AGRICULTURE
MARY ANN KOENIG
Parabel’s Chief Technology Officer, Peter Sherlock,
oversees the company’s R&D where scientists
have developed a near zero-waste product.
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B-12, which could solve that deficiency
common in vegan diets.
Water lentils could be considered a
superfood.
An extra component contributing to
the plant’s star power is the fact that its
production is environmentally sustainable.
With a vertically integrated farming and
application process, Parabel’s water lentils
are grown using near water neutrality.
Peter Sherlock, head of technology for
Parabel, says, “for what we’re doing right
now, it’s a zero-waste product. And that’s
also true for all the water we take out.”
In the processing method, water is
squeezed from the plant and then recycled
back into the acreage to grow more
plants. That environmental sustainability is
by design and a major force in the growth
of the company.
“Sustainability equals profitability in our
world,” says Paul Bartlett, a Parabel senior
executive who wears many hats, including
Chief Operating Officer.
In comparing sustainability between
water lentil production and beef production,
the numbers are eye-opening. The
U.S. Geological Survey suggests waterfootprint.
org as a web source to compare
gallons of water required for production
of different food sources. Where Parabel’s
water lentils are net-zero, beef production
uses approximately 1,850 gallons of water
per one pound of meat.
For water lentil production, the water
removed in the harvest and processing
method gets completely recycled, except
for a small amount lost due to evaporation,
which is re-added simply with natural
rainfall amounts. “We grow the plants in
plastic lined t-ponds, so we don’t lose any
water to leaching into the soil. Everything
we put in stays in. Whether it’s water or
nutrients, our efficiency is just fantastic,”
says Sherlock.
The company originally looked at
growing algae as a biofuel. The mission
was to create a sustainable product and
use renewable technologies, according to
Parabel Marketing Manager Cecelia Wittbjer.
But water lentils became an unwanted
byproduct that would grow in the algae
columns. Also known as duckweed or
Lemna, it grew so abundantly and quickly
that it blocked the sun and diminished
the algae growth. Initially water lentils
were shoveled off, but they would regrow
overnight. Eventually, company scientists
discovered that the protein properties
of water lentils outweighed the biofuel
advantages of algae, and a new concept
was born.
According to Bartlett, the company now
has, “what we call a pilot farm here (in
Fellsmere) that’s functional and working
and we are part way through our first commercial
farm.”
The R&D laboratory is at the same loca- >>
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