Eat local: With a little searching, you could have an invasive species for your next meal.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—You may not realize it, but we're being invaded.

Since 1999, the National Invasive Species Council (www.invasivespecies.gov) has identified more than 110 nonnative species (29 animals, 46 plants, and 39 aquatic species) that threaten our health or environment, and cost our economy tens of billions of dollars a year in damages or losses.

THE DETAILS: They come here accidentally: The zebra mussel, native to Eurasia, arrived in ship ballast water and now, thanks to its habit of choking pipes and pumps and water systems, is considered “the most serious nonindigenous biofouling pest ever to be introduced into North American freshwater systems.”

Or they come here on purpose: Asian carp introduced to eat algae in catfish ponds are so harmful to Mississippi Basin ecology and its sport fishing business that The President’s Council on Environmental Quality has an Asian carp director. He was the keynote speaker at this year’s National Invasive Species Awareness Week in Washington, DC, where he outlined frantic efforts to keep carp out of Lake Michigan.

No matter how they get here, problematic nonnative species are able to spread rapidly because they find a favorable niche, with few natural enemies to keep them in check. They can outcompete, prey on, or otherwise threaten native plants and animals.

While some see invasive species as prompting a call to arms, others see them as an addition to the menu. And if you want to join the defensive eating movement, there are tools that can help you find the invader that meets your appetite. Inspired by a New York Times article on invasives, three University of Notre Dame graduate biology students recently created a website, Invasivore.org, where each week they post an update of “eating the enemy” news and recipes. There’s also a link to the What’s Invasive mobile phone app, created by a team of environmentalist and electronic mappers to help to identify invasive nonnative species and send alerts about new sightings.

The Invasivore founders admit that eating invasive species probably won’t make much of a dent in their populations. But their broader goal is to build public awareness to prevent more invasive nonnative species from being introduced. “The biggest tool against invasive species is education,” says Matt Barnes, one of the project's cocreators. “We use the recipes to keep people interested, and coming back,” he adds, noting that not all invasives are edible or safe to eat. "But we’re not going to put anything on the site unless we’ve tried it ourselves.” In fact, Invasivore cofounder Andy Deines is in the process of checking the edibility of the brown marmorated stinkbug that’s recently become such a threat to Mid-Atlantic fruit crops.

WHAT IT MEANS: You don't have to chow down on a plate of zebra mussels if you don't want to, but a spin through the Invasivore site is a good way to learn more about invasives and the ways they affect native species. And if you want to embrace the invasivore ethos, here are some starting points:

• Try Invasivore’s tried-and-true recipes. On the Invasivore recipe page, you'll find instructions for such delicacies as Chinese mysterysnail fettuccine, Himalayan blackberry smoothies, crayfish-spinach-artichoke dip, and “Cossack asparagus” made with shoots of phragmites, a wetland-invading weed.