February 27, 2023 — A new study has shown that foods that come from the ocean or freshwater, known as “blue foods,” have the potential to address several important global issues, including nutritional deficits, disease, and climate change.
The Blue Food Assessment is a worldwide collaboration of more than 100 scientists whose focus is on using blue foods to evaluate and develop healthy, equitable and sustainable food systems.
Blue foods are an incredibly diverse food source, with more than 2,200 wild species caught and over 600 farmed. Often, blue foods are more nutrient-rich, generate lower greenhouse gas emissions, and have less of an impact on land and water than many types of meat derived from land animals. But a new study has found that countries overlook the benefits of blue foods when developing nutritional, socioeconomic, and environmental policies.
“Even though people around the world depend on and enjoy seafood, the potential for these blue foods to benefit people and the environment remains under-appreciated,” said marine ecologist and member of The Blue Food Assessment, Ben Halpern.
In a new study, scientists at The Blue Food Assessment examined how blue foods were being accessed, produced and consumed globally, how production impacted the environment, and how they impacted nutritional and socioeconomic factors. The study highlighted four ways that blue foods improve food systems.