Agar is used in wide range of industries ranging from food to pharmaceuticals due to its versatile nature and it is an essential ingredient that is derived from seaweed. Growing demand for agar will focus the shift towards sustainable sourcing practices that reduce its environmental impact to ensure long-term availability. This blog post will provide an overview on the environmental benefits of eco-friendly agar production and challenges in supply chain. To learn more about how sustainability is shaping the future of the global agar market, visit Coherent Market Insights page.
Sustainable Agar Sourcing:
Sustainable sourcing of agar is done by carefully harvesting of seaweed, the primary raw material. Raw is derived from red algae which is a renewable source that grows in marine environment. Seaweed farming create low environment impact as compared to the land-based crops. It can also lead to deforestation and depletion of soil, as seaweed farming will offer low environment footprints and don’t need freshwater or large amount of land. These factors makes the production of agar more eco-friendly alternative as compared to the other material that depend upon the resource-intensive farming practices.
However, seaweed farming will positively benefitted to the marine ecosystem. Seaweed are well known to absorb carbon dioxide, it also helps in mitigate the effect of climate change. It provide habitat to marine life by promoting biodiversity in the environment. As a result, the production of agar will sourced sustainably and serve to various form of environmental restoration other than depletion.
Eco-Friendly Agar Production:
The production of eco-friendly agar will not only sourcing of seaweed but also leads to the process that involves turning the raw material into final products. Essential steps need to be taken to achieve sustainable agar production such as minimizing waste, reduce energy consumption, and usage of non-toxic chemicals.
Agar manufacturers are shifting towards green practices including recycling water, using renewable energy in operation, and employing waste water reduction techniques. In addition, producers are no transitioning to usage of organic seaweed framing methods. These methods avoids the usage of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that harm marine systems.
The development of more efficient extraction methods is considered as a significant advancement in the field of eco-friendly agar production. The traditional extraction process of agar is resource intensive and will lead to excessive environmental waste. Technological advancement is focusing on the extraction process that reduce usage of energy and byproducts. It will resulted to clean and sustainable end products.
Agar Environmental Impact:
Agar is considered as a sustainable option as compared to the other agricultural commodities, the environmental impact of agar is no negligible. The seaweed harvesting process is done responsibly and will lead to the overexploitation of marine resources. The adoption of unsustainable harvesting practices will damage the aquatic environment and disrupt the local communities that depend on marine resources for their livelihoods.
In response to these challenges, companies are adopting certification programs that ensure that the seaweed is harvested sustainably. For instance, companies are working with third party organization to certify that seaweed is sourced from eco-friendly sources.
