For every acre of wheat converted to Kernza, 2/3 of an acre of wheat has to be grown somewhere else to make up for the lost yield. Land-use changes are the single biggest driver factor in ag's impact on climate, so this is a non-starter. Kernza will improve! And then we'll talk.
I had never heard of kernza before today, and as a celiac I tend to hear about more grains than most of the general public? No mention of gluten, but a kind of wheat so I will assume not safe for me to eat. But it still looks like an interesting plant. alseed.com/kernza-peren...
Kernza does have gluten, and it is an interesting plant. The people at the Land Institute are working hard to develop commercially viable perennial grains, and I'm a big fan of their work. But Kernza is not ready.
Thanks for at least letting me know it exists? It’s like all the other named wheat varieties that pop up in ingredients lists with no acknowledgement that they are wheat. Now I know. (As a celiac, I could wish for better labeling, but *looks at the current administration and laughs sadly*)
This take isn't wrong, but one complication I'd add is that Kernza may not always be functioning as a 1 for 1 wheat replacement - for e.g. it could be an alfalfa replacement in corn/soy rotations - in that scenario you're adding a 3rd human edible crop where there wasn't one previously
Sure, but then that alfalfa has to be grown somewhere else, so you have the same problem.
right, exactly. But another tasty non-alcohol beer to the market is welcome.