Climate change may affect global omega-3 supplies: Harvard professor

By Stephen Daniells

- Last updated on GMT

We should have listened to Al Gore...
We should have listened to Al Gore...

Related tags Omega-3 fatty acids Omega-3 fatty acid

Changes to the world’s ecosystems as a result of climate change will decrease levels of phytoplankton in the world’s oceans, and alternative sources like GM crops must fill the void, says a Harvard PhD.

According to an article in Biotechnology Advances​, climate change will produce increases in ocean temperature, and levels of carbon dioxide n the atmosphere and UV radiation. These will all work against the growth of phytoplankton in the world’s oceans.

A drop in the planet’s population of phytoplankton – the primary producers of omega-3 fatty acids – will also reduce the availability of omega-3s in our diets.

The article is authored by Jing Kang, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Laboratory for Lipid Medicine and Technology (LLMT) at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Omega-3 PUFAs are undeniably significant factors in human health, yet their availability is being threatened by the consequences of global climate change,”​ wrote Dr Kang.

“The foremost issue at hand, of course, is that we make every attempt to counter global climate change and its harmful effects. In the meantime, as we fend off the immediate health repercussions, we must also look to other methods of obtaining our omega-3 PUFA quotient.”

Bottom line

Commenting on the article, Harry Rice, PhD, VP of regulatory & scientific affairs for the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED), said that, while he agrees with Dr Kang that it's important to better understand the potential link between global climate change, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and human health, “the bottom line is that the development and commercialization of alternative sources of EPA and DHA is necessary as growing demand outpaces usable supply.

“If Dr. Kang's theory is proven correct, the need to secure alternative sources of the long-chain omega-3s in sufficient quantities to meet the dietary requirements of a growing global population becomes all that more important.

“While fish-based omega-3s account for the majority of long-chain omega-3 rich oil on the market, there already exist alternatives, like those from algae and yeast, just to name a few.

“In addition, companies are engaged in research and development that will result in alternative sources of EPA and DHA down the road,” ​added Dr Rice.

Alternative sources

Alternative sources of the long-chain, or marine, fatty acids are already commercially available: Martek, recently acquired by DSM, has been offering algal-derived DHA (life’sDHA) for years, while other companies have emerged on the market also offering omega-3s from algal sources, including Aurora Algae​ (with its A2 EPA Pure) and India’s Avesthagen Limited​ (with its AvestaDHA).

Major biotech companies are also investigating the potential to produce long chain omega-3 fatty acids from various plant sources, something Dr Kang describes as “viable solutions”​.

“Through genetic engineering, animals and plants could be able to efficiently convert omega-6, which is highly abundant, to omega-3 PUFAs so that they and their byproducts would contain higher omega-3 PUFA concentrations without the need for supplementation.

“These omega-3-rich food products will provide a more accessible land source and reduce our reliance on marine fishing and the aquaculture industry.

“The output of greenhouse gases would also be diminished, as increased omega-3 PUFA levels have been shown to improve the digestive system of cows and reduce their methane production.

“Through such innovations, not only would theomega-3 PUFA content in foods from salad to hamburgers be enhanced, but a more sustainable environment could also be maintained,”​ added Dr Kang.

Progress in plants

Solae and Monsanto teamed up in 2007 to commercialize the latter's soybean variety developed specially to be rich in SDA (stearidonic acid). The rate of conversion of SDA to EPA is understood to be comparatively efficient - between 5.5:1 and 6:1.

The oil is being commercialized by Solae under the brand name Soymega​. The ingredients attained GRAS status (generally recognised as safe) in 2009.

German giant BASF said last week​ that it was confident it can bring a canola oil to market with sufficient levels of EPA and DHA to make heart health claims by the end of the decade.

Dow Agrosciences​ recently announced it is making progress with Martek Biosciences (now part of DSM) to develop canola oil containing DHA, but are still “a number of years”​ away from bringing something to market.

Source: Biotechnology Advances
 Volume 29, Pages 388–390, doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.02.003
 “Omega-3: A link between global climate change and human health”
 Author: J.X. Kang

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2 comments

Thanks

Posted by alfredoe,

Very interesting article.

Alfredo E.

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Warm water is bad for fish?

Posted by Chris Aldrich,

So this 'expert' from Harvard is guessing that increased ocean temperatures mean less phytoplankton so there will be less food for fish and therefore so many fish will die that will will have an Omega 3 shortage.

Well, MY guess is that since the fish did not die off when the world temperature was sevral DEGREES higher (not fractions of a degree) in the middle ages that they will tend to thrive in the warmer waters.

I am sick of supposed experts telling us that we have to become drastically poorer and decrease our level of proserity to 'save the world'. Remember the coming ice age of the 1970's? Good thing we didn't spend trillions to combat that scientific certitude.

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