Microalgae (Chlorella and Spirulina) to end world hunger

[value]

Recent articles indicate that the use of algae to end world hunger may finally become a reality. I have been suggesting it since 2004.

(2022) Microalgae promise abundant healthy food and feed in any environment
The global food supply faces a range of threats including climate change, wars, pests and diseases. An organism too small for the human eye to see—microalgae—could offer a solution.
https://phys.org/news/2022-09-microalga ... nment.html

(2022) Microalgae is nature’s ‘green gold’: our pioneering project to feed the world more sustainably
https://theconversation.com/microalgae- ... bly-170158

Algae can be produced at low cost and while the cell core was originally to hard for the human digestive system to be broken and therefore required costly processes, technological advancements have enabled to make algae consumable for humans at low cost.

Chlorella is the most complete food source on earth for humans. It contains all essential vitamins and minerals including vitamin B12, protein and the most healthy variant of Omega 3-6-9 acids. In theory, a human can perform optimally on a diet with just Chlorella. Spirulina is an algae that is similar to Chlorella and that has been popular with athletes.

Chlorella is used by most people in Japan and people in Japan are the most healthy in the world and live the longest. Chlorella was first used as food in Japan.

In studies it is shown that Chlorella and Spirulina can stop the growth of cancer and prevent many other diseases.

Cancer is essentially a immune system related problem. Cancer occurs in any healthy body but a healthy immune system instantly destroys cells that turn cancerous, thereby preventing cancer to develop. Once cancer does win it turns the immune system against itself and feeds on the energy that is provided by the immune system. This may explain why Chlorella and Spirulina are able to help overcome cancer by enabling the immune system to perform optimally.

Marine biologists recently discovered that zebrafish had an amazing capacity to regenerate severe eye damage. Upon further research they discovered that the fish do not have that capacity within themselves but obtain that capacity by eating Spirulina algae.

First discovery (no link with algae yet)

(2020) Could a tiny fish hold the key to curing blindness?
https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and- ... -blindness

Follow up studies in which the capacity was linked to Spirulina algae:

In the present study, we investigated the regenerative and wound healing activities of Spirulina in zebrafish.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33038507/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35707902/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7695216/

When consuming Chlorella for the first time I could notice a great effect. I could work with intense concentration for at least 3-4 hours longer and I never felt hungry during the day when I didn't eat other food. My sport performance also improved significantly.

Chlorella didn't give a feeling of 'extra energy' (i.e. a boost). It felt as if my 'natural energy' was simply available for much longer and more durably.

--

In another topic that I just started an apparent feasible technology is discussed that would de-centralize energy and enable humans to have unlimited free energy on an individual person level.

De-centralization of limitless free and clean energy and humanitarianism
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=18360

Paired with an outlook on free and unlimited de-centralized energy:

Question 1: What does it mean when world hunger is not just solved completely but when all humans are also able to obtain the best possible health and bodily performance possible with their diet?

Question 2: There are industrial companies that are exploiting the mass production advancements of microalgae (Chlorella and Spirulina) to use the algae as biofuels. Would that be a waste and should there be care with regard the interest of the prevention of hunger?

(2019) Cost Effective Approach for Production of Chlorella pyrenoidosa for diesel biofuel
Microalgae are considered as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production due to their faster growth rate, higher biomass productivity and lipid content which ranges from 20 to 50% of its dry weight.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 018-0330-x

[Pattern-chaser]

Question 1: What does it mean when world hunger is not just solved completely but when all humans are also able to obtain the best possible health and bodily performance possible with their diet?

What does it mean when "hunger" is used as a human-specific term? What does it mean when the hunger of all other living things is ignored or dismissed, in a discussion that surely embraces all life on Earth?

[value]

Interesting questions.

Why should people receive an optimal opportunity to unlock their potential as a human being? Why should human hunger and suffering be prevented?

These questions seem to be neglected or considered self-evident by many passionate people.

My suggestion would be the following:

Human hunger and suffering affects humanity's greater potential. It is not possible the judge the value of another person relative to an unforseeable future. Therefore it can be considered a highest purpose of human life to help unlock the potential in others.

