Algae-Based Food Goes Global: Scaling Up Marine Aquaculture To Sustainably Produce Nutritious Food

Microalgae growing center along the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. Image supplied by the Cyanotech Corporation. Credit: Greene, C.H., C.M. Scott-Buechler, A.L.P. Hausner, Z.I. Johnson, X. Lei, and M.E. Huntley.2022 Changing the future of marine aquaculture: A circular economy technique. Oceanography, p. 28, doi.org/105670/ oceanog.2022213, CC-BY 4.0 Terrestrial farming offers the foundation of the world’s food production system. A brand-new viewpoint short article released in the open-access journal PLOS Biology makes the case for increased financial investment in algae aquaculture systems as a way of conference dietary requirements while minimizing the environmental footprint of food production. Authored by Charles H. Greene at University of Washington, Friday Harbor, Washington, and Celina M. Scott-Buechler at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, the post was released on October17 Damaging effect on environment, land usage, freshwater resources, and biodiversity would arise from increasing farming and fisheries production to satisfy customer need. In their post, the authors argue for moving the focus of marine aquaculture down the food cycle to algae. This might possibly provide the growing need for healthy food in addition to decreasing the present food system’s eco-friendly footprint. Charles Greene. Credit: Charles Greene, CC BY 4.0 Microalgae might offer high quantities of dietary protein and vital amino acids, in addition to other micronutrients, such as vitamins and anti-oxidants. A marine microalgae-based aquaculture market would not need arable land and freshwater, or contaminate freshwater and marine communities through fertilizer overflow. The post does not deal with the capacity for a brand-new algae-based aquaculture market to be culturally responsive, how massive microalgae production would impact regional foodways, or how algae tastes. According to the authors, “The monetary headwinds dealt with by a brand-new marine microalgae-based aquaculture market will be stiff due to the fact that it should challenge incumbent markets for market share prior to its innovations are entirely fully grown and it can attain the complete advantages of scale. Financial financial investments and market rewards supplied by state and federal governments can help in reducing this green premium till the playing field is level. The future function of algae-based services in attaining international food security and ecological sustainability will depend upon the actions taken by federal governments today.” Greene includes, “Agriculture offers the foundation these days’s worldwide food production system; nevertheless, its possible to fulfill the world’s dietary needs by 2050 is restricted. Marine microalgae can assist fill the predicted dietary space while at the same time enhancing total ecological sustainability and ocean health.” Interview with Associate Director for Research and Strategic Planning Dr. Charles H. Greene What initially drew you to study microalgae and sustainability? About a lots years back, I concerned the conclusion that a lot of Earth researchers were focusing just on the effects of environment modification and not searching for options to the issue. An associate of mine, Dr. Mark Huntley, welcomed me to join his group examining the capacity of marine microalgae in the production of biofuels. With time, our thinking developed, and we understood that marine microalgae have incredible capacity for resolving the international difficulties of food and water security, environment modification, and lots of other elements of ecological sustainability. What are the essential findings you gathered in your paper? By taking an incorporated, circular economy method to cultivating marine microalgae, we can close the space in human nutrition predicted for 2050 and concurrently decrease much of the unfavorable effects our present food production system has on environment and the worldwide environment. What most stunned or interested you about your findings? We constantly understood that the high performance of marine microalgae might assist us lower the carbon and land footprints of farming. What came as an unanticipated surprise was simply how much protein might possibly be produced from such a little footprint of non-arable, seaside land in the Global South. The ramifications of our outcomes for sustainable advancement are extensive. What are the next actions for research study on this subject? As green investor John Doerr stresses in his current book *, it’s everything about speed and scale. Our window of time to resolve these worldwide difficulties is narrow, and the services are on a scale that our policymakers have problem even envisioning, not to mention buying. The future of algae-based services in accomplishing worldwide food security and ecological sustainability will depend upon the actions taken by the financial investment neighborhood and federal governments today. Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now Reference: “Algal options: Transforming marine aquaculture from the bottom up for a sustainable future” by Charles H. Greene and Celina M. Scott-Buechler, 17 October 2022, PLOS Biology.
DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pbio.3001824
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