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BluGrass nominated for Lidl Food Prize

BluGrass is nominated for the Lidl Food Prize that will be awarded on Duurzame Dinsdag 4. September at the Dutch House of Parliament in The Hague.
The prize is awarded by supermarket chain Lidl to the most sustainable initiative in the field of food production and consumption. BluGrass aims to grow a special species of seaweed that reduces methane emission in cows by up to 80%, turning normal, polluting cows into climate friendly cows!
BluGrass wants to stop the emission of greenhouse gasses by cattle as soon as possible, and will take the opportunity to present the idea to Dutch politicians, and to the public in general on Duurzame Dinsdag 4. September.
BluGrass has secured the money to start the in vitro and in vivo research of the special species of seaweed in the Netherlands, and will start this research – including a transfer safety test to guarantee animal and consumer safety – with Wageningen University & Research, RIKILT and Dairy Campus in October 2018. After intensive testing, the feed ingredient is expected to be market ready by the fall of 2019.

Green Leaf Nutrition: new Goodget biotech project to replace animal & soy protein in foodstuffs

In the near future it might be possible to replace animal and soy protein in foodstuffs by sustainable plant based protein in a cost-effective way. This is good news, since animal and soy proteins are very unsustainable sources of protein: rain forests are cut down to grow soy to feed the animals that provide animal proteins (dairy & meat), soy uses lots of fresh water and arable land to grow, and is shipped over large distances.

Goodget has started up a new project ‘Green Leaf Protein’ to do research into a more sustainable source of plant protein that can replace animal and soy protein in foodstuffs. The project has received an SBIR grant from the Dutch Government, and focusses on the nutrition analysis of protein extracts from plant leaves, and developing a blueprint for a mobile extraction unit for plant protein.

Protein is a necessary nutrition component required by all living animals. Most protein on the market for human consumption is animal based; an expensive and unsustainable food source for most of the world.

Plant based protein available on the market falls short of life saving nutrition and fails to eliminate hunger for people existing at the BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid).

Goodget, in partnership with Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, seeks to determine the nutrition analysis of protein extracts from plant leaves that currently grow wild Sub-Saharan Africa. The plant we are focussing on can also be farmed in a sustainable way: it does not take much water, and it gives back nutrients to the soil.

Blueprints for a mobile extraction unit will be developed for the purpose of processing protein extractions on site in rural farm locations, improving local employment opportunities (especially for women).

Goodget intends to bolster local protein ingredient use in common food recipes, with a long-term goal of scaling and producing a plant based protein ingredient.

The project partnership will begin with Ghana Permaculture Institute, a large organized group of quality-focused farmers. By expanding locally produced plant proteins, Goodget and her partners will improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, mitigate climate change and increase awareness regarding the benefits of plant-based proteins.

BluGrass: Elvira is VPRO Tegenlicht Green Tech Pioneer

Last week Elvira de Rooij, founder of Goodget and initiator of BluGrass (formerly known as Blue Harvest Netherlands), was awarded the title of Green Tech Pioneer by Tegenlicht, a weekly documentary series of Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, comparable to BBC’s Horizon. Out of 93 contestants, the 5 most inspiring pioneers were chosen by public vote and a jury made up of a.o. national sustainability advocate and serial entrepreneur Ruud Koornstra.

As one of the 5 Green Tech Pioneers, Elvira had to pitch her story at a fully packed Pakhuis De Zwijger in Amsterdam on wednesday 13. December. There is also a good possibility that BluGrass will feature in an episode of Tegenlicht next year!

See Elvira’s profile on the Green Tech Pioneer Website of VPRO Tegenlicht.

Blue Harvest Ghana wins Making Africa Work Pitching Competition

During the final event of Making Africa Work on December 6. 2017 in Amsterdam, Blue Harvest Ghana won the pitching competition! This brings Goodget and our local partner Venital one step closer to our goal: we want to add value to seaweed by harvesting, processing, and selling it with the help of the local fishing communities. This not only results in more income for local communities, but also in cleaner beaches, improved fishing conditions and cleaner water.

