If Duckweed Doubles Every Day, Why Don't We Eat It?

Duckweed is the fastest growing plant on Earth. The tiny green carpet floating on nearly every pond can double in about a day, and it has roughly as much protein as soybeans. In Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, people have eaten it for generations as “khai nam,” or water eggs. So why has almost nobody in North America ever eaten duckweed? In this video, we look at the science of duckweed (also called water lentils and Wolffia), the world’s smallest flowering plant. It has no roots, no stem and no leaves, yet it holds a Guinness World Record for growth speed. We cover why it can grow so fast, why wild duckweed from ponds and ditches isn’t safe to eat, and how a Florida company spent over fifteen years and 900 acres trying to turn it into a superfood, only to end at a bankruptcy auction. We also look at the human trials on Mankai duckweed protein and vitamin B12, the oxalate problem, and why the European Union only recently approved duckweed as a fresh vegetable. If you’ve ever wondered why we don’t eat duckweed, whether duckweed is edible, or why the most efficient protein crop on the planet is still floating in your local pond, this one’s for you. ⏱️ Timestamps 0:00 The fastest growing plant on Earth 1:50 Does duckweed taste like a pond? 2:43 More protein than you’d think 3:49 The plant that threw away its roots 5:04 Heavy metals, ditches and oxalate 6:22 The company that tried to farm it 8:06 Why speed was never enough 📚 References Guinness World Records, Fastest self-replicating plant growth (Wolffia microscopica, 2015): https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/... Bhanthumnavin, K. & McGarry, M.G. (1971). Wolffia arrhiza as a possible source of inexpensive protein. Nature. Kaplan, A. et al. (2019). Protein bioavailability of Wolffia globosa duckweed, a novel aquatic plant: A randomized controlled trial. Clinical Nutrition: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30591... Ben-Gurion University / ScienceDaily (2019). Mankai duckweed plant found to offer health benefits: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases... Michael, T.P. et al. (2021). Genome and time-of-day transcriptome of Wolffia australiana. Genome Research (Salk Institute summary): https://www.seedworld.com/?p=52745 Appenroth, K.J., Jahreis, G. et al. (2017). Nutritional value of duckweeds (Lemnaceae) as human food. Food Chemistry (summary): https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article... AgFunderNews (2023). Lemna/duckweed processor Lemnature AquaFarms files for bankruptcy: https://agfundernews.com/lemna-duckwe... Wageningen University & Research. Water lentils authorised for production and consumption in EU: https://www.wur.nl/en/newsarticle/wat... Wayne’s Word. Harvesting Wolffia globosa in Thailand: https://waynesword.net/imgwotha.htm Eat The Weeds. Duckweed: https://www.eattheweeds.com/duckweed/