Foraging for Invasives
Working restaurants since I was fifteen has instilled an interest in food in me. When I came across Eattheinvaders.org, I found that it was a perfect example of network governance while also hinting at some perspectives of market governance. The site is suggests that to defeat invasive species, both terrestrial and aquatic, we can eat them.
There are a couple different actors that form the network of the site. The editor of the site, Joe Roman, is a conservation biologist and researcher for Ecological Economics at UVM. Deborah Gregor an author who has published multiple books on foraging. Caitlin Campbell, who comes up with the recipes for the site, and Fred Gates, who designs it.
To make this a little more local they include maps on their site so you would be able to see which ones are in Wisconsin. The site is also very good from an educational standpoint. They show a timeline of when each species was introduced to North America. They also have information on recipes, benefits to eating them, and information on identifying the species safely.
Market approaches that stem off of this from other articles bring up the point of using edible invasive species as a food source. Some approaches for market governance believe that invasive species could cause profit while also reducing the amount of invasive species. Some opponents to this bring up a very good point that making a market for them would create value and would then cause us to not want these invasive species. Some environmentalists have called using invasive species for food “a free weeding service.”
Many chefs and restaurant groups have been working to make invasive species more trendy so they can be put on restaurant’s menus. Mitchell Davis, who is the vice president of James Beard Foundation, has said that invasive species in the past such as dandelion greens are becoming “must have items” in restaurants. Though I am focusing on terrestrial species I do feel it is important to briefly mention that invasive fish also have had this impact.
Current ways of managing invasive species can be some trouble to the environment. Herbicides that are used to maintain invasive species can be trouble to the environment. Eating the invasive species would prevent these negative side effects.
There is also another side to this situation. Ensia.com wrote an article giving 4 reasons on why eating invasive species could be a bad idea. Some argue that eating invasive species will not put much of a dent into the population of invasive species. Another argument is that creating a market for invasive species will focus more on the financial benefits than the actual removal of the species, making the reason to change from not eating them to get rid of them but to keep them there for a monetary value. Others worry about invasive species becoming a cultural icon like the wild boar in Hawaii. There is already a federal law that prohibits the transport of invasive species.
I do think there is some merit to eating invasive species if they are already there. I also think it important to listen to the opponents of this method because this is both a complex problem and eating them also brings up new issues. Eattheinvaders.org is a good example of a network educating people and it also got me interested in the market for invasive species.
-Example of map from site showing where to find certain species. This one being garlic mustard.
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You can do this in your garden, too. Lamb's quarters would take over my entire back yard, if it was allowed to. Much better to let them grow a bit and eat them than to poison them or rip them out and weaken the soil.
ReplyDeleteI do not really see this ever making much of a dent on its own, However! Talking about it is a good way to spread awareness and help people ID invasive plants. Most people have no idea what garlic mustard is, nor what it looks like. Hearing that it's really pretty good eating might be a hook to get people to notice it on their property, in parks, and so on.