Protein From Gorse Bushes Could Feed Millions of People, Says Expert

The leader of a Scottish government research program said that the gorse bushes that have invaded many Scottish landscapes could produce enough to feed millions of people. The surprising suggestion by Prof Wendy Russell, at the University of Aberdeen, comes from research on theProtein content of invasive plants that have to be doused with herbicides or burned back to keep them under control. She said that the plants could be used as animal food because of their high levels of protein. If the production of the isolates is correct, they could be considered as human food in the future.

She said that the point of gorse is that it can be removed from marginal lands at no extra cost. Scotland has little arable land, but there is enough gorse to feed the population. She said that up to 85% of the total leaf can be recovered from a gorse isolate. "We're using about 4.5 to 6 kilogram of CO2 to produce a kilo of isolate, compared to an average for meat of 102 kilogram of CO2."