![]() “So far, the science indicates that seaweed farms . . . contribute to a more positive kind of ocean environment,” she says. Karlotta Rieve, a project manager at Hatch Innovation Services, an aquaculture consultancy, acknowledges that seaweed farming has adverse effects, but says that most of Europe’s farms are not big enough to have a significant impact.Īlthough the variety of current farming locations make it hard to measure the overall effect on ecosystems, Rieve points out that companies must adhere to Europe’s strict aquaculture protocols to secure licences, and research paints a broadly favourable picture. Hybrid approach: The Seaweed Company’s SeaMeat burger combines seaweed with beef to attract hesitant consumers ![]() These include seabed shading, with sunlight prevented from penetrating to lower depths, equipment pollution from anchors and ropes, and possible depletion of nutrients. We don’t have to create a new recipe, just replace it.’”īut while advocates suggest seaweed aquaculture has the potential to revolutionise sustainable food production, critics point to the environmental downsides - especially if it is adopted at scale. “And we say, ‘OK, take your own recipe, what you normally already use. “We work with restaurants, with chefs, but also with meat processors,” Wouters explains. It has led to commercial partnerships with other food companies, too, which now incorporate The Seaweed Company’s produce in chocolate, cheese and even an alcoholic seltzer. “People don’t eat what they don’t know,” he points out. Wouters believes this hybrid approach gives consumers a product they are at least partly familiar with. One of their core products for humans, SeaMeat, combines seaweed and beef into one patty. Seaweed Company CEO Joost Wouters says Europe needs start-ups ‘crazy enough’ to be seaweed pioneers © Nathalie Bertrams In Morocco and India, they grow different types of seaweed for its animal feed brand, TopHealth. The Seaweed Company grows Atlantic wakame, sugar kelp and ulva for human consumption on a 50-hectare farm in Irish waters and on a 3-hectare farm in Dutch waters. “For us, that’s the fun part, all that hitting your nose against the wall, because every day, in every way, we grow better. “What’s needed is a couple of pioneers that pave the path, but that will take 10 years and we are crazy enough to take up that role,” says Joost Wouters, chief executive of producer The Seaweed Company. “Now is the time to fully harness the potential of algae as a renewable resource in Europe,” declared the European Commission in November, in a paper calling for increased production through support for start-ups and streamlining of regulation. They estimate that about 650mn hectares of global waters could support seaweed farms.Įurope’s policymakers are excited by the possibilities. In a study published in January, in the journal Nature Sustainability, researchers argued that substituting 10 per cent of the current human diet globally for seaweeds would free up about 110mn hectares of land - an equivalent to double the land area of France. Blue economy: an aerial view of Nordic SeaFarms’ operations off the coast of Sweden
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