Humanity has developed itself to be capable of making moral choices when it concerns food or its presence on earth. Being barbarian or making mistakes - e.g. actually destroying the planet - are possible. Something else - being moral and wise - are possible as well and can be demanded in the face of human dignity. Therefore human hunger concerns a humanitarian issue.

The question why a human is special compared to for example a whale is the self-interest of the specie on the basis of which it can attempt to make wise choices on behalf of the specie. That is not to say that animals and plants cannot do the same.

Recent studies showed that plants behave altruistically (morally) and move leaves and roots to allow other plants to prosper besides them and they share food to plants that suffer hunger.

Trees Send Food to Hungry Neighbors of Different Species
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/ar ... t-species/

Trees share water to keep this dying stump alive
https://www.science.org/content/article ... tump-alive

Never in history has an Orca attacked a human. Not even in folklore and old tales! Since Orca's hunt for seals, it is remarkable that they never made a mistake.

There are reports that Orca's saved people from drowning and from sharks at open sea. In old stories by sailors and more recent. The description of the survivors also shows something remarkable about their experience. They describe a special connection, as if 'communication took place' between the human and the Orca.

Orcas protected humans from sharks and saved drowning people at open sea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ZkkHesyjg

Humpback whales have been found to save other animals including fish from attacking orcas and sharks. Whale experts believe that the motive is altruistic behavior or empathy.

Why Do Humpback Whales Protect Other Animals?
Humpbacks are capable of sophisticated thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, and communication, says Marino, the executive director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy.

... these attributes are those of a species with a highly developed degree of general intelligence capable of empathic responses.”
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/anim ... -explained

Recently a woman was saved from a shark by a Humpback whale:

He kept putting his eye right next to me and I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to tell me. He eventually pushed me up right out of the water on his fin. Then I noticed a shark closeby and the whale was doing what it could to keep the shark away from me.”

(2021) What do we know about intelligence in whales and dolphins?
"Could whales be as smart, if not smarter, than humans?
https://whalescientists.com/

To answer your question: it is evident that animals attempt to be moral (wise) within their capacity. Morality simply requires a moral reasoning potential that needs to be facilitated in some way. In animals that potential is evidently different than in humans however a symbiotic relationship with human wisdom seems very well possible. An example is a man that became friends with a pack of wild Hyenas.

[value]

What does it mean when "hunger" is used as a human-specific term? What does it mean when the hunger of all other living things is ignored or dismissed, in a discussion that surely embraces all life on Earth?

What do you think of the idea of using algae to end world hunger?

Besides the ability to provide high quality food to every person on earth sustainably, the production of algae is environmentally friendly and may even improve the health of the oceans and nature on earth.

(2022) Algae: the sustainable food of the future to end global hunger
According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), there were still 768 million people suffering from severe chronic hunger in the year 2020. In addition to the nutritional potential of these aquatic plants, they also have the enormous advantage of being conducive to sustainable growth on a large scale.

"Algae offers the advantage of requiring neither soil nor pesticides nor irrigation. On top of that it provides enormous ecosystem services, creating a very rich habitat for fauna (shellfish, fish) and flora while also feeding the top of the ocean food chain (phytoplankton, bivalves and ultimately land animals higher up in the food chain)”.
https://www.up-to-us.veolia.com/en/food ... bal-hunger

It would seem that when humans would be cultivating algae for food nature would actually gain in health because of it on the long term, improving the health of the ocean and ultimately land animals.

Ocean health has proven to have a great effect on land animals. It was recently discovered that the illegal dumping of half a million barrels of insecticide DDT near the coast of Los Angeles had reached Condors high in the mountains and was also accumulating in new born children in the region.

(2022) Scientists find DDT chemicals accumulating in California condors
After years of study, Tubbs and a team of environmental health scientists have identified more than 40 DDT-related compounds—along with a number of unknown chemicals—that have been circulating through the marine ecosystem and accumulating in this iconic bird at the very top of the food chain.

“The abundance is so high in Southern California,” said Hoh, who keeps finding this forever chemical reappearing in new and unexpected ways. “We can't just move on … our ocean is so much more polluted with DDT.”

