What did
Brendan Smith do after a hurricane wiped out his farm? He decided to dive a bit
deeper
Brynn
Smith isn't your typical farmer in more ways than one for one thing he farms
oysters and mussels and for another he's trying to transform farming by
creating a new model for other farmers to follow that can increase yields while
minimizing the environmental impact of farming.
And it's all
thanks to a disaster that occured see at your typical oyster farm you'd
essentially plant young oysters in the muddy area in a bay and wait for a
couple of years so
that they
grow into adulthood before harvesting them. Then you'd use large rakes to dig
them up, but the hurricane that passed over Smith's farm destroyed his entire
crop for a season.
Oysters(Source:Patrick Mustain)
That's
what he decided to go vertical. You might know what are vertical farms, It
is the practice of
producing food and medicine in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined
surfaces and or integrated in other structures.
But this
time, we're going underwater with it, Smith's innovation is to build vertical
farms deeper in the ocean where the surge from a hurricane won't wreak havoc.
His farms
look very different from traditional oyster farms. At the ocean surface you'd
see pairs
of large floats connected to each other with long floating ropes as a series of
horizontal lines, beneath the water those floats are anchored to their respective
spots with hurricane-proof anchors and suspended from the ropes are the
vertical farms themselves on which grow kelp and varieties of seaweed.
Farming under sea(Source:Patrick Mustain)
It doesn't
stop there suspended between columns of kelp our lantern like mesh nets
containing scallops and other muscles at the sea floor Oyster cages anchor
those nets so that they stay vertical in the flow of the ocean and beneath the
oyster cages our clam beds.
Because
the farms are vertical, they don't take up much square footage on the ocean
floor itself.
Fish Farming(Courtesy: BOMP)
Smith has
learned how to maximize farm yields while reducing his farms footprint.
He
started off with a 100 acre farm but reduced it to 20 acres while producing far
more food. It's a system that works, it's also an open system meaning Smith
decided to share his design with the world in an effort to encourage other
farmers to adopt it. He does this with the hopes of not only helping other
farmers who might otherwise find themselves at the whim of the elements.
But also
to help establish a more sustainable approach to harvesting oysters and other
shellfish. He also hopes that he can convince you to eat like a fish.
The
process of fishing can be environmentally harmful. Overfishing hurts fish
populations and you often end up disrupting delicate ecosystems in the process.
Smith's
argument is that we could enjoy the healthy benefits of a fish rich diet. By
instead dining on the same stuff they chow down on namely kelp and other plants
that grow in the sea.
These
plants are rich in nutrients like vitamin C, calcium and protein. They are easy
to grow in an environmentally conscious way and they even have omega-3 fatty
acids which help maintain a healthy metabolism. In fact that's where omega-3
rich fish get their supply.
They either eat kelp or they fish that are eating
the kelp we'd be going straight to the source. Smith said he wants to de
sous-chefi see meaning meaning he wants to see us eat more sea plants in new
and innovative dishes this will help make sea plants a common part of many
diets while allowing fish populations to recover from overfishing and environmental
damage. According to Smith if there were enough farms like his to equal the
size of Washington State.The farms
would collectively produce enough food to feed the entire planet, sounds like
it is better down where it's wetter.
Now I
have a question for you,
What
solution would you propose to help grow food in a sustainable environmentally
friendly way. I want to hear your thoughts in the comments below
Thanks
for reading this article.
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