Seaweed Might Be the Food of the Future

What does access to food have to do with seaweed? We'll get to it, but we'd like to frame the problem a bit more first.

In 2021, the World Bank reported that access to food is a concern with 30% of the world's population lacking basic resources. A lot of the studies listed on the USDA website concerning food access are a bit outdated, but access to grocery stores for both low- and mixed-income census tracts did increase from 2010 to 2015. Is that true now? We are not entirely sure, but with known access to resources issues in our own country food security is something we should be looking at as a nation.

That being said, scientists are always looking for advancements in food science and protein sources other than meat and legumes specifically for the purposes of access to nutritional food. The good news is there may be an answer, but though the answer may not apply to the US, it would certainly help with worldwide hunger and access to food. What is it? Seaweed.

Seaweed farms could be an option for access to a stable protein source. Seaweed is relatively versatile and can be made into a salad, or it can be dried and eaten like a chip, or it can be broken down into a powder that can be used to make other things. Ask anyone from a place that relies on the sea for food: it wouldn't be weird to have seaweed as a staple in your diet and it could even be interesting with all of the different ways that seaweed can be prepared and included in food. The versatility of seaweed is exactly why it's being explored as a source of food to help combat low food access.

Having more seaweed farms wouldn't even necessarily be a bad thing. Land-based farming is much different from seaweed farming. Timberland or fields have to be cleared, thereby displacing existing species of plants and animals in order to make room for soy, corn, trees, bushes, or whatever else is planned to be planted.

We've previously discussed how traditional farming isn't as green and harmless and many would think. So that guilt-free organic snack still isn't exactly guilt free as for it to be mass produced at least 1 animal had to be displaced or was mauled during harvesting if the crops weren't all picked by hand. Anyway, seaweed farms are set up in the ocean. Any existing animals or sedentary wildlife are moved to a different part of the area, since generally seaweed farms thrive in shallow reef areas. Since seaweed farms are set up in the ocean, they don't require extra water, nor do they need fertilizer as seaweed thrives on its own if left alone in the water. Can it still negatively impact the environment? Yes, in the same way that land cleared for corn, land cleared for seaweed does chase out the naturally occurring life where the farm is set up. In addition, if the species of seaweed grown isn't native to the area, of course that will cause issues as well.

A study published in Nature Sustainability suggested that farmed seaweed could offset land crops and in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, it stated that it is probable that even a 10% increase in seaweed consumption would make a significant offset in farmland.

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