CANADIAN SEAWEED FOR A PROMISING FUTURE by Kait Burgan photos courtesy Cascadia Seaweed
SEAWEED. LIKE TERRESTRIAL “WEEDS”, THE WORD HAS A SOMEWHAT NEGATIVE CONNOTATION. WEEDS ARE AN ANNOYANCE, SOMETHING TO GET RID OF, SOMETHING NOT VALUED. AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, WE’RE DISCOVERING THAT, LIKE ALL THINGS IN A HEALTHY AND INTACT ECOSYSTEM, EVEN WEEDS SERVE AN ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
Cascadia Seaweed, based out of Sidney here on Vancouver Island, is embracing all that is good about seaweed. As it turns out, there’s a lot to embrace. There are more than 10,000 different seaweed species known in the world, with more than 600 in British Columbia alone. They are rich in protein, iron, calcium, and fiber and contain significant amounts of magnesium, potassium as well as vitamins A, C, and B, but seaweed isn’t good for just humans and animals. It’s good for the planet. Seaweed has enormous potential to help solve our current climate crisis. “We must turn to the seas to look for solutions for all sorts of global challenges,” says Erin Bremner-Mitchell, Manager of Communications and Engagement at Cascadia Seaweed. “Food, feed, medical and cosmetic uses, energy, and [the possibility of] carbon sequestration.” Founded in June of 2019, Cascadia Seaweed is Canada’s largest provider of ocean cultivated seaweed—a regenerative crop with a variety of uses requiring only the sea and sunlight to grow.
22 PASSIONS | SUMMER 2022
