Blue Food Assessment 2021

In News

• Most aquaculture systems have not achieved the levels of efficiency seen in terrestrial food production systems as per a report titled “Environmental performance of blue foods”.
  • The report is a part of the Blue Food Assessment (BFA).
  • The BFA is a collaboration between 
    • Sweden-based Stockholm Resilience Centre, 
    • United States-based Stanford University and 
    • the non-profit EAT.

What is Blue Food?

• They are food derived from aquatic or marine animals, plants or algae that are caught or cultivated in freshwater and marine environments.
• Examples
  • Seaweeds, Sea Cucumber
  • Bivalves (mussels, oysters, etc.)
  • Fishes like tilapia, salmon, catfish and carp, etc.
• It also involves Capture Fisheries.
  • Capture fisheries refers to all kinds of harvesting of naturally occurring living resources in both marine and freshwater environments.

Benefits of Blue Food

• High Nutritional Benefits
  • They have higher nutritional benefits in comparison to terrestrial food.
  • Many blue food species are rich in important nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.
• Ecological benefits and environmental footprints
  • They are more sustainable as they release less greenhouse gasses.
  • On average, the major species produced in aquaculture were found to have lower environmental footprints comparable to terrestrial meat.
• Less pressure on Land
  • The aquaculture and marine farms free the space which was needed for feeding the growing population by conventional agriculture. 
• Food Security
  • Investing in innovation and improving fisheries management could increase consumption even more and have profound effects on malnutrition.
  • They can feed the masses by solving both the problem of
    • Real Hunger
    • Hidden Hunger
• Fulfilling SDG commitment
  • Promotion of Blue food will help in fulfillment of many Sustainable development Goals. E.g.
    • SDG 2: Nutrition 
    • SDG 14: Sustainable use of marine resources

Challenges to Blue Food

• Acceptance to Blue Food
  • The acceptance of the sea cucumber and similar variants is still very less.
  • It needs a behavioural change in dietary habits.
• Technology and Capital Intensive sector
  • One of the major challenges with blue food is the need for high end technology and capital.
• Lack of skilled labour and resources
  • It needs rare skilled labour.
• Lack of proper cuisine and dishes
  • More R&D activities are required by chefs and scientists to make dishes loved by the masses.
• Danger of invasive species
  • There may be a threat of invasive species in case of imports for culturing in a country.

Conclusion

• Blue Food is the future
  • The report acknowledged the vital role to be played by Blue foods in the shift towards healthy, equitable and sustainable food systems.
  • These have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through improved management and optimising gear types.
• The Blue Economy Policy is working toward mainstreaming such food and should be promoted.

Source: DTE