Environmental performance of Dutch seaweed
In the ProSeaweed programme we will investigate the environmental performance of Dutch seaweed food products. This national research programme is exploring how seaweeds cultivated in the Netherlands can be used for different feed and food applications, including aspects such as safety, quality and sustainable use. The overall aim is to explore the opportunities to scale up seaweed cultivation in the Netherlands. Our focus will be on the analysis of the environmental footprint of seaweed food products, using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. Results will be published in a scientific publication and the data obtained will be made publicly available in LCA databases such as Agri-footprint and the RIVM database. This will help businesses to identify and understand the environmental hotspots in the seaweed production chain. As the seaweed sector is in its infancy, one of the challenges is the availability of data and so we will work closely with stakeholders in the sector. In the project we will cooperate with Wageningen University, Wageningen Economic Research and Stichting Noordzeeboerderij.