How can seaweed farming help tackle global food insecurity?

Published 2023년 6월 12일

Tridge summary

A study from Tufts University's Friedman School identifies seaweed farming as a potential solution to global food insecurity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, especially in coastal regions of Africa and Southeast Asia. The research, published in Global Food Security, points out seaweed's role as a sustainable superfood with significant income-generating potential. The study's authors, including Patrick Webb, Natalie Somers, and Shakuntala Thilsted, note that seaweed cultivation is a more sustainable alternative to livestock farming and could help reduce carbon levels in the ocean. Additionally, adding seaweed to livestock feed could decrease methane emissions, making it a climate-friendly and resilient food source.

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Original content

According to a study carried out by researchers at the Friedman School, Tufts University, seaweed farming may help to tackle global food insecurity. The researchers claim that seaweed, as well as being a “sustainable superfood”, has “significant income-boosting potential”. The study was published in Global Food Security and found that producing and selling seaweed could boost incomes for farmers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in coastal regions of Africa and Southeast Asia. Senior Author of the study, Patrick Webb, the Alexander McFarlane Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School, explained: “One of the biggest problems of food insecurity in LMICs is the unaffordability of healthy diets. “There are roughly 3.5 billion people in the world who can’t afford a healthy diet even if they choose local foods at local prices. For many of those people, cultivating and selling seaweed would lead to higher incomes and improved nutrition through purchases on the ...

Source: New Food Magazine