This small mussel farm off the coast of California is a window into the future of feeding the planet. – You can feed a vast majority of the world’s populations on mussels alone. Earth’s population is growing so fast that we’ll need to produce more food in the next 50 years than we’ve raised in the last 10,000. – People are really actively looking towards the ocean for the future. Oceans cover more than two thirds of the earth’s surface. But right now, they produce just 2% of our food. – You can’t take any more fish out of the ocean. You’ve got to grow it. Phil Cruver is part of a new wave of entrepreneurs proving ocean farms can help feed the world without destroying the environment. I’m Erik Olsen. This is Quartz. – This is historic. It will be the first time we’ve had a harvest in U.S. federal waters in the United States in history. Phil Cruver started and sold several tech businesses before deciding to farm the waters off of Los Angeles. – The carrying capacity out here is just enormous. Right now, the mussels caught at the Catalina Sea Ranch are just a tiny 100 acre experiment. – We’re starting off with mussels as our cash crop because they don’t get disease, there’s a lot less risk factors, they grow faster. Currently, almost all the food we eat comes from the land, but that’s resource intensive. – 29% of the Earth’s surface is land and 40% of that arable land, we produce food on. That’s immense amounts of space for something that we could do in a much smaller amount of space in the ocean. Growing food on land is also a dirty business. Worldwide, livestock accounts for about 15% of human induced greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also very inefficient and expensive. – It requires anywhere between six to seven pounds of feed to get out one pound of cow, right. And so that requires an immense amount of water and land and other resources. So many are looking to the sea to help feed the world. But overfishing has left much of the oceans pushed to their biological limits. We are at a point now that scientists call ‘Peak Fish’. – So ‘Peak Fish’ means when did we get to a point where we no longer were able to take more out of the ocean. – But the amount of fish we’re catching is plateauing. The oceans aren’t getting any cleaner. We have enough fishing boats, we have way too many fishing boats out there right now. Most of the fish that’s farmed at the moment are finfish like salmon and carp. They’re fed with a diet of fish lower in the food chain, which means more fishing is needed to feed the fish we eat. Nearly one-third of the global marine fish catch goes to feed farmed fish. – Right now, they’re getting it at as low as one to one. So one pound of feed for one pound of fish. That’s a lot better than land animals, but mussels can do even better. You don’t have to feed them at all. They just filter their food from the water. – Mussels are good to farm for a variety of reasons. First, a lot of the things you associate with bad farming on land — cramped quarters, use of questionable foods, use of different chemicals — you don’t need that for mussels. Mussels like tight spaces, they don’t need a lot of antibiotics, and they don’t need any food. They can also clean up the water. Ryan Bigelow runs operations for Seafood Watch, a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that promotes sustainable seafood. He says aquaculture, especially with shrimp and salmon, has had a bad reputation for pollution spreading disease and other environmental impacts. In some countries, these remain big problems, but new companies are showing it can be done well. – Fish farming is by no means a perfect business. There have been issues in the past with everything from escapes to pollution, to the destruction of mangroves. And some of those things still do happen. But the difference now between aquaculture, even 15, 20 years ago, is that they’re our best performers. And aquaculture has a lot of room to grow in the U.S. – So right now, 90% of all aquaculture happens in Southeast Asia. China is 60% of that production. Norway and Chile are some of the largest finfish producers in the world for Atlantic Salmon. A big reason is regulations. The U.S. hasn’t allowed aquaculture in federal waters. Until now. Phil thinks that means there’s a huge opportunity here. Several companies are already planning to open aquaculture farms in California, waiting to see if he’s successful. Today’s harvest is small, just 1000 pounds. Back at the pier in Los Angeles Harbor the mussels go directly to a seafood distributor and then to fish markets around Southern California, ending up on people’s plates. But for this kind of farming to feed the world, it has to overcome another challenge. – People have to want to eat mussels. And especially in the U.S. they don’t really. – Perception, a lot of people asked they said, “What is it for, bait?” They don’t understand the nutrition and the tastiness of mussels. So it’s gonna be a big branding challenge. We need Leonardo DiCaprio to eat a pizza with mussels on it, rather than sausage, showing the sustainability. But even without Leo, tastes may be changing. – At least in the last I’d say 12 to 14 months, customer requests for mussels, like these, have almost tripled. Mike Ungaro is selling Phil’s mussels at his market. – So we are now seeing a huge increase in the demand, and to have a locally sourced product like this that’s high quality and literally right off the coast, I think customers are going to go crazy for it. Feeding the planet’s next two billion people will mean changing where we farm and how we farm. It will require new technology and better tools, and an open mind to trying new food. Hey, I’m Preeti Varathan with Quartz. So, are you ready to eat more mussels to save the environment? Let us know in the comments, And subscribe to the Quartz channel for more videos like this one.
umm there is a large population of the earth that can not eat mussels… but if you control the government, you can throw them in jail if they refuse right? for the good of all, religious rights must be trampled… right?
sarcasm*
First find a solution to get everyone acid reflux medicine after eating all those mussels
from your mussels to your muscles
I love mussels, delicious and cheap, but feed the world? doubtful.. why? because climate change heating the oceans is causing many unexpected things to happen in the waters. Mainly blooms of very dangerous bacteria. Look no further than Florida this past two years, red tide blooms killing everything, and this year, flesh eating bacteria. this is just the beginning. And eating a filter feeder would be nothing short of ingesting such bad bacteria. Their job is to cleans the water indeed, but we should only be eating mussels farmed in clean waters. And thats every decreasing.
