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The Seaweed Revolution: How Seaweed Has Shaped Our Past and Can Save Our Future
As featured on BBC News and TIME
'The potential of seaweed, or marine algae, to transform our world is huge… excellent book' New Scientist
The seaweed revolution is a fresh hope for tomorrow.
Seaweed develops in water everywhere, from the eternal glaciers to lagoons heated by the sun, from seas saturated with salt to the fresh water of our rivers. Yet we only know how to cultivate a few dozen varieties, at most. Incredibly diverse, seaweed could help to bring back balance in our ecosystems through a wide range of applications. It could allow us to better feed human beings and animals, replace plastic and fertilizers, boost medical innovations, mitigate global warming, repair biodiversity and support economies in coastal communities where fish stocks are declining.
Although seaweed has supported our development for millions of years, we have lost our connection with it and focused our efforts purely on land cultivation. Today a fast-growing global population, combined with climate, social and environmental crises, gives us compelling reasons to reconsider this forgotten treasure.
‘This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about our planet's future’ Mark Lynas, journalist and author of Our Final Six Degrees of Climate Emergency
‘An essential read for anyone who is curious about the extraordinary powers of seaweed to change the world’ Alexandra Cousteau, Head of Oceans 2050, and Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter
‘Seaweeds and algae have an essential role to play in the solutions available to us and Vincent Doumeizel’s The Seaweed Revolution shows us how’ Ambassador Peter Thomson, UNSG’s Special Envoy for the Ocean and former President of the UN General Assembly
‘Seaweed holds the key to help solve many of the crises the world is facing’ Carlos M. Duarte, Executive Director of the Coral Research and Development Accelerator Platform
‘A powerful read which will enlighten, enthuse and inspire in equal measure’ Ocean Challenge Magazine
'The potential of seaweed, or marine algae, to transform our world is huge… excellent book' New Scientist
The seaweed revolution is a fresh hope for tomorrow.
Seaweed develops in water everywhere, from the eternal glaciers to lagoons heated by the sun, from seas saturated with salt to the fresh water of our rivers. Yet we only know how to cultivate a few dozen varieties, at most. Incredibly diverse, seaweed could help to bring back balance in our ecosystems through a wide range of applications. It could allow us to better feed human beings and animals, replace plastic and fertilizers, boost medical innovations, mitigate global warming, repair biodiversity and support economies in coastal communities where fish stocks are declining.
Although seaweed has supported our development for millions of years, we have lost our connection with it and focused our efforts purely on land cultivation. Today a fast-growing global population, combined with climate, social and environmental crises, gives us compelling reasons to reconsider this forgotten treasure.
‘This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about our planet's future’ Mark Lynas, journalist and author of Our Final Six Degrees of Climate Emergency
‘An essential read for anyone who is curious about the extraordinary powers of seaweed to change the world’ Alexandra Cousteau, Head of Oceans 2050, and Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter
‘Seaweeds and algae have an essential role to play in the solutions available to us and Vincent Doumeizel’s The Seaweed Revolution shows us how’ Ambassador Peter Thomson, UNSG’s Special Envoy for the Ocean and former President of the UN General Assembly
‘Seaweed holds the key to help solve many of the crises the world is facing’ Carlos M. Duarte, Executive Director of the Coral Research and Development Accelerator Platform
‘A powerful read which will enlighten, enthuse and inspire in equal measure’ Ocean Challenge Magazine
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2023
38 people are currently reading
294 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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June 20, 2024The writer is passionate about his subject. Unfortunately he is prone to unsupported and vague sweeping statements.
For example, in chapter one:
"The number of dishes is a clear testimony to these traditions originating from this first human migration" is unsupported: it's correlation not causation.
"Our planet no longer has much accessible and unused arable land." has no reference, no comparison, no numbers, emotionally it feels accurate, but objectively it's useless.
"10 grams of the abundant sea lettuce (Ulva) is enough to meet our magnesium requirements. In this respect, it is much more natural and efficient than chocolate and contains no fat or sugar". This time there isn't even a correlation. No one, literally no one, eats chocolate for its magnesium content.
