If you're a real 'armnivore'

A new food movement goes beyond being a locavore. Described in an article in the Dec. 31 New York Times by James Gorman, the newest permutation is an "invasivore," someone eating foraged local foods, especially invasive species. There are several blogs on the web about encouraging more degustation of lionfish, which have invaded the Caribbean, as well as Asian carp flourishing in the Midwest to the detriment of native species.
On land, feral pigs are becoming quite a nuisance in parts of California and the Southwest. Get one or two of those, and you've got yourself a barbecue.
Down South, the king of the vegetable kingdom is the kudzu, a vine which swallows the landscape but is also totally edible, though few seem inspired to try it. The young shoots are reportedly great in a stir fry, the blossoms make a sweet tea and even tastier honey, and the vines can be woven into baskets or cloth. The roots can be used as a thickener, much like cornstarch, and are also a hangover cure, according to Martha Stewart.
However, one must be wary when stalking the omniverous kudzu. If you don't move fast enough, it will devour your car --- or you.
In Florida, pythons and boa constrictors, pets released into the swamp when they grew too big, are procreating and proliferating, swallowing poodles and hopefully a piranha or two. According to Gorman, the response to a request for a python recipe on Chowhound was met with this reply: Gator and snake etouffee. That's got to be a Cajun.
Most wild food enthusiasts primarily devour the more benign native species, such as venison and elk --- however, deer are pests in many locales. No hunting license or ammunition is (usually) required to forage for mushrooms and greens.
Dinner on Jan. 3 was ground venison tamale pie, quite tasty. The layers included polenta cooked with garlic, cumin and onion powder, venison sauteed with sweet paprika, onion, garlic and a little red wine; canned diced tomatoes with basil and oregano; frozen corn; chopped Kalamata olives; and two kinds of low fat cheese between the layers and sprinkled on top to brown.
The venison was not totally local --- my brother brought frozen packages of Eastern Oregon game and fish when he came at Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to the rest of that bounty, rationed between the turkey and chicken breast.
Our childhood diet included venison and fish, as well as homegrown beef, eggs, milk and vegetables. We foraged lambsquarters and volunteer asparagus gathered from along the driveway while coming home from the school bus (we carried paring knives in our lunch pails for the purpose). I'm familiar with the concept of hunting and gathering.
I learned last year that a nephew who vanished for a time had been camping out in the woods and on the national forest, even in the dead of winter. I believe quite a bit of small game supplemented his fire-warmed canned beans, and possibly something larger also went into the pot.
There is a resident flock of Canada geese at a nearby semi-urban park/game refuge. About half are mixed with escaped domestic geese, so the flocks range from full-blooded Canada geese to white escapees, with some orange-footed and orange-billed hefty specimens contributing their bloodlines. Those geese that are not wild should theoretically be weeded out of the gene pool. I'm sure they would be quite tasty, but I have not succumbed to the temptation --- yet. A few months of unemployment, and I might change my mind.
In Oregon's Willamette Valley, there is an invasion of nutria released by disenchanted fur farmers. Driving by low-ground pastures, it's not uncommon to see nutria out munching in the fields between cows before retreating to their watery lairs. In Louisiana, they're on the menu among the more self-sufficient Cajun people.
Later this spring, I'm heading up to Iron Mike, where there is a small pond filled with volunteer watercress. While I'm there, I'll fill up a couple of jugs with the slightly effervescent, sulfurous mineral water from the Iron Mike pump. Perhaps I'll see if there is a morel or two lurking in the vicinity. However, I think I'll leave the squirrels and chipmunks to their own devices.