Terrestrial agriculture provides the backbone of the world’s food production system. A new opinion article published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology makes the case for increased investment in algae aquaculture systems as a means of meeting nutritional needs while reducing the ecological foot
Microalgae cultivation facility along the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. Image provided by the Cyanotech Corporation. Credit: Greene, C.H., C.M. Scott-Buechler, A.L.P. Hausner, Z.I. Johnson, X. Lei, and M.E. Huntley. 2022. Transforming the future of marine aquaculture: A circular economy approach. Oceanography, p. 28, doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2022.213,
Detrimental impacts on climate, land use, freshwater resources, and biodiversity would result from increasing agriculture and fisheries production to meet consumer demand. In their article, the authors argue for shifting the focus of marine aquaculture down the food chain to algae. This could potentially supply the growing demand for nutritious food in addition to reducing the current food system’s ecological footprint.