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The unexpected benefits of seaweeds for our health
For our fifth episode, we’re going to dream of being on the foreshore breathing in the strong wind, and talking about seaweed. Have you put on your rubber boots?
Some people are a bit reluctant when we bring up this topic…
Yet, seaweeds are real nutritional treasures, perfect for a balanced vegetarian diet, and when well-cooked, they are simply exquisite. Long underestimated in France, they have become very fashionable.
Often considered as superfoods adding a subtle and original iodized touch to dishes, seaweeds have even started to spread onto the plates of top chefs recently.
Dulse, Nori, Royal Kumbu, Wakame, Alaria: we could even make poems about them!
According to the FAO, global production went from 2 million tons in 1970 to over 25 million in 2013: 90% comes from seaweed farming, the rest is made up of wild species. 60% are used in pharmacopoeia, cosmetology, or fertilizers.
But 40% end up on our plates in one form or another: fresh, in condiments, dried, frozen, incorporated into culinary preparations.
The French, who cultivate and harvest 80,000 tons along the 2,700 km of Breton coasts, only consume 1,500 tons per year, compared to 2 million for the Japanese.
So we have a lot of progress to make!
The guest: Régine Quéva
Jovial Breton concerned about the planet and the state of our plates. An author for over 20 years, she has published books with various publishers like Hachette, Larousse, Flammarion, and Marabout, diversifying her subjects.
After a pedagogical collection, she turned to scientific popularization, then to practical books.
It was during a “seaweed outing” in Brittany that she discovered these marine plants she now loves. She gives lectures, training sessions, “seaweed outings,” and “seaweed cooking workshops” for the general public.
She has written several books on seaweed including “The Superpowers of Seaweeds” at Larousse and “Gourmet Seaweeds” (co-written with chef Catherine Le Joncour) at Flammarion editions.
My questions
- How did you become interested in seaweeds?
- What are the different types of seaweed and which can we consume?
- What is your favorite seaweed and why?
- What are the health benefits of seaweeds?
- From a broader perspective, how do they contribute to the food transition?
- Can they also be used in homemade cosmetics?
- Why, if they are so rich, are they so absent from our culinary culture? Did our ancestors consume them? Do other civilizations favor them?
- Where can you find them? Where and when to pick them? (you emphasize the verb pick and not gather, can you explain?)
- Are there any contraindications to consuming seaweeds?
- How to cook them? How to incorporate them into our daily recipes?
- Do you have one or two easy recipe ideas for our listeners?
Resources to explore further
- Regine Quéva’s website
- The Super Powers of Seaweeds, Larousse, Régine Quéva
- Gourmet Seaweeds, Flammarion, Régine Quéva
- Marine Algae, Properties, Uses, and Recipes, Ole G. Mouritsen, Delachaux et Niestlé.
- Seaweeds, Our Allies for Health and Beauty, Sylvie Hampikian, Amandine Geers, and Olivier Degorce, Terre Vivante.
Food (R)evolutions podcasts are presented by Louise Browaeys
An agronomic engineer (AgroParisTech) specializing in nutrition, Louise has been working for ten years in the fields of agriculture, food, and ecology.
She is the author or co-author of several books on topics such as food, ecology, permaculture, and corporate social responsibility. Notably: “The Share of the Earth: Agriculture as an Art” (Delachaux et Niestlé, 2014), “Everyday Permaculture” (Terre Vivante, 2018), “The Planetary Diet” (La Plage, 2020).
