As the popularity of harvesting and eating seaweed grows in America, a new Maine Public Radio investigation, along with other recent news, suggest that regulations—too strict in many cases, nonexistent in others—may be hampering the market from reaching its potential. Seaweed is the collective name for a variety of marine plants and algae. It’s a common food in many cultures, including in Japan and among many coastal Native American tribes. Seaweed is prized for its versatility, health benefits, and high degree of sustainability when compared to other foods. Various types of seaweed “can be used as fertilizer, animal and fish feed, biofuels, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics…. and have been marketed as a ‘super…
Author: Baylen Linnekin
Baylen Linnekin
Reason Foundation Senior Fellow Baylen Linnekin is a food lawyer, scholar, and adjunct law professor. He's the author of Biting the Hands That Feed Us: How Fewer, Smarter Laws Would Make Our Food System More Sustainable (Island Press 2016). Linnekin serves on the board of directors of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.