The United Nations has declared 2020-2030 the “decade of ecosystem restoration.” While seaweed has long been touted for its impressive array of restorative ecosystem services, only recently has research started to uncover algae’s potential within the food, animal feed, and biofuel sectors. 

In 2014, Dr. Kinley at James Cook University and CSIRO profiled a number of native Australian seaweeds for their potential to reduce methane emissions when utilized as a feed additive for livestock. Asparagopsis taxiformis outperformed all others with 1-2% feed inclusion resulted in 99% reduction of methane in an in vitro model.  

Continued research at UC Davis, Penn State, and CSIRO has shown that the methane reductions hold up in vivo and using the supplement does not have any adverse effects on animal health, milk, or meat. 

Trials are showing that 0.5% inclusion in cattle’s daily diet could result in a sustained 80% methane reduction — a true sweet spot for the industry. 

Harvesting this seaweed from the wild will result in massive ecological damage; there is simply not enough biomass available. Removing significant amounts of wild seaweed would also decrease the ecosystem services they provide, such as bioremediation and habitat creation, thus further reducing the natural resilience of ocean ecosystems. To avoid these damages, we need to farm it using a technique knowns as aquaculture. 

Symbrosia is uniquely positioned to determine ideal growing conditions, select strains with target metabolites and high growth rates, allowing us to not just farm it, but farm it efficiently and sustainably.