If One Kudzu Root Outweighs 500 Potatoes, Why Don’t We Eat It?

Kudzu covers roadsides across the American South, and its root can outweigh 500 potatoes. Every part of the plant except the seeds is edible, so why doesn’t anyone eat kudzu? In this video we dig into the real story behind “the vine that ate the South.” It starts with the government program that paid farmers to plant it and the Kudzu Club of America. Then we look at what’s actually inside a giant kudzu root and how its starch compares to a potato’s. We also cover how Japan turns kudzu root into hon kuzu starch through a process that takes up to three months, why foraging roadside kudzu is a bad idea, and the poison ivy look-alike you need to know about. If you’ve ever wondered whether kudzu is edible, why this invasive vine never became a food crop, or how a plant that grows a foot a day ended up as a federal noxious weed, this one’s for you. Timestamps: 0:00 The vine you drive past every day 0:58 Is kudzu poisonous? 2:09 Why the government paid farmers to plant kudzu 4:16 Kudzu root vs potato: how much starch is inside? 5:03 How Japan makes kudzu starch (hon kuzu) 6:19 Did kudzu really eat the South? 7:12 Kudzu is a Poison ivy look-alike References: Sage, R. F., et al. (2009). Kudzu [Pueraria montana var. lobata]: A new source of carbohydrate for bioethanol production. Biomass and Bioenergy, 33, 57–61. https://ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/601... Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The History and Use of Kudzu in the Southeastern United States. https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/inva... Finch, B. (2015). The True Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Never Truly Ate the South. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc... JSTOR Daily. How Kudzu Was Supposed to Save the South. https://daily.jstor.org/how-kudzu-was... Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Yoshino Hon-kuzu, Kuzumochi. https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/mar... Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Kudzu (Pueraria montana). https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invas... Mississippi Forestry Commission. Kudzu. https://www.mfc.ms.gov/?p=1134