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Wow, this article doesn't deal with reality. Seaweed farming needs: - Massive ($10-20e12 USD) investment to make a dent in climate change, in the form of auto

Wow, this article doesn't deal with reality. Seaweed farming needs: - Massive ($10-20e12 USD) investment to make a dent in climate change, in the form of automated kelp processing ships AND genetic modifications/breeding to favor rapid growth. There is no possibility of a few artisanal farmers in skiffs doing anything measurable except selling small batches to $4000/jar cosmetics companies. - Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. - Sequestration of carbon rather than free use of it in the carbon cycle. Pick a couple of underwater sacrificial deep ocean zones or pump liquified seaweed ash and combustion products underground.

elif 4y ago
Kanten is a Japanese processed agar product that is refined to jelly and then sun dried into fiber blocks. It is virtually tasteless but added to soups and salads for texture. It doesn't have to be monadically appetizing to be a delicious dietary staple.
comte7092 4y ago
>Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Can we just agree that there are cultural differences in taste? Hundreds of millions if not billions of people find seaweed quite appetizing. Such a normative statement is flat out wrong.
glenngillen 4y ago
On the second point, some earlier research[1] suggested that using it as feedstock for cattle may in turn reduce the amount of methane they produce. We apparently feed a lot of stuff to them. I don't know how fussy they are in terms of eaters though. [1] https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-03-18/cows-fed-seaweed-methane-emissions-reduced-82-per-cent/13253102 https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-03-18/cows-fed-seaw...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ttul 4y ago
  “Enteric methane emissions — emissions produced in the rumen of livestock — are responsible for as much as 14.5 per cent of the annual greenhouse gases produced by human activity.” Eating seaweed reduces cow methane by 86%. Thus, if every livestock animal on the planet ate seaweed in its diet, we might cut effective GHG output by 10% or so. That’s a huge dent in the problem. I am not accounting for the CO2 emissions involved in seaweed harvesting.
  - gumby 4y ago
    I think that’s an error — all of agriculture, IIRC, produced about 15% of GHGs. This is not to downplay the impact of bovine burping. Also note that, as far as methane goes (that’s what the cows burp), anthropogenic emissions are about 40% of the total.
    - schiffern 4y ago
      Yes it's an error. The ABC article is misquoting the FAO, which says that all emissions associated with livestock make up 14.5% of human GHG emissions.[0] This includes not only enteric methane (39% of that), but also emissions and deforestation to grow feed (45%), manure storage (10%), and meat processing and transport (6%). Reducing global emissions by ~6% is still a huge dent, of course. [0] https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/ https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/
55555 4y ago
> Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Hahaha. Not a sushi fan? Asians seem to like seaweed plenty. One way to help on this point would be to popularize (in the west) a snack that's already very popular in Asia: https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OJ-AD212_SEAWEE_FR_20151201065015.jpg https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OJ-AD212_SEAWEE_FR... This is one of the best sellers in Thai convenience stores.
- batter 4y ago
  For some reason it's not cheap. One box costs about a dollar and doesn't provide enough nutrition to justify purchase. Otherwise it's quite tasty.
  - 55555 4y ago
    I agree with you, personally. Few calories. But in the west right now, this is often seen as a positive (due to obesity). It can be a healthy diet/snack food.
    - wolongong942 4y ago
      Wouldn't seaweed be a net for all of those toxins & pollutants found at sea? Seafood health claims are always focused on omega 3s and such but rarely mention this aspect.
      - Danieru 4y ago
        No. because Seaweed does not eat smaller Seaweeds. Predator fish like Tuna can become heavier in toxins only because they are the top of a food chain gathering and concentrating said toxins. Seaweed is just a plant. It grows, then dies if not harvested. It is no higher risk than wheat.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Semaphor 4y ago
solarpunk 4y ago
> Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Laver might be the most delicious snack food I can imagine, it's just so difficult buy sustainably in the USA
ttul 4y ago
Climate change hyperbole aside, seaweed farming is pretty hot in the world of agriculture at this moment and the market demand is exceptionally outstripping supply.
is_true 4y ago
It's not because is not appetizing. It just lacks marketing and development
aaron695 4y ago
[dead]
TulliusCicero 4y ago
> - Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. True, as long as you pretend Asia doesn't exist. But seriously, what's with the blatant cultural ignorance? If you're exposed to seaweed only later in life it may be off-putting, but for people who grow up with it, it's just another food.
- j16sdiz 4y ago
  (I am an Asian) Asian eat seaweed with lots of oils or salt. We don't take them as primary food source.
  - paulluuk 4y ago
    What about Wakame? I love that stuff raw.
  - TulliusCicero 4y ago
    I'm part Asian and eat seaweed by itself sometimes (well, it's salted of course). Of course it's not really a staple food the way rice is, I'm just saying it can be a common side thing.
- Kiro 4y ago
  Funny how they are accusing everyone else of being sinophobic and racist in their other comments.
jillesvangurp 4y ago
Seaweed can be quite tasty. It's more that people are simply unfamiliar with the notion that they could be eating it. Even though of course a lot of Japanese and Korean cuisine involves it. I like Korean seaweed soup for example. And lots of people enjoy sushi. And of course the broth in ramen often contains seaweed as well. I looked into getting my hands on some seaweed to experiment with in the kitchen a while back. Unfortunately my ignorance is a bit of a non starter. We have fantastic Asian stores here in Berlin but deciphering the labels is a challenge for me. Both because I need glasses for the fine print, don't read Korean, and the English/German translations are not that meaningful to me either. I'd say that's the main challenge: ignorance. People simply don't know that they can buy it, where to buy it, what to buy and what recipes they can use it in. A solvable problem but a bit of a hurdle short term. There are probably plenty of people that like me are curious enough that there is a market for this stuff. I buy food because I eat it, mainly. The whole carbon sequestration topic is a separate one for me.
- 1letterunixname 4y ago
  Maybe to you. Sales would show otherwise.
- saiya-jin 4y ago
  Seaweed contains quite a lot of heavy metals, so its as healthy as farmed salmon - looks nice on paper, but reality is much worse. Taste is Ok to me (at least wakame), not something I would willingly indulge in daily or in larger amounts but I can see easily why nontrivial amount of people would have issues with it. Good luck trying to persuade small kids, 'ewwww gooooey' and bye.
- zdragnar 4y ago
  The texture is quite unpleasant for most people who don't grow up with it, and eating it regularly isn't great for you. The dried / nori is too dry and fragile to hold up in most dishes. The rehydrated stuff you'll find in soups or wakame has a fairly novel texture that's good in small doses but I think would struggle to hold up as a substitute for most Western veggies. That's just to get people to eat it. Then, you have fears over iodine overdosing (thyroid problems) and heavy metal contamination (probably? less of a concern). It is also high in both potassium and vitamin K, which is hard on people with kidney issues or who are on blood thinners for heart problems. All in all, I don't see it as being much more than a novel condiment outside of the dishes you already find it in (sushi, wakame, soup).
pigsty 4y ago
> Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Seaweed being unappetizing is learned behavior. It’s eaten across the world and most people wouldn’t find it unappetizing unless told it is.

