Nature's Bounty: The Haul of the Wild

Say the phrase "weed and feed" and the average American might assume you're referring to a lawn fertilizer and herbicide mix or to the lawn care process itself: the pursuit of suburban perfection, the immaculate, weed-free lawn. But to someone in the newest niche of the food movement—an invasivore—the phrase takes on an entirely different meaning. Invasivores aim to beat back—or eat back—invasive species by serving them on a platter and chowing down.

If locavorism, the consumption of fresh, locally produced, seasonal foods, solves some problems created by an over-industrialized food supply, invasivorism goes one giant step further. Invasivores turn to backyard weeds and terrestrial and aquatic "invasives" that compete with, and often overtake, many preferred native species.

While you may say "yuck" to consuming kudzu, there's larder logic to feeding on the plants and animals that bite you: They're not only all around, but the kinds and amounts of nutrients in invasive species, especially plants, commonly far exceed those in cultivated edibles, which have been bred for sweetness and size, a process that often diminishes their food value.

Invasivores hold fish fries and "crawfish boils" and trade recipes for cooking garden scourges such as dandelion, purslane, and garlic mustard. But the most high-profile foods on the invasivore menu are more mobile aliens such as nutria, feral pigs, and Asian carp, a delectable if bony fish prized in China, where it has been cultivated for over a thousand years. In America, though, Asian carp—introduced in the 1970s to act as living vacuum cleaners of inland ponds and lakes—have upset the freshwater ecosystem in the South. Devouring fish and flora, the species has worked its way up the Mississippi to threaten Great Lakes fisheries, which spend heavily to keep the invaders out.

Eradicating invasive species is almost always futile. They thrive because they are highly adaptive and have few natural predators in their new habitats. Perhaps wiser to heed the principles of Adam Smith and turn backyard bane into gustatory (and economic) bonanza.

Kudzu greens can be juiced or chopped for salads; otherwise they are tough to eat raw and need time on the stove. Asian carp, although meaty and clean-tasting, are too bony to fillet, the way Americans prefer their fish. But it takes more than kitchen craft to turn dregs into delicacies. For that, candidate edibles have to undergo reputational transcendence, surmounting the great psychic hurdle of disgust.

"The Asian carp looks much like any other fish and should not evoke feelings of cultural or moral disgust," observes psychologist Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania, who has devoted decades to researching disgust. Nor should kudzu or, say, purslane, since they look like other edible greens. Such isn't the case for nutria, he notes, which have overrun bayou country. Large rodents once prized for their fur, they too closely resemble rats for us to appreciate them as protein.

Looks are one thing, labels another. The very fact of identifying a food source as invasive can influence human behavior and trip our gag reflex. "The name of a food can affect one's desire, and how you name a food makes a difference in its acceptability," adds Rozin. No wonder ecologically conscious chefs have tried to rebrand Asian carp as "Silverfin" and "Kentucky tuna" in an attempt to eliminate any basis for negativity or xenophobia, says invasivore biologist Andy Deines of Michigan State University.

Renaming is nothing new to chefs and ambitious fishmongers, notes social ecologist Stephen Kellert of Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies: "Look at the number of different species labeled 'sea bass' in an attempt to market all sorts of fish to consumers."

Kellert explains that the history of agriculture is sowed with cultivars that have been domesticated and bred for thousands of years, then modified for characteristics such as productivity. "It is a system based on a long tradition of introducing, cultivating, and reducing species."

An unintended consequence of cultivation is that nutritive value is often sacrificed. Phytonutrients, for example—functional food components that have active anti-inflammatory and other biologically valuable properties and are under investigation for use in combating diabetes, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases— tend to be especially abundant in herbs, wild plants, and wild berries. The wild dandelion weed, for example, averages seven times the phytonutrient content of garden-variety spinach.

Still, Kellert sees no signs invasives will be filling up most plates any time soon. People are lazy, he says. "We tend to buy and consume what we know." Growers prefer hybrid plants yielding uniformity and predictability. But mainly, he says, we are a risk-averse species.

Invasivores see not only personal benefit but environmental gain in eating wild; it helps recalibrate the ecosystem. It may take courage to consume rusty crayfish, but websites like Invasivore.org are ripe with recipes and culinary advice.

Menus Gone Wild

Some staples of the invasivore pantry.

Dandelion

A cousin of daisies and sunflowers. Hails from Europe, where it is prized as a salad green, and Asia, where it is additionally valued as a medicinal for liver ailments. Rich in phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals.

Garlic mustard

Leafy member of mustard family. Arrived in the Americas mid-19th century as a spice popular with Europeans. Kills off native plants by releasing cyanide-like chemicals into soil. Rich in flavonoids and vitamins.

Kudzu

Fast-growing perennial vine. Introduced from Asia in 1876 as an ornamental and an erosion-stopper. Kills off native vegetation. A legume rich in flavonoids, protein, iron, fiber. Root extract may deter heavy drinking.

Rusty crayfish

Voracious Ohio native has taken over lakes, ponds, and streams in upper Midwest, destroying fish habitats. Midwest is a hot spot, as it is a transportation nexus, and invasives “hitched a ride,” says Andy Deines.

Plantain

Not the banana-like fruit but a small, spinach-like nuisance weed. Used globally as a medicinal and salad green. Seed husk of psyllium species used as laxative. Leaves rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.

Purslane

Hardy, low-growing succulent, resembling baby jade plant, native to India and Persia. Loaded with vitamins. Richer in omega-3 fatty acids than any other vegetable.