New Year’s Resolution: Become an Invasivore?

Posted by Jeff on January 3, 2011
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Lionfish

Photo source.

With New Year’s resolutions on our minds, consider something out of the ordinary: not a diet to lose weight, but a diet to help the planet. Become an invasivore. Let me explain.

A recent article in The New York Times describes the invasivore diet this way:

There’s a new shift in the politics of food, not quite a movement yet, more of an eco-culinary frisson. But it may have staying power; the signs and portents are there. Vegans, freegans, locavores — meet the invasivores.

Think of invasivores as targeted ominvores, focused on eating species that invade specific niches in our environment, often causing damage in their wake. Consider two well known examples: the lionfish and spring weeds such as field mustard or turnip mustard (Brassica rapa). The lionfish population has exploded in Florida, such as in the Florida keys, competing for resources needed by indigenous species. We know how invasive spring weeds can be.

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Brassica rapa or field mustard

Photo source.

So consider trying a new meal this year: how about some lionfish with a side of field mustard? It may be healthy not only for you but for the planet.

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Comments

  1. #1 darwinsdog
    January 3, 2011

    I’ve got a feeling that if very many people start fishing for invasive scorpaenids, a lot of ‘em are going to end up envenomated.

  2. #2 SoulmanZ
    January 3, 2011

    Very topical for me – I have just made the change from being a pescatarian (that recent article by Singer convinced me I was being a little … niave about the ethics of fishing), and into a pestatarian

    Now I only eat animals that are culled. Luckily I am in Australia, so that means kangaroo, camel, goat and the odd boar or rabbit.

    All are free to live in the wild, till harvest time. Kangaroo head shots are in the region of 99% of all kills, so it is as humane as possible. Then add in they dont produce almost any methane, and are high in good fats (much like fish).

    Great from a lot of perspectives, if you feel like you need meat. Damn tasty too.

  3. #3 eddie
    January 4, 2011

    Try eating kudzu;

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu

    It seems a very useful and valuable plant that ought to be a cultivar, but it seems to be on the US’s terrorist plants list.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species_in_the_United_States

    I can only think that this is because it does for free what the aggro-chem industry wants to profit from. Olives are on that list but few seem to ant them banned.

  4. #4 Alex Ferro
    January 7, 2011

    Invasivores? Well it sounds quite weird to me.