The season-closing, summer-opening edition of the programme series Becoming CLIMAVORE takes audiences on a conceptual journey to Lake Balaton, focusing primarily on non-native species such as the spinycheek crayfish, and the black bullhead. Together with experts from the Balaton Limnological Institute and the szabadonbalaton platform, the event explores the ecological, cultural, and gastronomic implications of invasive species, whose spread is closely linked to climate change and human impact. These organisms reshape aquatic ecosystems by competing with native species and altering food webs, raising urgent questions about coexistence and responsibility.

In the first part of the program, Péter Takács, senior research fellow at the HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute, will tell us about the ecological condition of Lake Balaton, outlining the causes and consequences of invasive species proliferation in relation to rising water temperatures, nutrient loads, and human interventions. This will be followed by Diána Berecz, cultural and visual anthropologist and member of the PAD Foundation and the szabadonbalaton ecological-artistic platform, who will reflect on how cultural practices, land use, and local knowledge shape our relationship to the lake’s changing ecosystems.

Beyond ecology, the program considers invasive species as a culinary and cultural challenge: can their consumption offer a meaningful ecological response, or is the idea of “eating them out” of the ecosystem merely utopian? The case of the protected yet increasingly widespread water chestnut highlights the complex intersections of conservation, regulation, and tradition.

In the second half of the event, the focus shifts to practice, introducing preparation methods and histories of consuming species like the spinycheek crayfish and the black bullhead, culminating in a shared tasting alongside herbal refreshments prepared by szabadonbalaton’s team. The event is organized in the framework of Trafó’s ongoing collaboration with the Cooking Sections collective entitled Becoming CLIMAVORE that investigates new connections between hospitality and ecological thinking, inviting audiences to engage with climate adaptation through both knowledge transfer and sensory experience.