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The world’s expanding population will need more protein, but that same bunch of new people will be competing for land and water with the livestock from which humanity gets most of its protein now—as well as with protein-rich crops such as beans and soy.
A solution: a crop that grows in brackish water, thrives in a variety of climates, is nutrient-dense, and is one of the most efficient at converting sunlight into protein. It’s algae.
In fact, a Brooklyn-based company called We Are the New Farmers is busy growing an algae called Arthrospira platensis—better known as spirulina— in stainless steel tanks under grow lights.
Its method of processing the algae removes the algae’s taste. The company offers jars of algae powder or packets of frozen cubes that can be blended into everything from smoothies and morning coffee to soups and stews.
Nonfood, offers an algae snack bar and algae as a powder that can be stirred into drinks or food as a nutritional supplement.
Another algae start-up, called iwi, grows its Nannochloropsis algae in vast outdoor vats under the Texas sun and refines it into Omega-3 oil sold in capsules as a nutritional supplement that can lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Virtually all versions of the popular supplement extract their Omega-3 from fish.
“Fish get their Omega-3 from algae,” iwi says on its website. “Leave fish in the ocean. Get true Omega-3 from algae.”
Algae might not have the taste appeal of a Whopper with extra cheese, but it has a range of other benefits.
The U.S. energy department estimates almost 140,000 acres of land in the U.S. could be devoted to growing algae without shouldering aside any other crops. Algae’s proponents say it can be grown with a footprint 90 percent smaller than that of soybeans to deliver an equivalent amount of protein.
The expanding number of abandoned factories in the U.S. also could be new “fields” for algae crops.
According to one study, the slimy masses can produce as much as 36 times more protein per hectare—about 2.5 acres—than soybeans can. Although algae grows on water, as much as 90 percent of the water is squeezed out of the organisms during processing. The used water then can be returned to the growing containers.
Algae is closest to being a plant, having chlorophyll and living by photosynthesis, but it has no roots, stems, or leaves that need to be peeled off and disposed of. The entire organism can be eaten.
Perhaps best of all, an alga like spirulina can double its volume in as little as 48 hours under ideal growing conditions, which can be achieved in an indoor farm.
TRENDPOST: The world is testing new forms of protein, from crickets in snack bars to vat-grown meat substitutes. Algae is unlikely ever to replace chicken breasts as a main course, but it will grow to become a key protein additive to support an increasingly hungry and nutrient-poor world, especially now that American marketing savvy is getting behind it.