Why is this important?
Our current eating habits have a negative impact on the climate and the planet. That is why companies, governments and consumers are increasingly exploring a shift towards a more vegetable-based diet. Seaweed can play a important role in this; this crop does not require additional nutrients or water to grow and it is very tasty and healthy!
In order to make a good comparison with other food products, this project will conduct various Life Cycle Analyses in the coming months. This method allows us to quantitatively examine the environmental benefits of using seaweed for food.
This project focuses on the current and future production of seaweed in the Netherlands and Europe. Furthermore, the nutritional value of the seaweed products are also taken into account. This way, a full insight can be offered into the environmental effects with regard to (future) diets.
What were the objectives?
- Mapping the environmental footprint of seaweed food products. This will be done through a scientific publication with the most reliable / valuable results
- Advice to entrepreneurs about environmental hotspots in the production chain of seaweed food products.
- Making the obtained LCA data available through LCA databases "AgriFootprint" and "RIVM database" in close cooperation with entrepreneurs
What did we do in the project?
Representative and reliable data are crucial when performing an LCA, but due to the young age of the seaweed sector, this data is scarce. This makes direct consultation with stakeholders from the sector crucial. Within this project, North Sea Farmers play the mediating role for contact with stakeholders. We are also responsible for assessing the collected data and results.
What are the results ?
The results will be shared soon.
Who else were involved?
Wageningen University, Wageningen Economic Research and Blonk Consultants