"It's not hard to imagine which part of the world has gained the most weight" has nothing to do with seaweed, it's just putting two unrelated things together and pretending there's a connection.
"Demineralized water costs nothing to produce in this scenario, but can be sold wholesale for a few dozen cents". A few dozen cents for what? a ml? a litre? a gigalitre? a small lake?
The bit on umami and MSG is just weird ("An almost primal taste; breast milk is rich in umami.")
Also, phrases like "our side of the planet" are alienating. Your side ain't my side (I live in Australia).
And his understanding of Asia is confusing, for example:
"Asia has been, and remains, influenced by traditional Chinese medicine". Does he mean China does? Pretty sure other parts of Asia (such as India) have their own long histories of traditional medicine.
"[Seaweed] is to Japan what bread is to France" is another sea lettuce/chocolate situation: surely the Japanese equivalent to the white, starchy, delicious carbohydrate of France is rice.
The author is upset that the iodine threshold that is deemed safe for human consumption in western countries is much lower than in Asian countries, but in the middle of the argument he says:
"Asians have developed a specific microbiota capable of absorbing substances found in seaweed, including iodine" ...
So it makes sense that Asian countries have higher safety thresholds, it is not "more astonishing", it is more logical!
I will try to keep reading, because I am very interested in how we can harness our oceans to battle climate change and feed the planet, but I was looking for facts, not impassioned rhetoric.
For example, in chapter one:
"The number of dishes is a clear testimony to these traditions originating from this first human migration" is unsupported: it's correlation not causation.
"Our planet no longer has much accessible and unused arable land." has no reference, no comparison, no numbers, emotionally it feels accurate, but objectively it's useless.
"10 grams of the abundant sea lettuce (Ulva) is enough to meet our magnesium requirements. In this respect, it is much more natural and efficient than chocolate and contains no fat or sugar". This time there isn't even a correlation. No one, literally no one, eats chocolate for its magnesium content.
"It's not hard to imagine which part of the world has gained the most weight" has nothing to do with seaweed, it's just putting two unrelated things together and pretending there's a connection.
"Demineralized water costs nothing to produce in this scenario, but can be sold wholesale for a few dozen cents". A few dozen cents for what? a ml? a litre? a gigalitre? a small lake?
The bit on umami and MSG is just weird ("An almost primal taste; breast milk is rich in umami.")
Also, phrases like "our side of the planet" are alienating. Your side ain't my side (I live in Australia).
And his understanding of Asia is confusing, for example:
"Asia has been, and remains, influenced by traditional Chinese medicine". Does he mean China does? Pretty sure other parts of Asia (such as India) have their own long histories of traditional medicine.
"[Seaweed] is to Japan what bread is to France" is another sea lettuce/chocolate situation: surely the Japanese equivalent to the white, starchy, delicious carbohydrate of France is rice.
The author is upset that the iodine threshold that is deemed safe for human consumption in western countries is much lower than in Asian countries, but in the middle of the argument he says:
"Asians have developed a specific microbiota capable of absorbing substances found in seaweed, including iodine" ...
So it makes sense that Asian countries have higher safety thresholds, it is not "more astonishing", it is more logical!
I will try to keep reading, because I am very interested in how we can harness our oceans to battle climate change and feed the planet, but I was looking for facts, not impassioned rhetoric.
March 10, 2025
Absoluut een aanrader voor iedereen, al is het maar om een positief en hoopvol boek ter hand te nemen (dat doen we te weinig). Verder is het een goede kennismaking met wieren, (de geschiedenis van) hun cultivatie, de huidige teelt en de vele toepassingen — sommige realistisch, andere nog toekomstmuziek.
Ik moet eerlijk zijn, de introductie voelde wat ongenuanceerd. Maar later komt de balans terug, en juist die latere hoofdstukken vond ik het sterkst. Zeker de moeite waard.
Ik moet eerlijk zijn, de introductie voelde wat ongenuanceerd. Maar later komt de balans terug, en juist die latere hoofdstukken vond ik het sterkst. Zeker de moeite waard.
