterday. So when the combine harvester gathers in the crop in late summer, what happens then? Usually, the Barley grain is separated from the chaff, which is bundled up into haybales that are then used as winter feed. Will the Hemlock be bundled up with it? 

Should I tell the farmer it's there?

I'm going to find out what I should do - so watch this space.