Too Bad: Poverty Forces 50-year-old Man to Become Addicted to Eating Trees and Leaves (Photos)

Posted by Thandiubani on Fri 21st Apr, 2017 - tori.ng

An elderly man who is addicted to eating leaves and wood has revealed that poverty pushed him into the act as he cannot stop it now.

Mehmood Butt loves eating leaves after forced into it by poverty

A Pakistani man says he has been addicted to eating trees for the past 25 years because he couldn't affor a basic meal, Dailymail reports.

The man identified as Mehmood Butt, 50, from Gujranwala, a district in the Punjab province, first started eating wood and leaves due to poverty and hunger.

He said: 'There was too much poverty in my family. Everything was beyond limit and it was very difficult for me to get a meal.

'I thought it is better to eat wood rather than begging on a street.'

Years later, as Mr Butt took up work and could afford meals, he found himself strangely keen on maintaining his unique eating practice.

'Eating wood and leaves has become my habit now,' he said.

Mr Butt earns almost £5 a day by transporting things from one place to another on his donkey cart. His eyes are always set to eating fresh wood and leaves.

His neighbour Ghulam Mohammad said: 'He will stop his cart on the roadside anytime and will eat fresh tree branches.' Mr Butt is popular in his community for his eating habits but has left people shocked as he has never got sick from eating trees.

Mohammad added: 'He has never visited a doctor or any hospital. We are shocked how can a person not fall ill despite eating wood all these years.'

Mr Butt's favourite wood is Banyan, Tali and Suck Chain trees.