Seaweed: the next big thing in sustainable agriculture? w/ Scott Spillias, University of Queensland - EP188

<p>Seaweed is being advanced as a potentially important future food source, the greater farming and consumption of which could avoid environmental impacts associated with other agricultural production, especially of beef. Scott Spillias has recently submitted a PhD thesis at the University of Queensland on seaweed farming, and he’s been getting a lot of attention regarding his findings on seaweed’s potential. Show host Gene Tunny and Tim Hughes talk with Scott about the potential of using seaweed as an alternative food source. </p><p>Please get in touch with any questions, comments and suggestions by emailing us at <a href="mailto:contact@economicsexplored.com">contact@economicsexplored.com</a> or sending a voice message via <a href="https://www.speakpipe.com/economicsexplored">https://www.speakpipe.com/economicsexplored</a>. </p><h3>What’s covered in EP188</h3><ul><li>The importance of plant-based foods in our diets. (1:36)</li><li>The market for plant-based foods is growing. (9:39)</li><li>Estimating the environmental impact of food production - the Economist’s banana index. (14:03)</li><li>Scott’ Spillias’s research on seaweed farming. (27:27)</li><li>How do you farm seaweed? What does it involve? (30:04)</li><li>Where can we grow seaweed in Australia? (35:14)</li><li>Seaweed has the potential to remove 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. (40:02)</li><li>What kind of seaweed is growing in the world? (44:49)</li><li>How does seaweed farming prevent biodiversity loss and climate change? (49:50)</li></ul><h3>Links relevant to the conversation</h3><p>Scott Spillias’s UQ page:</p><p><a href="https://sees.uq.edu.au/profile/13311/scott-spillias">https://sees.uq.edu.au/profile/13311/scott-spillias</a></p><p>Australian ABC News article on Scott’s research “Seaweed researchers find bright future for underwater crop”:</p><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-01-27/seaweed-research-uq-future-farming/101895072">https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-01-27/seaweed-research-uq-future-farming/