Being kale is rough. Another day, another potential usurper.
Today, stiff competition is being posed by seaweed, which experts stateside are touting not only as the NBT in vegetables, but the MVP of food for the future because it’s highly sustainable and nutritious.
Add to this the fact that it doesn’t need fresh water nor fertiliser to grow AND it absorbs dissolved nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon dioxide directly from the sea and you’ve got yourselves a winner winner, seaweed dinner. The carbon footprint of a specimen like this = negative.
Farmer Bren Smith is one of seaweed’s big backers and has been working with leading experts from the University of Connecticut to breed more varieties of the stuff.
He believes it’s just one celebrity endorsement away from *kale* status, but since both don’t necessarily taste flash, it’s all about learning how to cook seaweed in a way that’s appetising.
He also envisions that it’ll be one of the cheapest foods in the world.
Others are hedging their bets on this kelp dream because it’s one that’s already been realised in East Asian countries where the ‘weed is produced and consumed en masse. In fact, seaweed snacks like nori (those crispy, edible sheets) recorded sales of $500 million, more than double that of kale chips ($200 million) in 2014.
The message is loud and clear: Watch ya throne, Kale. Kelp is coming.
Via New Yorker.
