A growing number of conservationists are advocating the consumption of invasive species in an effort to fend off environmental destruction.

Invasive species, as defined by the USDA’s National Agricultural Library, aren't native to the local ecosystem and may cause economic, environmental or medical harm. They can exist in many forms: plants, animals or even microorganisms.

Many of the invasive plants, such as dandelion and purslane, were originally introduced by settlers for medicinal or ornamental reasons, while many of the invasive animals like Asian carp and green iguanas were brought in as food sources, pets or for pest control.
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Editor's note: All summer long, the Southern Foodways Alliance will be delving deep in the history, tradition, heroes and plain old deliciousness of barbecue across the United States. Dig in.

Last week we took a look at McDonald's roots as a barbecue restaurant before it converted into a fast-service hamburger stand. Pit-cooked barbecue ultimately wasn't a good match for the demands of fast-food chains, but that doesn't mean that entrepreneurs didn't try.

In the early 1960s, businessmen Bill Newman and Ben Burch teamed up with Frank O. Howell, Jr., who was running a local barbecue chain in Memphis, to create Little Pigs of America and franchise it nationwide.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Forget the strawberries, August 7 is National Raspberries in Cream Day!

If you need a simple but elegant dessert that’s bound to please family and guests, try today’s cause for celebration. Raspberries and whipped cream layered together in a parfait glass is the perfect after-dinner treat on those summer nights.

Like strawberries, raspberries are in season from June until mid-August. The plump, ruby, juicy gems are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C and Manganese.
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