Speaker

About the speaker:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-anna-fricke-6940a4233/

Dr. Fricke acquired academic degrees at the University of Bremen (Germany) – Diploma 2007, Doctorate 2011. She has over 15 years’ experience with macroalgal research and held different post-doc positions at the Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (Argentina), the Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (France) and the Center for Tropical Marine Research (Germany), where she collaborated with private industry on the potential of macroalgae for the use in natural cosmetics. Since 2019, she is researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops continuously working within the BMBF project food4future, investigating macroalgal cultivation and their potential for the food industry and became part of the European Eklipse Macroalgal expert group addressing the ecological impact of macroalgal cultivation in 2021. 

Company info:

The joint project food4future (f4f), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the funding line “Agricultural Systems of the Future” (ASF) explores radical innovations in the field of saline indoor cultivation of alternative food sources to ensure sustainable and healthy food systems. https://www.food4future.de/en/home

Institutions and Companies involved: 

•  Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ)
• University of Bayreuth (UB) 
• Fraunhofer-Institute for Applied Polymer Research (PYCO)
• InnoMat GmbH
  
  

Presentation:

The assurance of food security is a major challenge of the present century. Given the known negative ecological footprint of feedstock production, there is a rising interest to diversify the human diet using alternative food sources, able to serve as protein sources while promoting healthy eating. In this respect, the environmentally controlled and sustainable production of marine macrophytes comes into focus of urban food production. To face the current challenge of integrating systems within existing urban structures, interdisciplinary approaches are required. Therefore, food4future combines novel technologies, such as lightweight composite materials and specific LED lighting concepts, with indoor cultivation systems. On the way to a sustainable integrative urban system, different hurdles must be overcome, including the selection of species and construction material as well as cultivation media. Here, we critically discuss the first results of our work.

Contributors:

• Prof. Dr. Monika Schreiner (IGZ): Coordinator of the ASF project “food4future” and head of the coordination office of the BMBF funding line „Agricultural Systems of the Future“ (ASF)
• Prof. Dr. Susanne Baldermann (University of Bayreuth): Leader of the food4future research field “Organisms“
• Julia Vogt (IGZ): scientific manager of  “food4future”
• Maria Fitzner (IGZ) PhD student in food4future research field “Macroalgae and halophytes”
• Prof. Dr. Christian Dreyer Leader of the food4future research field “Urban Biospaces” (PYCO)
• Jakob Sabban Researcher in food4future research field “Urban Biospaces” (PYCO)
• Prof. Dr. sc. nat. Monika Bauer (InnoMat GmbH)

Keywords:

Urban aquaculture, seaweeds, materials, food security, alternative food sources, macroalgae, indoor farming, saline cultivation system