In Ghana, increasing influx of seaweed is currently seen as a plague. Nets of fishermen are filled with seaweed in stead of fish, sometimes 75% of the catch is seaweed. Income is lost, the smell is bad when it is left on the beach to rot, and this in turn is bad for tourism.
Blue Harvest Ghana wants to change this: we want to add value to seaweed. We want to train people from the impoverished local communities to collect seaweed from the beaches and the sea. We buy it from them at a reasonable price, we process it, and sell it as a commodity on the (inter-) national market. Seaweed is used to produce alginates and proteins, and the demand is high.

So what are the benefits of Blue Harvest Ghana? The collecting  and processing of seaweed creates jobs, and cleans the beaches. We don’t need hi-tech machinery, and we do not use chemicals to process the seaweed. In the future we will look into seaweed based organic product development with the local communities. Also, a sustainability plan will be set up as an important part of Blue Harvest Ghana because we want to make sure the wild harvesting of seaweed does not in any way disrupt ocean life.

Our next step will be to test the quality of the seaweed harvested in Ghana ourselves (to double-check reports published in Ghana on the quality of seaweed), and prepare our funding applications to start up the business as soon as possible.

BluGrass BV: New Name and New Expert Partners for Blue Harvest Netherlands

In the past weeks, Blue Harvest Netherlands has made significant progress. Together with expert partners, founder and CEO of Goodget Elvira de Rooij is in the process of setting up a new company called BluGrass BV to grow and blend the special seaweeds that can significantly reduce methane emissions in cows. The aim of BluGrass BV aim is to turn ‘normal’ cows into climate neutral cows. Using seaweed!

BluGrass BV will focus on 3 issues:

  1. growing methane-reducing seaweeds in bulk
  2. blending a special seaweed formula that can be added to cattle feed (max 2%)
  3. measurement of methane emissions in Frysian cows

The expected effect of the seaweed blend is a 70 – 90% reduction in methane emission in Dutch cows.
A major boost for the new company is that we now have the in-house expertise (IP) to grow the exact species of seaweed we need.

We are currently rewriting our business plan, and hope to pitch our story for prospective partners and investors as soon as possible. If you are interested in receiving more detailed information on BluGrass BV and its founders, please sent an email to elvira@goodget.org.
Nb. If you want to see us featured in Tegenlicht, a documentary series on Dutch television, please vote for us before 10. December 2017 by following this link

Blue Harvest gets big ovation at ASN Bank World Price Final

Last night at the ASN Bank World Price Final in Rotterdam, Blue Harvest Netherlands was the only finalist to get a spontaneous ovation from the audience after a passionate plea from founder Elvira de Rooij. She explained how the climate impact of Blue Harvest can be compared to turning a very polluting diesel car into an electrical vehicle: Blue Harvest turns ‘normal’ cows into climate neutral cows. By feeding them a very special species of seaweed!
It is of course still better for the climate to eat less meat and dairy products – same as it is to drive less. But when we do choose to eat meat and dairy products, we can now choose a climate neutral alternative!

The audience was clearly moved by this speech, as was the jury – Ynzo van Zanten / Tony’s Chocolonely, Ineke van Zanten / Greenwish, Faizah Oulahsen / Greenpeace, Olof van der Gaag / Ned. Ver. voor Duurzame Energie. All present were convinced of the need to start feeding cows this special seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis, and slash global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.
There are still a few hurdles to take before Blue Harvest can really start making climate impact. One of them – the growing of Asparagopsis – was tackled in the past week: Blue Harvest is starting up a full cooperation with a seaweed-specialist, who can grow Asparagopsis. All that needs to be done now is to prove that this specific seaweed works its miracle in The Netherlands the same as it does in Australia: up to 90% reduction in methane emission in living cows.

Being the only initiative in the final without so-called proof of concept, and still in an early stage of setting up the business, the jury choose another initiative – SunData – as the winner of the ASN Bank World Prize 2017. SunData makes solar panels more effective by monitoring their output. Direct & quick climate impact, proof of concept and a sound team convinced the jury, who were looking for the initiative that could bring the biggest impact as soon as possible.

Blue Harvest claimed the 2nd place in the ASN Bank World Prize 2017 – out of a total of 246 initiatives. This is something to be very proud of, and it has brought a lot of attention and recognition. With our new partner we hope to give proof of concept as soon as possible, and our plan is to start feeding cows Asparagopsis before the end of 2018!

Your Vote = 1 Euro of Clear Climate Impact!!

