Maine Coast Sea Vegetable's Blog
Seaweed and Forever Chemicals
The past few years have seen lots of media attention about “forever chemicals”, the latest in a long line of industrial chemicals to raise concern. If forever chemicals seem to be everywhere, it’s because they are. This has led seaweed lovers, including some of our own customers, to wonder whether they’re found in seaweed at dangerous levels. We think this is unlikely, but read on to learn more.
Cows, Seaweed, and Climate Change
Although carbon dioxide is the most abundant and longest lasting of the so-called greenhouse gasses, methane is about 28 times more potent. In recognition of methane’s role in climate change, President Biden announced in 2021 that the US was launching a “Global Methane Pledge” alongside the European Union to slash methane emissions by 30%. As it turns out, feeding seaweed to cattle could help in this effort.
Sustainable Seaweed Company Practices
We at Maine Coast Sea Vegetables understand that these gifts from the sea come with a responsibility to apply evolving sustainable practices in growing, harvesting, processing and distributing. Sustainability has been our intention since 1971, and not just because our business thrives only when wild seaweed beds thrive.
A Reflection on Seaweed in Times of Crisis
A little over ten years ago, on March 11, 2011, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan occurred undersea, 45 miles east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku. The magnitude 9.0 quake lasted six minutes and was the fourth most powerful quake recorded anywhere in the world since modern record keeping began in 1900.
A Sea of Plastic: Is Plastic On My Seaweed?
Is there a danger that sea vegetables contain or are coated by microplastics? Does Maine Coast Sea Vegetables test for this type of contamination? How many microplastics are in the Gulf of Maine, anyways?
