Squirrel and Japanese knotweed: The chefs cooking with invasive species

Squirrel and Japanese knotweed: The chefs cooking with invasive species Getty Images Grey squirrel is an invasive species in the UK which threatens native wildlife and forests across the country The "invasivorism" trend is attempting to combat the threat posed by invasive species – by eating them. Invasive species are pushing that balance out of whack – Doug McMaster "I have spent my career as a conservation biologist trying to convince people not to overharvest things," says Roman, who is associate professor at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. hdg_photography Crayfish tartlet is just one of the invasive species dishes on Silo's menu Roman started foraging for green crabs and periwinkles, an invasive sea snail native to Europe, and found that "they're pretty easy to cook…you just sauté them and they're delicious!" Victor Frankowski Doug McMaster turns Japanese knotweed, one of the world's most intractable invasives, into beer The dessert on Silo's invasive species menu is ice cream topped with a granita made from Himalayan balsam, a plant with vibrant pink flowers which is native to the Himalayas and invasive in many parts of Europe.