Sun, Mar 26
|virtual event
LDEI Ann Arbor: Kudzu Kickoff
Join Sandy Lach Arlinghaus, from her home in Meridian Mississippi, as she leads a zoom group in discussing the possibilities for using kudzu as a food. Fee: complimentary


Time & Location
Mar 26, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CDT
virtual event
About the Event
KUDZU KICKOFF! Join Sandy Lach Arlinghaus, from her home in Meridian Mississippi, as she leads a zoom group in discussing the possibilities for using kudzu as a food. Kudzu is a vine, sometimes known as 'the vine that ate the South', that is an invasive plant with a nasty cascading habit that smothers, and kills, all that it covers. There are about 7.5 million acres with kudzu growth. It is a dark leafy green that grows about one foot per day during peak growing season and has root balls of up to 400 pounds. The mere rate of growth disturbs the soil and causes release of carbon sequestered in the soil, making kudzu a net emitter of carbon (contrary to intuition about plants in general). What we have is an edible crop, growing wild, that is relatively unused. Most efforts with kudzu are to kill it. There is some folk art interest in making baskets from vines and such, but only a small amount in using it for human food. In fact, the mere mention of that idea appears to be disgusting to some. So, what can we do to take advantage of this freely growing, sustainable (indeed!) crop; it is a leafy green and nutritious. Perhaps the panache that can be leveraged by a world-class leader, LDEI, can make this currently undesired crop one that foodies will seek out as 'trendy' and even pay money to procure. The LDEI imprimatur could turn a loser into a winner and enlarge our Green Tables, locally and globally. Join us aa we talk about the research we have already done and add your thoughts about issues involving harvesting wild urban greens, cooking them, presenting them, pairing them, and generally share you experiences. Our small local focus group would appreciate your wisdom in order to enlarge our base of knowledge as we move forward to developing a pilot project in Meridian to expand more broadly elsewhere over time. To register, email sarhaus@umich.edu