Algae: a circular food source that is healthy for the planet
Microalgae such as Chlorella and Spirulina can provide high quality food for every person on earth sustainably while the production of the algae is environmentally friendly and improves the health of the oceans and nature on earth.
(2022) 🦠 Microalgae are nature’s ‘green gold’Abundant sustainable food of the future to end global hunger The global food supply faces a range of threats including climate change, wars, pests and diseases. An organism too small for the human eye to see—microalgae—could offer a sustainable solution.
Algae offers the advantage of requiring neither soil nor pesticides nor irrigation. On top of that it provides enormous ecosystem services, creating a very rich habitat for fauna (shellfish, fish) and flora while also feeding the top of the ocean food chain (phytoplankton, bivalves) and ultimately land animals. Source: Phys.org | The Conversation | UP TO US
Algae can be produced at low cost and while the cell core was originally to hard for the human digestive system to be broken and therefore required costly processes, technological advancements have made algae consumable for humans at low cost.
Chlorella algae is the most complete food source for humans on earth. It contains all essential vitamins and minerals including vitamins D and B12, protein and the most healthy variant of Omega 3-6-9 acids. In theory, a human can perform optimally on a diet with just Chlorella. Spirulina is an algae that is similar to Chlorella and that is popular with athletes.
Chlorella is used by most people in Japan and people in Japan are the most healthy people in the world and live the longest. Chlorella was first used as food in Japan.
(2020) Potential of Chlorella Algae to Promote Human Health Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.govIn studies it is shown that Chlorella and Spirulina can stop the growth of cancer and prevent many other diseases.
Marine biologists recently discovered that zebrafish had an amazing capacity to regenerate severe eye damage. Upon further research they discovered that the fish obtain that capacity by eating Spirulina algae.
(2020) Could a tiny fish hold the key to curing blindness? Source: nei.nih.gov (first discovery: no link with algae yet)Follow-up studies linked the regenerative and wound healing capacity to Spirulina algae:
(2022) Spirulina promotes regeneration and wound healing in zebrafish Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov | ncbi.nlm.nih.gov | ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Algae as commercial food: a fairly recent development
In 2021, a 🇸🇬 Singapore company created the first microalgae burger that looks like a normal burger and provides all essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids and twice the protein of a beef or fish burger.
(2021) Sophie's Bionutrient debuts new burger made from microalgae According to the press announcement, each patty weighs about 60 grams and has 25 grams of protein, consisting of all nine essential amino acids, including histidine and leucine. Sophie's Bionutrients also says its algae-based patty has twice the protein of beef. or fish.
“Microalgae [are] a vital source of nutrients in the ocean. By developing this burger, we hope to showcase the versatility of the microalgae protein meal beyond making plant-based seafood products,” Wang shared. “We will continue to synergize the power of nature and technology to broaden our range of algae-based products while doing good for the planet and the oceans.” Source: thespoon.tech | Asian Scientist
BYAS is committed to researching, developing and implementing new ways to make our food better, more accessible and healthier and to reduce the environmental burden of food production on our precious planet. Source: algaesciences.com
End global hunger or prioritize diesel biofuel?
Industrial companies are starting to exploit the low cost mass production advancements of microalgae (Chlorella and Spirulina) to use the algae as biofuels.
Why prioritize hunger?
The 'why' question of global hunger seems to be neglected or considered self-evident by many passionate people that address the problem.
Recent studies showed that plants behave altruistically (morally) and move leaves and roots to allow other plants to prosper besides them and they share food to plants that suffer hunger.
(2015) Trees Send Food to Hungry Neighbors of Different Species Source: Scientific American (2019) Trees share water to keep this dying stump alive Source: Science.orgWill humanity prioritize diesel biofuel over hunger?