Kudzu, spotted lanternfly, blue catfish; these are just a few of the invasive species that spread fast and outcompete Virginia’s native plants and animals. A few weeks ago, Radio IQ reported a story about one unusual way to raise awareness about invasives— eating them. Ecology students at Virginia Tech recently hosted a potluck featuring dishes with invasive ingredients.
Students fill their plates with sweet and savory dishes they brought to share. One brewed Korean mulberry tea, another made a spicy kudzu artichoke dip, and there’s a honey cake that is quite yummy.
“And then I also made a honey frosting that has some orange extract in it. And yeah, it’s pretty good, said Camille Block, a PhD entomology student. She used honey because, surprisingly, most honeybees are non-native to Virginia. It’s a bit of a controversial topic, explained Block, because these bees have become vital to farming. Still, they can outcompete native bees, one reason it’s so important to plant native flowers.
“Yeah, bringing attention to that, and telling people that when we’re talking about saving the bees, we should be focusing on wild bees, not honey bees,” Block said.
This potluck is an assignment for their ecology class, taught by Jacob Barney. Students had to cook, or buy, a dish that uses an ingredient that is invasive somewhere on the planet. Goats are invasive to the Galapagos islands, so a student made a mango goat cheese dip. Some types of raspberries, blackberries, and even fennel can spread fast when they’re introduced into environments they don’t belong, and several dishes feature these ingredients.
And, said senior William Pearson, many of these ingredients aren’t our go-to when we shop.
“And there’s just some foods that I knew were edible,” Pearson said. “But I had just never eaten before. So it’s pretty nice to try them for the first time.”
Pearson made a cottage pie with beef, cheesy mashed potatoes, and wild carrots (AKA Queen Anne’s lace), which is invasive in Virginia.
“And it’s also detrimental to the dairy industry as it like spoils milk from dairy cows,” Pearson said.
Pearson points out that wild carrots are safe to eat, although there is a close lookalike that is poisonous, so you shouldn’t forage unless you have an experienced botanist at hand.
Like the cottage pie, a lot of the foods are variations on familiar dishes. PhD student, Sophia Vhr, said these are things you could probably bring to most potlucks or family gatherings.
“A lot of these I can’t even tell that it has invasive species in it,” Vhr said. “I feel like you could think that they’re, like, have to go in weird dishes or something, but, it’s all like really good and tastes like what I’ve had before.”
Wade Martin went fishing with his pawpaw in the South Holston Lake, where they caught an invasive fish, called blue catfish.
“I fried it in fish fry, and added chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper,” Martin said. "Dipped the fish in egg, and then put it in the breading, and then fried it."
These students have spent a majority of the last few years researching the damage being done to the environment and how to solve these problems. Alex Owusu said he hasn’t lost hope yet. And he can’t imagine doing anything else with his life.
“I feel like, it’s really super dark, but we just need to try our best to put our best foot forward, you know. I feel like it’s important.
And using scientific knowledge to make a yummy meal to share—says Owusu, is a fun way to gather together at the end of the semester.
