I view this piece about Ángel León and his amazing food with a large dose of skepticism primarily because he relies on using products from the sea and creating food that most people will not have access to or are skilled enough to make.
I do agree the oceans represent an unexplored frontier that has potential. But…I wonder about the overall health of the oceans – does it make a lot of sense to harvest from the ocean when we haven’t come close to protecting the health of our seas? How do microplastics and pollution from fertilizers affect these ideas? And even if sea soybeans become a “thing,” how will harvesting occur, replenishing what is taken from the sea, or the impact on other inhabitants that thrive because of the soybeans?
I know you wanted to keep things light this week – I appreciate that – but I wonder, are these pursuits to harvest from the sea worthwhile?
Thanks for this interesting and thought-provoking piece…and I wouldn’t mind tasting one of those tofu squares.
I think it's a very fair reaction to have considering how much damage we've done on both land and sea with our insatiable appetites.
But a couple of things I didn't have space (as well as time) to add -
1. For the past year when they've been working with the research institute in Venezuela, they've also been working with local communities there to teach them how to cook these marine soybeans so they can get nutritious foods fairly easily.
2. Also, Ángel is quite clear about not planning to set up a company to produce this in a massive way. I think he sees his role as pointing out how we can use what is already out there and hopes other people can pick that up.
I see value in both of these actions (or stances) and as someone who likes to have as many options as possible to evaluate what is doable and what isn't, I appreciate someone like Ángel opening my eyes to another possibility.
I view this piece about Ángel León and his amazing food with a large dose of skepticism primarily because he relies on using products from the sea and creating food that most people will not have access to or are skilled enough to make.
I do agree the oceans represent an unexplored frontier that has potential. But…I wonder about the overall health of the oceans – does it make a lot of sense to harvest from the ocean when we haven’t come close to protecting the health of our seas? How do microplastics and pollution from fertilizers affect these ideas? And even if sea soybeans become a “thing,” how will harvesting occur, replenishing what is taken from the sea, or the impact on other inhabitants that thrive because of the soybeans?
I know you wanted to keep things light this week – I appreciate that – but I wonder, are these pursuits to harvest from the sea worthwhile?
Thanks for this interesting and thought-provoking piece…and I wouldn’t mind tasting one of those tofu squares.
I think it's a very fair reaction to have considering how much damage we've done on both land and sea with our insatiable appetites.
But a couple of things I didn't have space (as well as time) to add -
1. For the past year when they've been working with the research institute in Venezuela, they've also been working with local communities there to teach them how to cook these marine soybeans so they can get nutritious foods fairly easily.
2. Also, Ángel is quite clear about not planning to set up a company to produce this in a massive way. I think he sees his role as pointing out how we can use what is already out there and hopes other people can pick that up.
I see value in both of these actions (or stances) and as someone who likes to have as many options as possible to evaluate what is doable and what isn't, I appreciate someone like Ángel opening my eyes to another possibility.