In a world increasingly beset by high food and fuel prices, it’s strange to think that a vast majority of the corn grown in the United States goes not into feeding people or creating ethanol, but into feeding other animals.  But now a collection of Egyptian researchers may have found an innovative way to address the problem, while fending off an invading species at the same time.

Crayfish, while long a staple in many regional cuisines, don’t offer humans a particularly large amount of edible material per animal.  But Biologist Hebat Abdel Hadi of Egypt’s Ain Shams University has published research indicating the unconsumed remains of the crustaceans make excellent chicken feed, resulting in healthier, stronger, and more delicious poultry. 

This comes as fantastic news for Egyptian fishermen in the Nile River, who have found their nets clogged by a burgeoning, predator-less crayfish population. Commercial harvesting of crayfish as feed could significantly reduce the problem, but it still has several hurdles to overcome.  

Many poultry experts tout the values of genetics over feed, and others question whether the crayfish supply would be sufficient to feed the millions of chickens raised as food each year.