A study based in Oakland found that DDT's hormone-disrupting effects are affecting a new generation of women—passed down from mothers to daughters, and now granddaughters.
https://phys.org/news/2022-05-scientist ... ating.html

[JDBowden]

Well, this concept of "ending work hunger" has been used since human inception. As in, a nice thought, but unrealistic in practice. It would be the equivalent of "ending crime." It will always be present. Also, it would be naive to believe that some algae company is going to - for example - start giving free algae food or what not to some random 3rd world nation. Besides, I do believe if we truly, deep down wanted to "end" it, we could get pretty close with today's technology. But with my comment of, "why would we" above, is our so called justification of not doing so. A place to start would be, just maybe, let's stop having 4, 5, 6, 7+ kids per family within a family unit that can't put food on the table in the first place. Radical I know!

[Pattern-chaser]

What does it mean when "hunger" is used as a human-specific term? What does it mean when the hunger of all other living things is ignored or dismissed, in a discussion that surely embraces all life on Earth?

What do you think of the idea of using algae to end world hunger?

I think it's a human-centric idea that fails to embrace the worldwide issue you are considering. All the life of our world is intimately involved with these issues, not just humans. If you aren't careful, you will end up with ideas, and maybe actions, that benefit humans at the expense of all the other living things.

If you are really considering "world hunger", surely you need to consider all the living things that are hungry (i.e. all of them) in our world?

[psyreporter]

Well, this concept of "ending work hunger" has been used since human inception. As in, a nice thought, but unrealistic in practice. It would be the equivalent of "ending crime." It will always be present. Also, it would be naive to believe that some algae company is going to - for example - start giving free algae food or what not to some random 3rd world nation. Besides, I do believe if we truly, deep down wanted to "end" it, we could get pretty close with today's technology. But with my comment of, "why would we" above, is our so called justification of not doing so. A place to start would be, just maybe, let's stop having 4, 5, 6, 7+ kids per family within a family unit that can't put food on the table in the first place. Radical I know!

Thank you for the interesting comment. Yes, the 'why would we' question seems to be neglected or considered self-evident by passionate people that work on the problem.

While Europe and the US is facing an infertilty crisis, in countries such as Nigeria women give birth to 5 children on average which is part of a culture that is hard to change.

Most men in the US and Europe could be infertile by 2060, according to a new study
https://qz.com/1040302/most-men-in-the- ... -new-study

Antidepressants have been messing with the DNA in sperm that causes men to become infertile, causes 68% miscarriages in women and that causes babies to be born with suspicious birth defects such as a weak heart that causes premature death.

The side effects are suspicious because a fake pill with a side effect (active placebo) that gives users the feeling that something is happening in the body, is proven to be just as effective as antidepressants in patients with a clinical major depression. Well known Stanford professor John P. A. Ioannidis published the following article about it.

(2008) Effectiveness of antidepressants: an evidence myth constructed from a thousand randomized trials?
https://philpapers.org/rec/JOHEOA-2

It could be an indication of eugenics. (the intent to kill off the 'weak')

(2021) America’s Epidemic of Antidepressants
https://bpr.berkeley.edu/2021/11/07/ame ... pressants/

Some history if anyone is interested in the topic: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18196

[value]

What do you think of the idea of using algae to end world hunger?

I think it's a human-centric idea that fails to embrace the worldwide issue you are considering. All the life of our world is intimately involved with these issues, not just humans. If you aren't careful, you will end up with ideas, and maybe actions, that benefit humans at the expense of all the other living things.

If you are really considering "world hunger", surely you need to consider all the living things that are hungry (i.e. all of them) in our world?

What about the following?

"Algae offers the advantage of requiring neither soil nor pesticides nor irrigation. On top of that it provides enormous ecosystem services, creating a very rich habitat for fauna (shellfish, fish) and flora while also feeding the top of the ocean food chain (phytoplankton, bivalves) and ultimately land animals."
https://www.up-to-us.veolia.com/en/food ... bal-hunger

The cultivation of algae seems to benefit nature in multiple ways - it would provide a food source for both humans and the eco-system that improves the health of the oceans and ultimately animals on land.

[Pattern-chaser]

What do you think of the idea of using algae to end world hunger?

I think it's a human-centric idea that fails to embrace the worldwide issue you are considering. All the life of our world is intimately involved with these issues, not just humans. If you aren't careful, you will end up with ideas, and maybe actions, that benefit humans at the expense of all the other living things.

