The Science and Spirit of Seaweed: Discovering Food, Medicine and Purpose in the Kelp Forests of the Pacific Northwest - PGW Contributor(s): Swinimer, Amanda (Author)

Sustainable Pacific Northwest-based seaweed harvester Amanda Swinimer describes the ecology, culinary uses, evidence-based health benefits and climate change-resisting potential of seaweed and shares highlights from her remarkable life beneath the waves.

Related to the most ancient living organisms on earth, seaweeds are incredible and unique life forms, sharing qualities with both plants and animals, as well as fungi. They have been prized as a nutrient-dense food source for millennia and contain essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids, protein and fibre as well as biologically active compounds not found anywhere else in nature. Seaweeds are also a source for innovations combating climate change due in part to their ability to absorb massive quantities of carbon dioxide.

Based in the Pacific Northwest, home to the greatest cold-water seaweed diversity in the world, Amanda Swinimer has made her living from the sustainable harvest of seaweeds for over two decades. In The Science and Spirit of Seaweed, Swinimer reflects on the journey that led to her successful seaweed harvesting business and provides identification information, ecologically sound harvesting techniques, traditional medicinal application and evidence-based health information for more than twenty varieties of seaweeds commonly found from California to Alaska. She also includes notes on culinary and skin-care uses for several types of seaweeds.

Complemented by vibrant underwater photography, beautiful illustrations and chef-inspired recipes, this volume richly conveys the benefits and wonder of living in harmony with the ocean. It will be a welcome resource to beachcombers, foragers and anyone fascinated by the marvels of the natural world.

Amanda Swinimer lives on the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC, with her two daughters. She holds a bachelor of science degree from Dalhousie University with an advanced major in Marine Biology. She has her own business, Dakini Tidal Wilds, hand-harvesting wild seaweed from the beaches and kelp forests surrounding her home, and she presents on seaweeds to diverse audiences.

Review Quotes:

"In this luminously illustrated book displaying eye-catching photographs of the flora and fauna of the sea, the reader is introduced to the macroalgae along the northwestern ocean coast...Linking the informational chapters are the lyrically expressed dreams and emotions of this impassioned nature lover, who infects the reader with reverence for the kelp forest and lovingly portrays its significance for life on our planet." --Seattle Book Review, 5-star review

This beautifully written book is an irresistible and unique fusion of practical field guide, personal memoir and warm wisdom of how to live well in a home place. A wonderful ramble through the world of seaweeds from basic identification and natural science to culinary uses and medicine, Amanda's creation brings us into her sphere by melding science, love and reverence in an inspiring ode to these humble but magnificent species.--Fiona Hamersley Chambers, ethnobotanist and owner of Metchosin Farm

Physical Info: 0.4" H x 10.0" L x 8.0" W (1.55 lbs) 256 pages