Phyto Plankton: Will The Sea Provide Our Food?
CategoriesComing across an interesting story today about plankton, an abundant source of food for large marine mammals, such as whales, who have also been called the cows of the sea.
Plankton is made up of numerous diverse species of unicellular marine organisms that grow in sea water and provide food for whales, who "filter out" the little critters and use them for nutrition. If you have read Thor Heyerdahl's novel "Kon Tiki", you will know that the crew of his raft that crossed the Pacific ocean from Peru to the Easter Islands benefited from plankton by trailing a special net behind, which caught the plankton and made it available for Heyerdahl and his fellow crew to eat.
Tom Harper, an American 'sea farmer' has found a way to duplicate the conditions known as the spring bloom, the period when plankton reproduces in great numbers, to grow the little organisms commercially.
The new procedure might well allow to make a significant contribution to feeding humanity in a way that is not as invasive as fishing or animal husbandry, while providing a perfectly nutritious food.
Apparently there are some health benefits as well.
See Tom Harper's story on video here.
Some more explanations on this site.
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Monday September 26 2005
updated on Tuesday May 8 2007URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2005/09/26/phyto_plankton_will_the_sea_provide_our_food.htm