If you are really considering "world hunger", surely you need to consider all the living things that are hungry (i.e. all of them) in our world?

What about the following?

"Algae offers the advantage of requiring neither soil nor pesticides nor irrigation. On top of that it provides enormous ecosystem services, creating a very rich habitat for fauna (shellfish, fish) and flora while also feeding the top of the ocean food chain (phytoplankton, bivalves) and ultimately land animals."
https://www.up-to-us.veolia.com/en/food ... bal-hunger

As far as I know, naturally-growing algae already does all of this, without interference from humans.

The cultivation of algae seems to benefit nature in multiple ways - it would provide a food source for both humans and the eco-system that improves the health of the oceans and ultimately animals on land.

Algae is nature, like humans and spiders. It doesn't so much "benefit" nature as it is a part of nature. The oceans can and will remain healthy all on their own … just as soon as we stop polluting them.

[value]

As far as I know, naturally-growing algae already does all of this, without interference from humans.

The cultivation of algae seems to benefit nature in multiple ways - it would provide a food source for both humans and the eco-system that improves the health of the oceans and ultimately animals on land.

Algae is nature, like humans and spiders. It doesn't so much "benefit" nature as it is a part of nature. The oceans can and will remain healthy all on their own … just as soon as we stop polluting them.

The human should be factored in.

2 days ago 'Big Agriculture' in the US officially distributed the following message:

(2022) Big agriculture warns farming must change or risk ‘destroying the planet’
Report sponsored by some of the largest food and farming businesses finds pace of shift to sustainable practices too slow.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... isis-cop27

(2022) Big Agriculture Companies Are Killing the Planet
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/opin ... lobby.html

Algae would enable to create a healthy circular human food source while in the same time it would provide exceptional human health and performance advantages and the ability to truly cost-efficiently end world hunger (i.e. feed all people on earth while nature benefits from that sustainably).

(2022) Algae: a sustainable, circular resource for the future
According to a study published in the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, microalgae are a particularly promising resource for satisfying the world’s demand for protein in a sustainable fashion.
https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/ocea ... he-future/

Besides sustainable feeding it would enhance human health in the most optimal way from a nutritional perspective.

(2020) Potential of Chlorella Algae to Promote Human Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551956/

[LuckyR]

Sounds great. Though likely will find a niche role in a niche market. Perhaps another better suited function would be as animal feed.

[value]

In 2021 a company from Singapore created a Microalgae burger that looks like a normal burger and that has all essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids and twice as much protein as a beef or fish burger.

(2021) Sophie’s Bionutrients Debuts New Burger Made from Microalgae
"According to the press announcement, each patty weighs roughly 60 grams and has 25 grams of protein, comprising all nine essential amino acids including histidine and leucine. Sophie’s Bionutrients also says its algae-based patty has two times more protein than beef or fish. "
https://thespoon.tech/sophies-bionutrie ... icroalgae/

- better health (more nutrients and more protein)
- ease of use (BBQ compatible)
- good taste (algae are being used to enhance taste for beef lovers with US startup Back of the Yards Algae Sciences as an example)
- healthy for the planet

“Microalgae [are] a vital source of nutrients in the ocean. By developing this burger, we hope to showcase the versatility of the microalgae protein flour that goes beyond making plant-based seafood products,” shared Wang. “We will continue to synergize the power of nature and technology to broaden our range of algae-based products, while doing good for the planet and the oceans.”
https://www.asianscientist.com/2021/04/ ... nutrients/

It is a new development with the first algae burger dating from 2021 from a startup in Singapore.

US startup Back of the Yards Algae Sciences with an algae based product for taste enhancement of Vegan meat replacements was founded in 2018:

"BYAS was founded in Chicago at www.insidetheplant.com in late 2018 with a vision of innovating at the interface between the circular economy (zero waste and sustainable re-use of limited resources) and the wealth of our planet’s algal resources. This breakthrough site plays a vital role in bringing anaerobic digestion to its rightful place as the foundation of a sustainable urban food chain.

BYAS is committed to researching, developing and implementing new ways of making our food better, more accessible and healthier and to reducing the environmental burden of food production on our precious planet.
https://www.algaesciences.com/

One of it's plant based burgers:

burger.jpg (54.59 KiB) Viewed 1521 times