WOULD YOU EAT AN INVASIVE SPECIES?
This article is an adaptation of our weekly Travel newsletter that was originally sent out on January 5, 2021. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe here.
By George Stone, TRAVEL Executive Editor
“Two words that don’t look tempting on a menu? ‘Swamp’ and ‘rat.’”
Those were the thoughts of writer Eve Conant before she embarked on a curious culinary expedition from Atlanta to Austin for our story about how some chefs are turning invasive species—including nutria, a large, semiaquatic, herbivorous rodent—into delicious dishes. The taste of invasives, she writes, is best described as “outdoorsy.”
“It turns out there’s a world of environmentally destructive, non-native plants and animals—from kudzu to feral hogs—that are increasingly gracing southern tables,” Conant reports. “The United States is home to more than 4,000 invasive species that can reproduce aggressively, out-compete and spread disease to local species, and destroy habitat, in addition to tens of thousands of non-native and ‘nuisance’ species. Many of them, in the right chef’s hands, are quite tasty.” (One example, pictured above, is lionfish.)
Also among them, nutria: once imported to the U.S. for their fur, they now threaten Louisiana’s wetlands. Such unwelcome inundation has given rise to partnerships between foodies and ecologists and “invasivore” cook-offs, where diners chew on such meme-worthy phrases as: If we fry it, they’ll try it!; From problem to plate; and Can’t Beat ’Em, Eat ’Em!
On the other side of the planet, Nat Geo’s peripatetic Paul Salopek recalls sinking his teeth into traditional Burmese noodles that take a week and 18 intricate steps to make. “It is no exaggeration to say that food has been the primordial bridge to humanity along my journey’s 24,000-mile route from Africa to South America,” says Salopek, who so far has been walking around the world for seven years.
Lamenting a plague year that “exposed hidden cracks in our civic life” and thwarted the “ritual of breaking bread together,” Salopek celebrates mont di in Myanmar, a dish “hailed as a national treasure, yet loyal to regional tastes.” He longs to return, for a bowl he fell in love with in the northern town of Sagaing. “It seems important, when the plague recedes, to reclaim this human bond through the sacrament of food.”
Above, restaurants such New Orleans’ GW Fins flash fry whole lionfish with Vietnamese flavors (above left) and serve lionfish ceviche with citrus, lime, and chili. The fish must be prepared in a way that denatures the venom from a lionfish’s 14 venomous spines. Below, a wild pig shot by a hunting expedition that was run by Austin’s New School of Traditional Cookery, which specializes in foraged foods and invasive species.
Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, sign up here or forward this to a friend.
TODAY IN A MINUTE
‘There is no vaccination for fear’: Recent reluctance to travel may go on even after the vaccinations against COVID-19, writes Johanna Read. Another concern: uncertainty remains over whether a vaccinated person can still transmit the virus to others. A recent poll and public health officials are raising caution over a quick sprint back into travel, Read reports for Nat Geo.
Bad air on airplanes: Heated jet engine oil can leak into the air supply or planes, potentially releasing toxic gases to passengers and crew. For decades, the airline industry and its regulators have known about these incidents—called fume events—and have maintained that they are rare and that the toxic chemical levels are too low to pose serious health risks. A harrowing investigation by the Los Angeles Times asserts otherwise.
Why? That’s what environmentalists are asking Australia about a proposed new airport and runway in Antarctica. The project would increase the human footprint in the world’s greatest wilderness by an estimated 40 percent, the Guardian reports. Australia argues the project is needed for year-round access for scientists and emergency teams to Davis research station. It also would come in response to China’s swelling presence on the continent.
America’s newest national park: It’s New River Gorge in southeast West Virginia. The 73,000-acre stretch of canyon, a world-class rock-climbing and paddling destination, is being upgraded from a national river to a national park as part of the stimulus package signed into law. Outside reports the region has 53 miles of free-flowing whitewater and more than 1,500 climbing routes up gorge walls that are a thousand feet high in parts.
YOUR INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY
Over the rainbow: A prism appears over Bản Giốc Waterfall, on the border of Vietnam and China; it’s the largest natural waterfall in Southeast Asia. Tran Tuan Viet took this photo in October, and it is popular on our Nat Geo Your Shot Instagram page. “This is the first morning after driving about eight hours during the night from my home in Hanoi,” Viet tells us. Your curator’s favorite image by Viet is of Buddhist prayers that was selected one of Your Shot’s best images of 2018. For additional amazing bird’s-eye views of Vietnam, check out this mesmerizing gallery.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY
Skiing showdown: In a normal year, six million tourists visit Austria’s Tyrol region (above). Some of them breathe in the crisp, bracing air on the Pitztal glacier at 11,000 feet—and are able to see as far as Switzerland and Italy, across the snow-capped Alps. Not anywhere near that number have made it this season, of course, but developers hope for busier times ahead by expanding the Pitztal region, demolishing part of a mountain ridge to connect its narrow valley to another glacier. The “glacier marriage” is opposed by a father-and-daughter-led grassroots movement that has gathered 160,000 signatures against the plan, Denise Hruby reports.
IN A FEW WORDS
We’ve reached a point where the decision-makers in tourism are seen critically, where they are no longer seen as creating jobs, but as skimming the cream off the top.
Markus Pirpamer, Austrian mountain inn owner, Alpine ski resorts fighting climate change —and local resistance
DID A FRIEND FORWARD THIS TO YOU?
Tomorrow, Victoria Jaggard covers the latest in science. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to also get Rachael Bale on animals, Whitney Johnson on photography, and Debra Adams Simmons on history.
ONE LAST GLIMPSE
From rose to perfume: For centuries, the alluvial soils of the Ganges have favored the growth of highly fragrant Damask roses. That led residents in and around the northeast Indian town of Kannauj (pictured above) to create rose attar using what writer Rachna Sachasinh calls the world’s oldest known perfume-making process. For more than 400 years, Kannauj attar has scented everything from wrists to food, fountains to homes.
This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, and Jen Tse selected the photographs. Kimberly Pecoraro and Gretchen Ortega helped produce this. Have an idea or a link? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. And thanks for reading!
