A new study highlights once again the possibility that microalgae could be used as an important food for humans. The new study was carried out by researchers at Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and highlights in particular how microalgae could provide the right amount of omega-3 fatty acids for the human body and how “culture” of these algae itself is more environmentally friendly than fish.
For several decades, we have been trying to understand whether microalgae can be useful as alternative fuels, but it is only for a few years that we have seriously considered the possibility that they can be an important source of nutrients for humans, in particular especially the ones we usually eat when eating various fish and fish species.
The researchers were particularly interested in microalgae produced in photobioreactors, closed systems in which they can be cultivated more easily in Germany.
Their model, which also takes into account the environmental impacts specific to each site, shows that the cultivation of microalgae in closed controlled environments such as photobioreactors has an impact on the environment quite similar to that of fishing and fish production. . However, taking into account the amount of omega-3 fatty acids, aquaculture with fish begins to become more practical because it does not put as much pressure on the environment as traditional aquaculture.
This is why microalgae could be seriously taken into consideration to supplement our diet with omega-3 fatty acids which we can currently only take in fish and fish species.
“Microalgae should not and cannot completely replace fish as a food source. But if microalgae could be established as a common food, it would be another great ecological source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, “said Toni Meier, one of the study’s authors.
