ابراهیم ستوده

It has been estimated that based on current trends, the equivalent of more than two planet Earths will be needed by 2050 to support the growing global population. As we look toward unlocking the potential of our seas and oceans as a reserve of much needed resources to sustain our planet, our responsibility is to do so while protecting, improving, and helping our seas and oceans to flourish in order to increase their value to the economy, society, and the environment. Cultivation of seaweed has the capacity to grow massive amounts of nutrient-rich food for human consumption. Ocean farms are seemingly more sustainable compared to land-based agriculture because cultivation of seaweeds requires no fresh water, chemical fertilizer, or land, which constitute some of the significant negative factors to land-based cultivation. But what are the implications and practicalities of actually doing it? The challenges considered in this section include making seaweed products available, palatable, affordable to billions of people and establishing beyond any doubt that they are at least nutritionally equivalent to foods they eat now, developing cost-efficient farming, harvesting, and transportation systems and making space available for seaweed farms in coastal waters.