FarMs UnDer The SeA cOulD FeEd uS By 2050
Keep it cheap and fresh and I’ll eat the hell out of them. I don’t now cuz they are to expensive in the foothills of ca
Yass more seafood 🤗😍
im salivating… damn it.
only if they can control the quality of the water.. and lets face it, we also dump a lot of other human made garbage into the ocean too
If we make it to 2050, that would be great.
Thanos, where are you?👀
All clam kinda species which includes oysters, clams, mussels, and the many more are a NO for me.
They are dirty in the sense that they feed on all sorts of food be it floating or on the base of the ocean floor especially Cockle !
I use that stuff as Bait to catch a bigger fish
Everyone Become Vegitarian then we will have food for eternity.
t h e n e c k h a m m o c k
Can we figure this out with scallops?
Mussels are pretty disgusting tho
Mussels look like alien vaginas
I will stick with beef…
Mussels are amazing. I like shellfish. More importantly these farmers should put a lot of their resources cleaning the ocean.
"under" the sea?
A new wave, same old BS – can't run a surface farms , same folks want to trash de ocean, opps already have.. I can hardly wait, the water already stinks in Socal , not even worth surfing- what idiots.. swimming in scat .l
Population control would be easier
yes
Seems like the easiest way to solve this issue is to seriously invest in durable condoms and the creation of plan C.personally I am waiting for Thanos. I hate sea food
STOP PEOPLE FROM BREEDING OTHERWISE THIS IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO NOT ONLY WIPE OUT THE ECOSYSTEMS BUT ALSO US AS WELL LIKE THE SELFISH PRICKS WE ALL ARE
Aren’t the mussels filter feeders needed to clean the ocean though!?!
Redtide: im about to ebd this mans career.
Till a red tide happens…
This farming stuff wasn't that new, actually, it has been here for years, it just that the US is a bit late for this.
great idea.
Have a 2 child policy for all countries to decrease world population.
Ocean farming like this will also drive us to want to clean our oceans too! Win win
Not with all the plastic that is in the ocean
How about feeding the world condoms and abortion pills
I have not researched enough into GMOs but can they be another form of source to food? I have heard on how some percentage of the potato chips we eat are GMOs obviously junk food isn’t a great example since they aren’t good for us in the first place. But has there be any case studies on if GMOs can be an effective and healthy form of food source. Because there have been private companies conducting research on beef and apples. Also would cloning be an effective source of food. Obviously there is “problems” or morals with cloning stuff but it is also another look to creating food. There is also KRISPER (I believe they are a genetic modification company) instead of research human genes can’t they research on genes that maybe can make our food source like wheat and other grains more effective. Like taking less area to produce, less water, and resources, and grow more at the same time. There are so many possibilities out there. So instead of blaming which country does what bad, instead try to come up with ways to solve a problem.
mussels? u gotta put melted cheese or oyster cakes for me to want to eat that
Lmao I wouldnt mind eating mussels ❤❤❤❤🍉🍉
Why don't we call cows land food??
If a chikken drowns in the ocean, is it seafood??
Muscles, bamboo, hemp = future!
I love seafood but most people I know don't like it at all.
As long as it isn't MORE expensive, it might work
hahahaaha stupid americans and your small steps to save the earth. the more you buy the more polar bears you save! the problem is consumption. until you wind the clock back on standards of living and population levels 250 years you’re going to have a resource and pollution imbalance. a global high mortality plague is humanity’s best chance at real change.
I’ll stick with the impossible burger
What about red tides?
I love mussels, especially with creamy garlic sauce. Good in seafood soups too….
Also let us take 1 children at max two per couple. We cannot afford human population to go double digit by any means.
Time to introduces Moules Frites in the States. 😉
"We will need to produce more food in the next 50 years than we have raised in the last 10.000". That is insane. Can you share the source of these number please?
You don't have to ask Belgians twice to start eating more mussels! MOULES FRITES for everyone!!!! <3
They feed antibiotics to the fish in these farms.
my shellfish allergy is tingling while i watch this
Is it possible to farm clams in a similarly sustainable way?
I'm happy for the many people who enjoy eating mussels, but dishes that they've loved I've loathed. You'd have to pay me (exorbitantly) to eat mussels.
