Sea vegetables are the future of agriculture

Sea vegetables are the future of agriculture

Seaweed salad has never appealed to me.

When I first read it, I was very skeptical Kelp is the new kaleHow can a squishy saltwater plant replace the crowd-pleasers that gourmets bring home bag by bag from the farmers market?

For the past ten years, I have been farming nearly half of my time. On land, that’s it.I study sustainable agriculture because I understand harm Modern industrial farming systems are wreaking havoc on our planet. I believe food should be grown regeneratively, giving back more than it takes from the earth.

While I don’t think there is a right way of farming, I do believe there is a wrong way of farming.

Large-scale monocultures — unnatural farming systems that grow a single crop — rely on massive inputs of fertilizers, pesticides and antibiotics that pollute our waterways, deplete our soil health, and produce nutrient-poor Value food. On the other hand, small regenerative farms are growing various crops, building soil, creating habitat for pollinators, sequestering carbon, increasing food access and nurturing communities.

For a long time, I’ve thought that aquaculture — what you call “farmed fish” in grocery stores — falls into the same destructive category of industrial farming. I still do. Monoculture of genetically modified fish has long plagued our water systems, many of the same problems associated with industrial land-based farms.

However, there is another way to farm the ocean.

small scale Regenerative Ocean Farm It looks very different from its counterpart on land.Bren Smith, owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm and founder of the Connecticut nonprofit green wave, developed a 3D marine aquaculture system. In short, the vertical design is an underwater garden held in place by vertical and horizontal lines, lantern nets and cages that grow kelp, mussels, oysters, and other marine vegetables and shellfish.

Land farming, even using the most renewable practices, has inputs. Fertilizer, feed and fresh water, obviously. Irrigation and weed suppression require plastics and metals. Energy is also necessary, often in the form of fossil fuels.

As a farmer, what I find most impressive about the small-scale restorative mariculture model is the lack of destructive inputs. In mariculture, sea water and the sun seem to play a pivotal role.

Growing seaweed and shellfish with the help of nature has the potential to make a meaningful impact as a climate solution. Small regenerative ocean farms are providing a nutrient-dense food source, creating jobs and restoring our shores. Seaweed is grown as a biofuel, bioplastic and cattle feed additive, helping to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows.

Impressively, kelp is also used to capture and store carbon and nitrogen. run the tideThe Maine-based startup has been prototyping a system that sequesters carbon through microforests of macroalgae such as kelp, which grow so large that they eventually sink to the bottom of the ocean. There, the goal is to get the carbon in the algae to be buried in deep-sea sediments, where it can be removed from the short-term carbon cycle.

Shellfish are equally awesome. Oyster reefs enhance coastal resilience by limiting storm surges. Bivalves have the ability to filter the surrounding water by removing contaminants as they eat. This can include removing excess nitrogen from the water, often the result of fertilizer runoff from industrial agricultural practices. Billion Oyster ProjectThe New York-based nonprofit is restoring oyster reefs to reduce flooding, filter water and prevent shoreline erosion in New York Harbor.

Any growth industry is no stranger to challenges. There are concerns about the impact of marine farming. If the industry grows too fast, will large-scale kelp monoculture overcrowd marine ecosystems and coastlines? New regulations may be needed to protect native species and coastal communities.

There could also be supply and demand issues if sea vegetables and other products are not integrated into our economy at the same rate that land-based farmers and fishermen have turned to trade. With careful planning, thought, and the right leadership, these underlying problems seem surmountable and offer so many solutions for people and the planet.

GreenWave leads the way. With innovative farm designs, enhanced farmer training programs and an online hub to support small-scale, restorative marine farmers, they are rapidly and thoughtfully building a national network of kelp farmers who are implementing climate solutions, strengthening coastlines and improving food security.

There are thousands of marine plants and animals that can Incorporated into our food system. In many ways, we’re just starting to scratch the surface. The question remains, is our society ready for nutrient-dense sea vegetables and shellfish to take up more space in our diets?

For our climate, I thought I’d give seaweed salad a chance.

Madeleine Traynor is a graduate student in the Columbia Climate Institute’s Master of Climate and Society program. Her background is in land-based regenerative agriculture and non-profit communications. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Geography and a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Vermont.