Eating Invasives - The Next Local Food
By: Amy Jeanroy
Published: May 9, 2011

It is funny how when you start researching something, your path to enlightenment can bring you to an entirely different place, but it is just as interesting. I have known about the invasive and destructive nature of the Zebra Mussel, since I was a young girl. Growing up in the Adirondacks in New York, my family spent copious amounts of time fishing. I distinctly remember when zebra mussels were found in the lake. From then on, as I got older and moved to different parts of the state, the mussels seemed to creep into the news. They are moved between water sources by clinging to the boats of the fishermen and recreational boaters. Once they get into a water source, it is all over. They cause a  problem by clogging up the waterways, their shells are sharp and cause the beaches to be unusable. They are definitely an invasive by definition. I was wondering if they could be eaten! From what I can see, it is not recommended because they are filters of the water and we polute the hell out of the water. We are making the invasive species of mollusk, inedible. Interesting.
On Twitter, I saw a tweet that led me to this site about eating invasives. How cool is that?  Although the post was about eating snails (no thank you), I love that there is enough interest in this topic, that this website even exists.
The idea is brilliant. After all, something is invasive if we just don't  know what to do with it and it becomes a nuisance. It is the same for plants. You call them weeds, I call them lunch. This might just be the next wave of local food to hit the food landscape. I don't think even Monsanto could patent snails. I am sure they would try, however.