ISSUE FOCUS 34 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2022 SEAWEED SOLUTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE, HEALTH & WELLBEING “Seaweed in animal feed may be a relatively unknown concept. Scientific studies have already shown its enormous potential and The Seaweed Company has been demonstrating many of its benefits in the field at scale. For livestock farmers it can bring promising sustainable, economic and health & wellbeing results in a broad range of animal types.” SEAWEED: A POWERFUL, NATURAL AND CLIMATE POSITIVE SOURCE OF NUTRIENTS Seventy-one percent of Earth’s surface is covered with water. The ocean holds a vast array of resources that have been utilized by humans for centuries, with seaweed being one of them. While perceptions differ around the world, seaweed is often overlooked by Europeans. Beyond its use in Asian cuisine, many people lack knowledge on the potential applications or benefits of this powerful natural biomass source. However, humans have a long history with seaweed for food and medicine dating as far back as 2700 BC. The first rudimentary attempts of farming of seaweed began as early as 1670 in Japan. Seaweed (macro algae) is a plant-like organism which grows in a variety of forms and colours in the oceans as well as in brackish and freshwater environments. It is rich in minerals, vitamins and polysaccharides, with some species also containing larger amounts of amino acids, proteins, peptides, polyphenols and fatty acids. Globally there are some 12,000 species of seaweed of which only ca. 40 species are commercially exploited. They all grow without the need for additional resources like fresh water pesticides or fertilizer. Seaweed absorbs nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from the seawater and need to absorb CO2 in order to grow. Besides, seaweeds play an important role in providing ecosystem services: it forms an integral part of a complex food web and offers habitat, nursery grounds and shelter for different marine species. Its biochemical composition and properties make seaweed a valuable material. Seaweed can be applied in a increasing range of applications ranging from food products and animal feed to cosmetics and chemicals for various industries. Many of these applications provide sustainable, low-carbon and less harmful alternatives to existing options, offering diverse environmental and health benefits. Although seaweed farming is not a novel concept with over 30 million tonnes farmed in Asia every year, it has gained a lot of attention over the last decade as it might offer part of the solution for climate change . Ingrid Jonker, MSc Business Development Lead Blue Farming The Seaweed Company
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