Vote now for Blue Harvest Netherlands in the final of the ASN Bank World Prize 2017, your vote is worth 1 Euro!
Go to Voordewereldvanmorgen.nl and vote for our project to reduce methane emissions in cows.
We want to start up our project as soon as possible in Rotterdam so we can start creating huge climate impact.

Please support us, and help us stop global warming.
Click here for more information on Blue Harvest Netherlands.

Blue Harvest NL Finalist in ASN Bank World Prize

Fantastic news: Blue Harvest Netherlands is selected as finalist in the ASN Bank World Prize 2017!!
Elvira of Goodget pitched the project yesterday to a very critical jury at ASN Bank Head Quarters. The next step to winning the ASN Bank World Prize of 20.000 Euro is another in-depth conversation with the jury on the 1th of November, and then it is on to the last step: the grand final on the 15th of November in Rotterdam. A home match…

Just to refresh your memory, this is what Blue Harvest Netherlands is all about:

Feeding cows a special tropical species of seaweed could slash global greenhouse gas emissions. Goodget wants to develop a method to grow this special seaweed called Asparagopsis Taxiformis.

Greenhouse gas emissions in The Netherlands amount to 200 megatons of CO2, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) a year. The greenhouse effect caused by methane is 25X stronger than CO2. 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions comes from agricultural activities – and half of this is caused by cows. Cows are even more polluting than all the cars in the world!

Cutting methane emissions from cows is therefore crucial in preventing global warming & climate change.

Adding a small amount (max. 2%) of dried seaweed to a cow’s diet can reduce the amount of methane a cow produces by up to 99%, according to a study by the James Cook University in Australia.
We want to make A. Taxiformis available as soon as possible so (organic) cows can burp along as much as they want. It is too expensive to harvest the seaweed in the wild, therefore we will develop a method to grow A. Taxiformis on a big scale. After a 1-year pilot in BlueCity010 we are going to scale to large indoor water basins in the Rotterdam area. These water basins are heated by residue heat from industry and server parks (with Warmtebedrijf Rotterdam and DELL). Farmers in the Rotterdam area will be the first to test this unique food supplement in co-operation with our partners ECN and WUR.

 

New Project: Goodget to slash global greenhouse gas emissions one cow burp at a time!

More seaweed! Goodget is starting up a project in The Netherlands with Wageningen University and DELL to grow a special type of tropical seaweed. This seaweed holds the key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, one cow burp at a time!
Researchers in Australia discovered adding a small amount of dried seaweed to a cow’s diet can reduce the amount of methane a cow produces by up to 99%. These findings could help alleviate climate change.
But wild harvesting of this particular species will not do. It has to be grown to feed as many cows as possible. This is why Goodget is starting up a project to grow this seaweed.
The tropical seaweed is called Asparagopsis Taxiformis, and Goodget is going to set up its test location in BlueCity Rotterdam – a former tropical swimming paradise turned circular economy hub.

We are currently seeking partners and funding to start up our pilot, and hope to start growing A. Taxiformis in March 2018. After a successful pilot, we will roll out our project to a large water bassin near a server center in Rotterdam – this is where DELL comes in as a partner. Waste heat from the server center is used to heat the water to tropical temperatures to create ideal circumstances for growing A. Taxiformis.

If this phase is also successful, we can duplicate this process everywhere in the world near server centers; creating jobs, reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and using waste heat in a very sustainable way.

Goodget starts up new project: Blue Harvest Ghana

Because of our presence in Ghana in the past years, we noticed the influx of seaweed along the Ghanaian coastline, especially west of Accra. This seaweed (Sargassum sp.) causes many problems for local fishermen; their nets are often 3/4 filled up with seaweed (outcome of Goodget’s own research along the coastline). Also, the seaweed is flushed on the shore and causes pollution and unpleasant smell. It is a nuisance and a big problem for local fishermen who see their income drop because there is less fish to catch, but ever more seaweed that has no value for them.

Blue Harvest Ghana wants to add value to seaweed by harvesting, processing, and selling it with the help of the local fishing communities. This not only results in more income for local communities, but also in cleaner beaches, improved fishing conditions and cleaner water.

We are now applying for funding and looking for partners, and hope to start producing important commodities like biofertilizer and animal feed in Ghana before the end of the year.

 

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