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Offshore wind electricity generation could power the world with all of its energy needs. Offshore wind happens to be decently disbursed at higher latitudes in both the north and south hemispheres. Already we couple solar and food. If we’re ahead sending people out to manage the wind farms, might not be so hard to also send people to manage the food farms between the wind turbines?

How nutritious? Can it become popular in mainstream?

The following submission statement was provided by /u/ForHidingSquirrels:

Offshore wind electricity generation could power the world with all of its energy needs. Offshore wind happens to be decently disbursed at higher latitudes in both the north and south hemispheres. Already we couple solar and food. If we’re ahead sending people out to manage the wind farms, might not be so hard to also send people to manage the food farms between the wind turbines?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/xu7os8/could_offshore_wind_sites_host_edible_seaweed/iqu8qvy/

> It’s a superfood that’s rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, and particularly high in iodine, so it’s very nutritious.

Right there in the article, friend. Think of it like any leafy vegetable. It is also relatively high in protein for its food group.

As for popularity, seaweed is widely consumed throughout east Asia and Japan in particular, so it depends what you consider "mainstream." If you mean "in the US and Europe," then I would say that Japanese food trends become mainstream in those places fairly readily.

I also think I read somewhere it is used as an additive to other stuff. Ground up and mixed in to boost nutritional value.

Can be fed to cows to lower their methane emissions

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14062022/cow-seaweed-methane/

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Reasonably. Already used in sushi / chirashi, so, yes?

Keep in mind anything people won't eat can always be used as an animal feed for things like fish farming, eggs, goat's milk, etc. Heck, you can even use it as a feedstock for making biodegradable plastic.

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People are allowed to have interests without being a paid lobbyist.

What are economical viability in these projects? They would probably need subsidies within the EU, but if it had subsidies on the level of other crops, would it be worth it financially?

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Yes. Seaweed extracts are commonly used to produce MSG. It's not just about nutritional value but also boosting the taste.

Feeding grain to cows makes them much worse for us. Feeding them literally anything else is much better.

Does sea pollution affect seaweed? Think about the microplastics

stop eating animals entirely is superior.

I'd like to see lab grown meat become more predominant.

The science is still being done on that, but from some basic googling it seems like a minor issue—as seaweed doesn’t really eat, any microplastics found are on the surface, and can be easily rinsed away. HOWEVER: fertilizers, pesticides, microbes, heavy metals, and industrial contaminants could still present an issue.

How’s it supposed to be prepared so it tastes good? I ate roasted seaweed sheets one time and found them disgusting. I can only imagine boiling raw seaweed and sticking it on my plate to be even worse

Put it in a stew, adds a slightly fish flavor that’s diluted w water.

Ok i could see how that could work.

That's another thing: there is so much variety in types of seaweed. I personally really like seaweed salad, which you can buy at many Asian groceries and some supermarkets. Briny and sweet and crunchy, I think it's delicious.

Sorry you had a bad experience with roasted seaweed sheets. Maybe you just don't have a taste for them. As for their broad popularity, though, I can attest that many of the (American) kids I work with bring packages of seasoned seaweed sheets with their lunch every day and absolutely devour them.

Seaweed is comparable to dark leafy greens. It's an exceptionally nutritious food and it can and has become mainstream, in Asia that is. The texture of certain seaweeds might be strange and even unpalatable to some people, but there are many varieties, and it can be dried. It's also delicious.

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Now I’m recalling I actually had some seaweed on top of some tuna tacos I ate a couple months ago and I’m pretty sure it was seaweed salad and I do recall it being really crunchy and good.

I’ll check out an Asian grocery store and see if I can find some seaweed salad

I’d like people to realize they can survive without lab grown meat in the mean time and can eat plants.

And seaweed as a source of energy? These organisms have been perfecting it for millions of years.

Certainly can. Subjectively much less enjoyable though.

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No I would not do that. This is because you are double dipping.

I'm going to do my best to give my 2 cents, since I work directly in seaweed and shellfish. There is a ton of potential for seaweed, but it's really something that has to be marketed more and even at that, it's more of a novelty food. (To the west) The markets that this seaweed would be going to don't have it incorporated into the diet like Asia. Could a slow change be made, sure, but realistically, that's a cultural change. We never had a big reliance on sea vegetables to fulfill our dietary needs, and it's unlikely that we ever will. While the potential is there, many foods have come and gone as health fads. It's part of living in privileged countries people 😂

So we value taste/conveniences over the future of our children and the suffering and death the animals must endure?

Yeah, kinda.

Guess you don't have children then.