Sugar Kelp Farmer's Ocean Revolution

0:00On April 29, Susie Flores ditched her Manhattan publishing gig a decade ago to farm sugar kelp off Connecticut's coast. Now she runs Stoneheaton kelp company from a marina she owns with her husband, pulling up lines of this delicate seaweed from the Atlantic. It's her plush to make underwater crops the next big thing in sustainable food. She started with no market, so she hit up farm to table chefs, pitching kelp's mild briny taste that's tender, not tough, like some Asian varieties. It hustle paid off her harvest sell out every season to high-end spots, craving local flavor. Chefs love how its New England's first fresh green of the year, weeks ahead of land veggies. It adds that ocean crunch without overpowering dishes, and it carries the seas unique character, like terroir and wine. Storms this winter wrecked 40 to 50% of her crop with high winds and ice on top of the usual 30% losses. Still, the U.S. imports over 90% of its seaweed from Asia, so building processing and demand

1:00stays the real grind. Meanwhile, her kelp cleans nitrogen from water and boosts marine habitats. Flora's teaches at Yale and local schools, folding kelp into kid-friendly eats to build fans young. Her goals a web of small family farms, keeping coastal towns alive, offering meaningful work over office drudgery, all while the ocean keeps giving. Back. Watch her update from Global News Today, powered by AI.