May 24, 2024
this book is AMAZING and so so so so good! i read an exerpt in a magazine early last year, and I was SO excited for it to come out. I'm very slow at reading nonfiction, so I only just finished it after starting in November (whoops) but it was so great and I'm so glad I finished it when I did! it tied into so many different ideas and topics I learned about in my last semester, and having that knowledge made me appreciate what I was reading so much more! but this book is very accessible and you don't need to have a background in the subject to understand what the book is discussing! the only downside of this book is that my friends and family are absolutely sick of hearing about seaweed, but I'm too obsessed to stop talking about it anytime soon. this book is instantly a favorite for me, and I'm SO happy that i read it!!!!
December 2, 2023
Seaweed is going to revolutionise the world
1. Seaweed foraging allowed human to reach America through the Pacific Ocean, new archeological evidence showed
2. Seaweed provides vitamin C and would have saved many sailors’ lives before citrous fruits; it provides iodine which cures cretinism
3. Seaweed is regularly eaten as food in Japan and Korea, but China is number 1 exporter
4. Seaweed has antibacterial and antiviral properties, including Covid
5. Some seaweed helps with Alzheimer’s
6. Seaweed makes agar-agar (vegetarian jelly), agar Petro-dish, constituent in toothpaste, face masks
7. Seaweed planting can capture all the excess phosphates and nitrates from industrial fertilisers, and harvested before they form green/red tides; China is already doing it
8. Seaweed provided ecosystem for crabs and sea cucumbers
9. Seaweed can be used in bricks that can withstand earthquakes and typhoons
1. Seaweed foraging allowed human to reach America through the Pacific Ocean, new archeological evidence showed
2. Seaweed provides vitamin C and would have saved many sailors’ lives before citrous fruits; it provides iodine which cures cretinism
3. Seaweed is regularly eaten as food in Japan and Korea, but China is number 1 exporter
4. Seaweed has antibacterial and antiviral properties, including Covid
5. Some seaweed helps with Alzheimer’s
6. Seaweed makes agar-agar (vegetarian jelly), agar Petro-dish, constituent in toothpaste, face masks
7. Seaweed planting can capture all the excess phosphates and nitrates from industrial fertilisers, and harvested before they form green/red tides; China is already doing it
8. Seaweed provided ecosystem for crabs and sea cucumbers
9. Seaweed can be used in bricks that can withstand earthquakes and typhoons
October 3, 2025
This is a very easy, pleasant and interesting read, though not a very scientific one. It tries to make things sound more amazing, when they would be interesting enough without resorting to hyperbole...
He says more than "50% of oxygen in the atmosphere comes from the ocean, and therefore algae", which can be misleading when he's previously talking about seaweed, in a book about seaweed... Algae include microalgae, which produce the greater part of that oxygen, together with cyanobacteria. Seaweeds' contribution is very small.
Seaweeds can't communicate with other species, and attract predators when they are attacked by snails, as he states in the introduction. The snails attract the predators by being there... (Also, no reference there)
Later he states that in Japan, seaweed accounts for 10% of daily nutritional intake, and offers a reference. The information is both not true and not in the paper. The paper cites other studies which evaluate seaweed consumption to be between 4-12g/day. Hardly 10% of dietary intake...
The paper, about iodine intake, states intakes in Japan are 15 times above what is considered healthy in Europe, because through traditional consumption their gut bacteria can break down iodine (which would otherwise cause thyroid problems (so we, non-japanese, cannot, in fact, increase consumption by that much)
This could be a great book if it were stricter to facts. It is an easy read, but has to be taken with a grain of salt.
As I'm reading, I feel the need to constantly fact check, so I see no point in continuing reading..
He says more than "50% of oxygen in the atmosphere comes from the ocean, and therefore algae", which can be misleading when he's previously talking about seaweed, in a book about seaweed... Algae include microalgae, which produce the greater part of that oxygen, together with cyanobacteria. Seaweeds' contribution is very small.