I already love mussels hahaha glad to see my appetite is helpful towards the environment. Shame it's more difficult to find in American supermarkets than preferable
Been farming mussels in Europe for at least 50/60 years maybe more …..the world 🌎…… makes me grieve ….how can we just keep the population just expanding like that ? Unsustainable it will mean planetary destruction
Oceans are to polluted to eat from regularly now, I can't imagine how bad it will be in 2050. Not to mention eating unclean animals with higher levels of toxins
Plant a garden. Not much but a few billion people all planting a bit would be great for the air and food supply. Get with a local church and fire department and have volunteers plant local gardens.
People eat muscles on the East coast.
The problem isnt food, its people. Spay and nueter your family 👪
What we really need to do is regulate our own population
1:50 actually, the methane coming from cows are from burps, not farts
I didn’t know that everyone in the world likes mussels! Maybe by 2050 they will
I'd need quite a lot of mussels to get full off it. Might as well grow nothing but rice and survive off rice alone to save seafood and stop raising animals on land.
Ocean acidification tho…
go vegetarian
I always wanted muscles
"farms under the sea" Fantastic, we finally managed to find a way to displace fish from their natural habitat and colonize the oceans. The only reason why there are so many fish compared to land animals is because humans have yet to build anything really big (like a city or a town) in the ocean. Just look at how many blue whales we killed in the 20th century. Or compare the historic ranges of animals to their modern time.
What about planta and the bacteria that muscles feed on how do they survive with the pollution in the sea? What about the vitamins that we need? Do we get them from seafood? So many questions.
Yu r kidding right? With climate change the ocean will be way to erratic with temperature and gas content to grow anything, just like on land.
Disgusting human beings!
I dont think mussels are safe to eat . It has toxins.
Eat these things so we can avert doomsday by a couple more years…
Sure why not.
Mussel farms are good up to a point – the feed they eat includes the spawn of local finfish. If the density of mussel farms becomes high, they suppress other marine populations, and mussel growth rates plateau. NZ has been farming them for decades, especially in the Marlborough Sounds.
Muscles help us to lift more… Thats it
Not if it’s full of plastic…
This makes me feel disgusted, The idea of harvesting animals just to eat.
Why not grow sea plants.
Lower background music would be better
Is it just me or does anyone else feel a bit suffocated looking at this I kept wondering about the oxygen content of that area
does anyone know anything abt oxygen intake of the mussels?
are those at 3:20 ard the mussels aquatic plants?
Moules frites – two pounds of mussles in creamy wine shallot sauce with french fires on the side. It's heavenly.
Ahhh MICROPLASTIC
mussels drowned in buttery sauce….yuuuummmmmm
As soon as you have it all figured out, something strange come along.
I love mussel
If only this was done earlier I FRICKN LOVE MUSSELS 😍😍
Merci….
Chefs need to start releasing recipes based off sustainable foods instead of beef etc
What nutrients would you get?
Absolutely. Yes!
Clams and Oysters tastes better than Mussels 🙂
Yah! i eat mussels! tasty AF! and would love to cut out all land meat to save earth anyday!
Poison me with our garbage! i'd do it if it was the best solution, to a multi pronged planet saving solution, anyday! i am human and don't mind taking the blame as a whole of my species – like an intelligent altruistic species would do in a cool science fiction movie about aliens that we can learn from –
yay our brains!
wait,, are their bad chemicals in them? i mean, doesn't the liver filter garbage? and ….uh, last i checked, liver is a kinda-super-food eh?
boo people with tinny sized emotional-IQ! but it's not their fault their empathetic-bubble doesn't extend past their own dumb gut – can't blame a wild animal for illiteracy, am i write?
just hang in there smart ones! … keep thinking of a way to convince the plebeians- and we can save our big juicy human filled rock, i mean, earth! yay!
Are you producing water?
Does water disappear after plant or animal ingest it?
Those claims are for really stupid people
Water does not disappear
Water is not limited as such
Water cycle for (claims of scientists, which I personally do not agree with) billions of years (I think this is 6000 years, but that is my opinion)
Suddenly in last few decades water magically disappears right after it gets to plant or animal
This is such stupid claim
world population growth is slowing down. estimates are that the population will peak at between 10 and 11 million. death rate will match birth rate.
mussels help your sex life
I wouls love to eat mussels but they are very expensive.
Testing for contaminated mussels because they filter their food. Plastic contamination in the molecular scale is a thing now. Have we ruined our chances before they got started?
ah…Ill wait for something like Sea Chickens
We have to reduce and control the human population. That’s the only solution.
Livestock It's not 15% it's 4% stop lying to people, they like to use the higher figure because that calculates every single thing within livestock production shipping receiving slaughtering Cold Storage but then when they calculate agriculture they don't add any of those extra calculations to global carbon emissions
Some badass organisms
No. Humans wont be here in 2050. Meateaters hv already fkd the oceans and theyre full of pkastic and human sewage and animal ag effluent oil and chemicals. You're mad! Does your mother still pick up after you – and are u still breeding?