Through the use of kelp meal and solar-evaporated sea salt as ingredients in the fish feed we make, we directly add microelements to the food we are producing. The microelements remain available to the plants since there is no leaching, as in the case with soil culture. New feed each day adds more microelements to the system and thereby maintains the availability for plants and fish alike. Different vegetables have different micronutrient signatures that are made available to us when we eat these vegetables. Providing a broad range of micronutrients to the young growing plants gives each plant the opportunity to reach its full potential micronutrient signature. For instance, it is a commonly held belief that spinach has iron in it — which it does. However, it has only 10% of the iron in it than it had in 1948. As a result, you would need to eat 10 bowls of spinach today to equal the nutritional value of 1 bowl of spinach grown in 1948 (source: Internet search, Google, “bowl of spinach”).

Given the above information — which I have witnessed personally — it is my belief that aquaponics — supported by green energy — will become a major

provider of high-micronutrient-content food, not only in northern climates, but also in more temperate regions of the world, where wintertime heating and lighting are not a factor. In short, our breathless, visionless, juvenile, and (oh, call it not rabid) love affair with petroleum will not last forever. The resource is simply not infinite. Considering our enormous dependence on petroleum, if the last barrel of oil were sold today, what would we do tomorrow?