Once again, as I was browsing YouTube, this video was recommended to me:
It reminded me of the bleak, and inevitable prospect of climate change. It was frightening, how drastically, yet easily this world could collapse and transform. This daunting fact was stated by the video I discovered, and it encompasses a grand sense of how revolutionary the current times we live in are.
“Earth’s population is growing so fast, that we’ll need to produce more food in the next 50 years, than we’ve raised in the last 10000 [years]”
While global warming, and overpopulation are clear threats going into the future. The video suggests equally hopeful solutions towards a promising future for society.
Farming on land is highly inefficient, it takes up around 11% (1.5 billion ha) of Earth’s total land, and for the total land available for agriculture there is around 36% (2.7 billion ha) of Earth’s total land surface remaining. The vast quantity of land used is mainly for farm animals, who require even more spacing for living, crops, and also contribute to increased global warming from carbon dioxide and other emissions from transportation to raising.
The ocean covers more than 2/3 of the Earth’s surface. Many look to it now as an oasis of opportunity, and unused potential towards solving the greater crisis’s of humanity. By using the ocean as a tool for a farming, we can greatly reduce the amount of land used from land agriculture, while maintaining a consistent source of food for the increasing demands of the future.
One such food of the future are mussels grown in the ocean in the form of “sea farms” (this is much more easy to understand if you watch the video). The reason mussels are such a good “crop”, is because they rarely receive disease, are comfortable with close spaces, and are also filter feeders, not needing to be fed, and growing relatively quickly with great nutrition.
For mussels, they don’t have the negative drawbacks which many land animals have. Things like questionable foods, chemicals, cramped quarters, and antibiotics are not necessary for mussels. The mussels actually prefer tight spaces, and clean up the water.
Until recently, the U.S did not allow aquaculture in federal waters, restricting the market of seafood and utilizing the ocean for beneficial and sustainable needs. However, now that aquaculture is allowed in federal waters, it could be the solution to cleanly feeding future generations.
Many companies are capitalizing on this opportunity, seeing the great potential of aquaculture to be a solution to modern problems and believe there is a promising market for seafood, as opposed to meat in the future.
Although, one problem is the lack of interest in consuming mussels in the US. People don’t understand the tastiness or the nutrition of mussels, which is going to be a great marketing challenge. But recently, at places like Sam Pendro Fish Market and restaurant, the demand for mussels in the last 12-14 months, has tripled. With the appeal of a locally sourced, fresh and sustainable product like mussels, restaurant owner Mike Ungaro believes people are “going to go crazy for it”.
Handling future problems will require great adaptations by society, from improved technology and tools, to various locations or methods of “raising” or “farming”, and even the specific diets or foods we accept. However, with new innovations and careful resource management, this small step forward sheds light into discovering the possibilities of humanity’s uncertain future.
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