Is there a pattern with which to determine non-toxicity and edibilty in plants or land or sea animals?

Question

Say I am stranded somewhere, is there an easy way to tell if a particular plant, animal or fish is edible? Since I am alone, I can not use the 'eat it and see' method.

Answer 1

You should be able to eat anything you see another mammel eating and not die.

Answer 2

Observe animal behavior. If you see signs of mammals eating something you may be able to eat it.

If you know some basic rules of animal coloration it can help as well, such as if you see a brightly colored reptile or insect it may be poisonous. Animals that rely on camouflage may be hunted by other animals thus would be something you could eat.

Next be sure to remove any innards and or glands intact. There are very few animals or fish with poison muscle tissue.

Finally, you have nothing but time to observe your own personal reaction to anything that you catch. To a certain point you only have the 'eat it and see' method. Some people are allergic to peanuts and don't know until the first time they try one. If you have never tried an item you can not know how you will react to it. Try a small piece of meat or one berry and if you are a healthy adult you should survive just fine even if you have a bad reaction.

Remember you can live for days without food. You are much more likely to die from bad or lack of clean water. That is your first and most basic need. Because the danger is micro-biological you can't see anything to warn you. Boil the water with some charcoal in it to try to remove impurities if you have any issues or don't see flocks of birds and animals at the edge of a clear running stream.