Goat mowers get to kudzu

Goats have discovered a favorite snack, and they're beating us to it. Right now, there's plenty for all, but once America discovers the culinary properties of kudzu, an invasive vine that's destroyed much of the South's biodiversity, we may have to clash with the billys.

The history of kudzu in America is a cautionary tale about good intentions and the paths they can pave. Cultivation of this Asian plant was encouraged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a ground cover and livestock feed from the 1930s through the 1950s. But once the species took hold in the states, it refused to let go -- literally.

The fast-growing decorative plant strangles everything in its path, from agricultural crops, trees, and low shrubs to telephone poles, wires, railings, bridges, and other infrastructure. It was declared a weed in 1970. Its vines encircle branches, wrapping them in an embrace of death. Once the host plant is completely wrapped in kudzu, it dies, leaving a verdant corpse, shimmering with healthy kudzu leaves.

From a distance, a stretch of forest covered with kudzu looks green and healthy. Upon closer inspection, the shapes of the trees are all that remain, as the green leaves are those of the kudzu, not the trees themselves.

With kudzu vines choking off entryways, smothering crops, and dominating the landscape, residents and municipalities tried standard weed-control measures like poisoning, cutting, and burning. Often, the programs did more harm than good. Then, people discovered that goats love to eat the vine.

The trend is centered around Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the goat introduction has been so successful that other animals, like llamas, are being tried out as additional helpers. But lesson about species introduction have been learned.

The city is sponsoring a "goat browsing academy" for locals who hope to employ goats of their own to solve their kudzu problems. The education, provided in conjunction with the Cooperative Extension at Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee Extension, will include warnings about any potential downsides to the process. Most importantly, it will train goat employers how to keep the beasts contained, so that there's not another invasive species running wild.

Maybe, after learning about the responsibilities of goat herding, they'll decide to eat the kudzu themselves. It is, after all, an edible plant. The leaves can be eaten as a salad green, batter-fried, or slow-cooked like collards. The roots can be cooked like potatoes.

At the school where I teach cooking, we use kuzu, an arrowroot-like thickener made from kudzu roots, as a replacement for cornstarch. Instead of relying on a plant that's over-cultivated, we're turning to one that's overgrown. It makes great gravy.

Get to it before the goats do!

Jay Weinstein's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.