elif 4y ago

Kanten is a Japanese processed agar product that is refined to jelly and then sun dried into fiber blocks. It is virtually tasteless but added to soups and salads for texture. It doesn't have to be monadically appetizing to be a delicious dietary staple.

comte7092 4y ago

>Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Can we just agree that there are cultural differences in taste? Hundreds of millions if not billions of people find seaweed quite appetizing. Such a normative statement is flat out wrong.

glenngillen 4y ago

On the second point, some earlier research[1] suggested that using it as feedstock for cattle may in turn reduce the amount of methane they produce. We apparently feed a lot of stuff to them. I don't know how fussy they are in terms of eaters though. [1] https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-03-18/cows-fed-seaweed-methane-emissions-reduced-82-per-cent/13253102 https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-03-18/cows-fed-seaw...

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ttul 4y ago
“Enteric methane emissions — emissions produced in the rumen of livestock — are responsible for as much as 14.5 per cent of the annual greenhouse gases produced by human activity.” Eating seaweed reduces cow methane by 86%. Thus, if every livestock animal on the planet ate seaweed in its diet, we might cut effective GHG output by 10% or so. That’s a huge dent in the problem. I am not accounting for the CO2 emissions involved in seaweed harvesting.
- gumby 4y ago
  I think that’s an error — all of agriculture, IIRC, produced about 15% of GHGs. This is not to downplay the impact of bovine burping. Also note that, as far as methane goes (that’s what the cows burp), anthropogenic emissions are about 40% of the total.
  - schiffern 4y ago
    Yes it's an error. The ABC article is misquoting the FAO, which says that all emissions associated with livestock make up 14.5% of human GHG emissions.[0] This includes not only enteric methane (39% of that), but also emissions and deforestation to grow feed (45%), manure storage (10%), and meat processing and transport (6%). Reducing global emissions by ~6% is still a huge dent, of course. [0] https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/ https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/

