Executive Chef Eric Cartwright serving up Pasta Puttanesca using silver carp instead of anchovies (Photo by Jon Lamb)

Asian carp  average 30-40 pounds and are voracious eaters capable of consuming 5-20 percent of their body weight every day. They eat algae and other small microscopic organisms, stripping rivers of a key food source for small and big fish. They grow big very quickly meaning natural predators can’t control their population numbers.

They are choking the rivers in the Midwest and threatening the Great Lakes. But a University of Missouri researcher says there’s one carnivore that can bring this invasive species under control…humans. MU has found a way to eliminate the bones creating a healthy and inexpensive ground protein.

Today’s guests are Mark Morgan, an associate professor of parks, recreation and tourism for the University of Missouri and Eric Carpenter, executive chef for the University of Missouri.

Asian Carp Control

Silver carp, disturbed by a boat, leap into the air (Photo by Jason Jenkins)