Tony
Moderator
This Farmer Thinks Kelp Will Help Save the World
Seaweed is delicious. To Bren Smith, that’s just the start.
Unlike land-based agriculture, which on an industrial scale can be a powerfully destructive force—greedy for water and land resources, plaguing waterways with waste runoff, and contributing up to one-third of the planet’s greenhouse-gas emissions—Smith’s ocean-farming model is actually restorative. Seaweed is able to absorb five times as much CO2 as land plants, and it can sequester nitrogen buildup in the water, as well as the harmful runoff from farming or human waste. It helps rebuild coastal ecosystems by creating a sanctuary for other types of marine life, and acts as a natural buffer to protect the coastline against storm surges (a more likely occurrence in the age of climate change). For all its benefits, it requires very little from its cultivators—no fertilizer, fresh water, or land—and grows quickly and cheaply.
Seaweed is delicious. To Bren Smith, that’s just the start.
Unlike land-based agriculture, which on an industrial scale can be a powerfully destructive force—greedy for water and land resources, plaguing waterways with waste runoff, and contributing up to one-third of the planet’s greenhouse-gas emissions—Smith’s ocean-farming model is actually restorative. Seaweed is able to absorb five times as much CO2 as land plants, and it can sequester nitrogen buildup in the water, as well as the harmful runoff from farming or human waste. It helps rebuild coastal ecosystems by creating a sanctuary for other types of marine life, and acts as a natural buffer to protect the coastline against storm surges (a more likely occurrence in the age of climate change). For all its benefits, it requires very little from its cultivators—no fertilizer, fresh water, or land—and grows quickly and cheaply.