55555 4y ago

> Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Hahaha. Not a sushi fan? Asians seem to like seaweed plenty. One way to help on this point would be to popularize (in the west) a snack that's already very popular in Asia: https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OJ-AD212_SEAWEE_FR_20151201065015.jpg https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OJ-AD212_SEAWEE_FR... This is one of the best sellers in Thai convenience stores.

batter 4y ago
For some reason it's not cheap. One box costs about a dollar and doesn't provide enough nutrition to justify purchase. Otherwise it's quite tasty.
- 55555 4y ago
  I agree with you, personally. Few calories. But in the west right now, this is often seen as a positive (due to obesity). It can be a healthy diet/snack food.
  - wolongong942 4y ago
    Wouldn't seaweed be a net for all of those toxins & pollutants found at sea? Seafood health claims are always focused on omega 3s and such but rarely mention this aspect.
    - Danieru 4y ago
      No. because Seaweed does not eat smaller Seaweeds. Predator fish like Tuna can become heavier in toxins only because they are the top of a food chain gathering and concentrating said toxins. Seaweed is just a plant. It grows, then dies if not harvested. It is no higher risk than wheat.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Semaphor 4y ago

solarpunk 4y ago

> Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Laver might be the most delicious snack food I can imagine, it's just so difficult buy sustainably in the USA

ttul 4y ago

Climate change hyperbole aside, seaweed farming is pretty hot in the world of agriculture at this moment and the market demand is exceptionally outstripping supply.

is_true 4y ago

It's not because is not appetizing. It just lacks marketing and development

aaron695 4y ago

[dead]

TulliusCicero 4y ago

> - Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. True, as long as you pretend Asia doesn't exist. But seriously, what's with the blatant cultural ignorance? If you're exposed to seaweed only later in life it may be off-putting, but for people who grow up with it, it's just another food.

j16sdiz 4y ago
(I am an Asian) Asian eat seaweed with lots of oils or salt. We don't take them as primary food source.
- paulluuk 4y ago
  What about Wakame? I love that stuff raw.
- TulliusCicero 4y ago
  I'm part Asian and eat seaweed by itself sometimes (well, it's salted of course). Of course it's not really a staple food the way rice is, I'm just saying it can be a common side thing.
Kiro 4y ago
Funny how they are accusing everyone else of being sinophobic and racist in their other comments.

jillesvangurp 4y ago

Seaweed can be quite tasty. It's more that people are simply unfamiliar with the notion that they could be eating it. Even though of course a lot of Japanese and Korean cuisine involves it. I like Korean seaweed soup for example. And lots of people enjoy sushi. And of course the broth in ramen often contains seaweed as well. I looked into getting my hands on some seaweed to experiment with in the kitchen a while back. Unfortunately my ignorance is a bit of a non starter. We have fantastic Asian stores here in Berlin but deciphering the labels is a challenge for me. Both because I need glasses for the fine print, don't read Korean, and the English/German translations are not that meaningful to me either. I'd say that's the main challenge: ignorance. People simply don't know that they can buy it, where to buy it, what to buy and what recipes they can use it in. A solvable problem but a bit of a hurdle short term. There are probably plenty of people that like me are curious enough that there is a market for this stuff. I buy food because I eat it, mainly. The whole carbon sequestration topic is a separate one for me.

1letterunixname 4y ago
Maybe to you. Sales would show otherwise.
saiya-jin 4y ago
Seaweed contains quite a lot of heavy metals, so its as healthy as farmed salmon - looks nice on paper, but reality is much worse. Taste is Ok to me (at least wakame), not something I would willingly indulge in daily or in larger amounts but I can see easily why nontrivial amount of people would have issues with it. Good luck trying to persuade small kids, 'ewwww gooooey' and bye.
zdragnar 4y ago
The texture is quite unpleasant for most people who don't grow up with it, and eating it regularly isn't great for you. The dried / nori is too dry and fragile to hold up in most dishes. The rehydrated stuff you'll find in soups or wakame has a fairly novel texture that's good in small doses but I think would struggle to hold up as a substitute for most Western veggies. That's just to get people to eat it. Then, you have fears over iodine overdosing (thyroid problems) and heavy metal contamination (probably? less of a concern). It is also high in both potassium and vitamin K, which is hard on people with kidney issues or who are on blood thinners for heart problems. All in all, I don't see it as being much more than a novel condiment outside of the dishes you already find it in (sushi, wakame, soup).

pigsty 4y ago

> Not enough people enjoy seaweed as a food because it's just not appetizing. Seaweed being unappetizing is learned behavior. It’s eaten across the world and most people wouldn’t find it unappetizing unless told it is.