There’s a new wave in sustainable eating, and it’s coming from the water.

“Blue foods” is the term for foods harvested from oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams: fish, shellfish, mussels, and sea vegetables like kelp and dulse. Coastal communities have built entire food cultures around these ingredients for thousands of years, from Mediterranean fish stews to Japanese seaweed broths to New England clambakes. Today, more than 3 billion people around the world still rely on blue foods as a daily source of nutrition.¹ Despite that long history, blue foods have remained something of a quiet cousin to “farm to table,” rarely getting the same spotlight as land-grown produce or proteins. That’s starting to change.

Why Blue Foods Matter

Blue foods carry an outsized nutritional profile relative to their size. A single serving of mussels can provide up to 700 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, among the highest of any commonly eaten food.² Seafood more broadly is one of the best natural sources of iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, nutrients tied to heart health, immune function, and cognitive performance.

Despite that nutritional density, consumption hasn’t kept pace. Only about 1 in 4 adults in the United States meets the recommended two servings of seafood per week.³ Closing that gap is less about a dramatic dietary overhaul and more about small, regular substitutions, swapping in seafood or sea vegetables where chicken or beef might otherwise show up.

Sea vegetables bring their own set of advantages. Kelp is among the fastest-growing plants on Earth, capable of reaching several feet over a single growing season without any fertilizer or fresh water.⁴ Seaweed is also a concentrated source of dietary fiber, some varieties are 33 to 75 percent fiber by dry weight, and much of it acts as a prebiotic, feeding the beneficial bacteria that support gut health.⁵

In the Kitchen

Blue foods move easily between comfort food and something more adventurous:

• Fold seaweed into a soup broth for extra depth and umami
• Crisp dulse in a bit of oil as a smoky, savory bacon substitute
• Pickle seaweed or blend it into a chili crisp for a plant-forward condiment
• Swap in frozen mussels for chicken in a weeknight pasta; they’re often priced comparably
• Build a “sea-cuterie” board for your next dinner party: smoked fish, marinated mussels, pickled seaweed, good bread, and a few bold condiments in place of the usual meat and cheese spread

Chef and sustainable seafood advocate Barton Seaver likes to point out that seafood offers a range many land-based proteins simply can’t match. Comparing seafood to chicken, he’s said, “no offense to chicken, but white or dark, and that’s about it.”⁵ There are thousands of varieties of seafood, all with their own unique flavor profile. A sea-cuterie board is a fun way to put that variety on display.

The ocean has its own version of terroir, too. Scallops pulled from a rocky, current-swept coastline can taste noticeably different from scallops harvested just a few miles away in a calmer, sandy bay, even though they’re the same species. Build your board with a few different sources side by side, and you can taste that variation for yourself.

The Takeaway

Blue foods aren’t a hard sell or a sacrifice; they’re craveable and flavorful, with more range than most people give them credit for. Next time you spot mussels, a seaweed-forward dish, or a new seasonal catch on the menu, give it a try. Good for you, good for the ocean, and genuinely delicious.

References

1. Golden, C.D., et al. “Aquatic foods to nourish nations.” Nature (2021). nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02476-9

2. Bergstrom, M., et al. “Mussel Consumption as a ‘Food First’ Approach to Improve Omega-3 Status.” Nutrients (2019). ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6628055

3. Ansai, N., Terry, A.L., Stierman, B., Ahluwalia, N. “Seafood Consumption Among Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021-August 2023.” NCHS Data Brief No. 538, CDC/National Center for Health Statistics (2025). cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db538.htm

4. NOAA Fisheries. “Sugar Kelp: Aquaculture.” fisheries.noaa.gov/species/sugar-kelp/aquaculture

5. Cherry, P., O’Hara, C., Magee, P.J., McSorley, E.M., Allsopp, P.J. “Risks and benefits of consuming edible seaweeds.” Nutrition Reviews, 77(5), 307-329 (2019). doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuy066 6. “National Geographic Explorer Barton Seaver shares how seafood can shape healthier people, stronger communities and a more sustainable future.” LOCAL Life SC, Hilton Head Island & Bluffton. locallifesc.com/sustainable-seafood-barton-seaver-hilton-head