All dripping in tangles green, Cast up by a lonely sea; If purer for that, O Weed, Bitterer, too, are ye?—Herman Melville, The Tuft of Kelp (1888)
Soy sauce and seaweed go really well with potato chips. —Jose Andres, Chef, founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit providing meals in the wake of natural disasters.
Taking a stroll on the beach these days one is confronted with a 21st Century conundrum—the environmental impact of seaweed?
If your glass is half-full—seaweed is an environmental miracle and a new “superfood.”
If your glass is half-empty—seaweed is a noxious, insect-infected weed piling up on our beaches.
• Seaweed—The Plus Side:• It has a negative carbon footprint—absorbing 20% more CO2 than it produces.
• It produces oxygen—phytoplankton, kelp and algae account for 50-80% of the total oxygen on Earth. (national geographic.org )
• It’s used as livestock feed cutting methane emissions from cows.
• It’s a new superfood—providing high levels of vitamin A, B12, K, folate, iodine, fibre, and high protein. It reduces blood pressure and improves digestive health.
• It binds ice-cream, wraps sushi, and moisturizes skin.
• Seaweed—The Negative Side:
• It’s proliferating in unprecedented volume—caused by the rise in ocean temperature, coastal deforestation, and agricultural/sewage runoff.
• It rots on beaches, contains high levels of arsenic and other heavy metals, creates a sulfurous odor, and attracts insects.
• It’s smothering dolphins and sea turtles, creating toxic algae bloom (“red tides”) and killing fish by depleting oxygen from the water.
• So head for the beach. Try to step over the rotting clumps of kelp and if you’re hungry grab a bite of nutritious seaweed to fortify your immune system.
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