Seaweeds can't communicate with other species, and attract predators when they are attacked by snails, as he states in the introduction. The snails attract the predators by being there... (Also, no reference there)
Later he states that in Japan, seaweed accounts for 10% of daily nutritional intake, and offers a reference. The information is both not true and not in the paper. The paper cites other studies which evaluate seaweed consumption to be between 4-12g/day. Hardly 10% of dietary intake...
The paper, about iodine intake, states intakes in Japan are 15 times above what is considered healthy in Europe, because through traditional consumption their gut bacteria can break down iodine (which would otherwise cause thyroid problems (so we, non-japanese, cannot, in fact, increase consumption by that much)
This could be a great book if it were stricter to facts. It is an easy read, but has to be taken with a grain of salt.
As I'm reading, I feel the need to constantly fact check, so I see no point in continuing reading..
March 2, 2025
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK!!! Gave me so much hope for the future in terms of climate change initiatives and so much inspiration in my own life at how I can better myself and be more environmentally conscious and make a difference.
My major outtakes are:
Seaweed forests could significantly reduce methane and carbon dioxide outputs which would result in both short and long-term climate change action.
To encourage the production of seaweed forest we need to all invest more in the seaweed industry- eat more seaweed, use seaweed plastics/ seaweed soaps etc. etc.
All kinds of seaweed are edible lol (everything u find on the beach)
If you ever get stuck at a desert island kelp naturally desalinates water so just spin dry it and you will have access to fresh water 😇
Can’t put everything I’ve learnt into enough words but please please please give it a read. So nice that it’s a positive and hopeful perspective on combatting climate change and working with the planet and each other :))
My major outtakes are:
Seaweed forests could significantly reduce methane and carbon dioxide outputs which would result in both short and long-term climate change action.
To encourage the production of seaweed forest we need to all invest more in the seaweed industry- eat more seaweed, use seaweed plastics/ seaweed soaps etc. etc.
All kinds of seaweed are edible lol (everything u find on the beach)
If you ever get stuck at a desert island kelp naturally desalinates water so just spin dry it and you will have access to fresh water 😇
Can’t put everything I’ve learnt into enough words but please please please give it a read. So nice that it’s a positive and hopeful perspective on combatting climate change and working with the planet and each other :))
July 24, 2024
Fantastic introductory and incredibly public-friendly book on the intriguing, practical world of seaweed and its applications. Would have had 5 stars if it discussed more about algal biodiversity and its ecological functions, but great nonetheless. Everyone should read this book to expand their outlook on a very brushed over thing that is all around us, and is part of our future.
August 10, 2023
Informative and interesting projections
Covered the markets well where seaweed can play an integral role. An optimistic projection for the future and give us all hope.
Covered the markets well where seaweed can play an integral role. An optimistic projection for the future and give us all hope.
May 20, 2024
Superbe, j'ai appris énormément de choses et ça se lit très bien.
August 18, 2024
c’était vraiment giga interessant et ca change de ce que je lis habituellement
August 26, 2024
Fantastic.
November 7, 2024
1 palabra: Esperanza.
August 6, 2023
Ce livre offre une véritable ouverture sur le monde des algues, un monde aussi fascinant qu'inconnu du grand public. Vincent Doumeizel montre les perspectives réjouissantes que peuvent nous offrir les algues tout en expliquant les difficultés et la rigueur qu'il faudra pour les cultiver sans endommager les écosystèmes.
January 27, 2025
A beautiful about seaweeds and humans. Having spend a lot of my life studying seaweed, I can definitely recommend this positive story on how seaweed can help us to tackle some of the important challenges we face. Is seaweed gonna save the future? No. Can it help to save the future? Yes. That's why you have to read this. Five stars.
June 16, 2022
Un livre qui donne de l’espoir
July 5, 2022
What a hopefull book, verry inspiring and plenty of knowledge
April 18, 2023
Tous mes ami(e)s sur cette plateforme doivent savoir que ce fut un putain de bon livre!!! Merci Vincent xoxo
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews