Northern Europe has a food security problem, especially in the protein-rich crops department. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge believe that Spirulina, a blue-green algae high in nutrients, could help mending the issue. In this, Iceland has a potential opportunity to scale up its production of the algae, playing a decisive role in counterbalancing the need for importing of food from other parts of the world.
Notoriously, food insecurity in Northern Europe is not considered a top-of-the-list urgency in political agendas. Given the perceived wealth countries in the region share, often its dependence on imports of protein-rich crops, especially for animal feed in the livestock sector, is not taken into account. However, the study out of Cambridge highlights how EU member countries usually import as much as 75% of their protein requirements, indeed raising concerns on livestock production’s sustainability.
The benefits
“Spirulina is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, namely omega-3. It is often used as a supplement to fortify diets and is increasingly explored as a potential food source to address the food security concerns.” Dr. Asaf Tzachor, a researcher at Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, who led the study, explains. “Compared to other foods, it is highly nutritious and can be cultured in a variety of environments, from open raceway ponds to closed bioreactors, making it a potentially viable protein source in geographies where traditional agriculture is difficult or impossible”.
According to the researchers, Spirulina can be harvested rather quickly, leaving less of an environmental footprint than traditional livestock and crop products. Moreover, its production can reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in at least four ways.
The advantages
“First, – Dr. Tzachor says – Spirulina can be cultured in closed facilities called bioreactors, built on non-arable, non-fertile lands that are unsuitable for traditional crops cultivation. By growing Spirulina in such facilities, land-use changes and deforestation to expand agricultural land can be avoided, which can reduce GHG emissions associated with land-use change.” Secondly, it requires less energy to produce compared to meat, dairy or other crops.
Even more interestingly, for the third reason, Spirulina is able to perform “carbon sequestration”, meaning that it can capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Lastly, the protein source’s production can be done in an entirely pesticides and herbicides-free fashion, contributing to overall sustainability and a decrease in pollution.
Taking all of this into account, Dr. Tzachor explains that Vaxa Iceland, the biotech firm they conducted their study on, can produce Spirulina at net-zero conditions,. This means that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere during Spirulina production is equal to the amount removed.
Different challenges
However, there’s a money-related problem to consider. As of now, Spirulina is more expensive to produce than, for example, meat. Dr. Tzachar says that “Spirulina is often produced on a smaller scale [compared to meat]. Also, the infrastructure for meat production and processing, including transportation and distribution networks, is well-established and efficient, which can help to keep costs low. Furthermore, meat production is often subsidized by governments. The exact nature and extent of subsidies – he continues – vary from country to country, but in general, meat production is supported by a range of government policies and programs. This is not yet the case of Spirulina”. Basically, what Spirulina needs is a full on scaling-up of its production in the European continent, with legislation facilitating the process.
Another challenge this endeavour may face is cultural acceptance among people across Europe. Many countries in the continent, in fact, hold their culinary traditions dearly, making them less likely to integrate new food solutions in the average person’s diet. Dr. Tzachor concludes: “Practically, Spirulina has some advantages over beef, including its high protein content, low environmental impact, and potential health benefits. Culturally, the acceptance of Spirulina as a beef substitute can depend on factors such as dietary habits, food traditions, and taste preferences. as the technology for producing Spirulina becomes more advanced, it’s possible that Spirulina could become more widely accepted”. However, this remains to be determined and currently the alternative of Spirulina continues to be, indeed, an alternative.
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