![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Philippe-Cousteau-Jr-and-Ashlan-Gorse-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The mere mention of the name Cousteau elicits images of heart-pounding escapades, seminal ocean research and indefatigable conservation efforts. Three generations of Cousteaus have dedicated their lives to such endeavors, most notably beginning with the maestro Jacques Cousteau and his pioneering foray into scuba diving and underwater exploration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fitting that Philippe Cousteau Jr., Jacques\u2019 grandson, opted to follow in the trailblazing wake of his father and grandfather. During a time when the health of Earth\u2019s waters teeter on the edge of a knife, Philippe, 43, remains dedicated to solving global social and environmental problems. He\u2019s spent decades spearheading ocean activism efforts\u2014from lecturing at the United Nations to showcasing mysteries of an underwater universe on the television screens of millions.<\/p>\n
It was during one such media affair that Philippe met his eventual wife Ashlan Gorse, a seasoned journalist and on-air host working at the time as a correspondent for E! News. Philippe\u2019s impassioned crusade in the name of conservation was evident from the start, and the indelible impression, Ashlan says, was enough to contemplate a career pivot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember thinking, \u2018Why am I not talking about people like him, rather than discussing the Kardashians getting a new haircut?\u2019\u201d she says, laughing. The duo clicked\u2014personally, in the form of a 2013 wedding, and professionally, with each galvanizing the other to ameliorate the planet for generations to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conservation research, speeches, television shows and documentaries followed, every project progressing beyond mainstream ocean sustainability efforts and into more Augean realms of restoration. But by 2019, the duo realized their cumulative efforts were vacant on one significant platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognized the power wellness brands have, and in turn, the responsibility these brands have in making the world better,\u201d Ashlan says.\u00a0<\/p>\n And as a career oceanographer such as Philippe knows, few good-for-you ingredients promote both physical and ecological wellness better than seaweed and algae. \u201cSeaweed is a superfood, one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet,\u201d Philippe says. \u201cIt\u2019s anti-inflammatory and helps with anxiety. The Omega-3s from algae are great for mood stabilization, for brain and heart health. It\u2019s good for your skin, it\u2019s hydrating, helps to build collagen. Even if you don\u2019t care about all the eco-goodness, it\u2019s just really bloody good for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The eco-friendly, restorative elements of seaweed do, of course, matter to Philippe and Ashlan. During a time when half the world\u2019s coral reefs are dead or dying, and an increasingly warm, acidic ocean unleashes new calamities upon its afflicted inhabitants, the simple seaweed plant stands ready \u201cSeaweed helps de-acidify the oceans,\u201d Philippe says. \u201cIt sequesters carbon, provides oxygen, creates a nursery for many of the ocean\u2019s smaller creatures and provides jobs in a new industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Philippe\u2019s wheels were turning, but just as the pair began exploring wellness ideas, a global pandemic unraveled the traditional retail market. Shops, gyms, salons, bars and restaurants all shut their doors to a public suspended in a state of genuine uncertainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) outlined a list of essential businesses that would remain open. Cannabis dispensaries happened to be among them. So, during what will surely be remembered as the most anxiety-riddled, physically taxing period in recent history, the idea that would eventually become SeaWeed Naturals was born. Designed to combat anxiety and promote a healthy lifestyle, the impact brand offers harmoniously fused seaweed-cannabis wellness products combining the known benefits of cannabis with the regenerative powers of marine botanicals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe came into cannabis not because of cannabis itself but because we had a hero ingredient in the form Due to the abundance of seaweed-based cosmetic products already in existence, there was ample evidence the ingredient could be emulsified into other, more non-traditional uses. Still, the seaweed-cannabis formula didn\u2019t come without its share of trial and error. \u201cWe had plenty of extra creams and gummies we had to sample around,\u201d Ashlan says. \u201cOur friends were very happy about that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n SeaWeed Naturals\u2019 ingredient fusion process begins at Atlantic Sea Farms in Maine, where area farmers are growing non-GMO verified, restorative seaweed as part of a gradual shift that\u2019s breathing new life into a generational business decimated by climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Warming waters and acidification have spurred the area\u2019s longtime lobster inhabitants north into Canadian waters, leaving an economic chasm where there was once a dependable source of income. \u201cSome of the Maine fishermen say that in 20 years there won\u2019t be a lobster fishery anymore\u2014at least not at the scale it exists now,\u201d Phillipe says. \u201cIt\u2019s scary. So, this provides these people with an alternative livelihood.\u201d <\/p>\n Atlantic Sea Farms begins each cycle by ensuring farmers know the ins and outs of harvesting restorative seaweed. The farmers grow the ocean plant (some seaweed can grow up to an astonishing foot per day), then trade it back at the end of each season. The staff at Atlantic Sea Farms dry the seaweed, chop it and grind it into powder to be prepared for other products, which now includes cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all still relatively new,\u201d Ashlan says. \u201cThere have been people growing seaweed, but buying seaweed is a more recent development. We saw our brand as a way to help drive demand for restoratively grown seaweed and support the local economy at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n Next, SeaWeed Naturals sources sungrown cannabis from select farms in California, many of which are legacy farms struggling to compete with large businesses hellbent on delivering the cheapest bulk product to consumers.<\/p>\n Diverting business away from grossly commoditized companies in favor of farmers who honor the plant, Philippe says, is an unflinching core value of SeaWeed Naturals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThink of lettuce that has been grown with a bunch of pesticides and herbicides versus something grown at a farm that you actually want to feed yourself,\u201d Philippe says. \u201cThere\u2019s a difference in quality and in value. We want to support these farmers, not big companies that have hoovered up all these warehouses. From a values perspective, that\u2019s important to us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Values rooted in conservation continue to inspire Ashlan and Philippe, just as generations of Cousteaus before were once roused to pursue the extraordinary for the health of the planet. That generational authenticity has forged trust between a blossoming consumer base and a brand that, thanks to mainstream consumer familiarity with seaweed, hopes to be a bridge to normalize THC for the canna-curious.\u00a0<\/p>\n SeaWeed Naturals is available in California, and the duo soon hopes to expand gradually into other states. Still, what awaits over an unexplored horizon\u2014be it in the cannabis business or conservation\u2014may never be known with any concrete certainty. But when has the unknown ever deterred a Cousteau?\u00a0<\/p>\n As Philippe notes, devoting energy to an efficacious, restorative product capable of improving the planet, along with the lives of its denizens, is a voyage well worth the undertaking. \u201cWe always want to be part of that solution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, Jacques Cousteau certainly wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n This story was originally published in issue 49 of the\u00a0print edition<\/a>\u00a0of Cannabis Now. Read it now on the Cannabis Now\u00a0iTunes app<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post The Cannabis of the Sea<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The mere mention of the name Cousteau elicits images of heart-pounding escapades, seminal ocean research and indefatigable conservation efforts. Three generations of Cousteaus have dedicated their lives to such endeavors, most notably beginning with the maestro Jacques Cousteau and his pioneering foray into scuba diving and underwater exploration.\u00a0 It\u2019s fittingContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":558,"featured_media":71908,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[148,50,111,17220,85,17221,17588],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71907"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/558"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71909,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71907\/revisions\/71909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"SeaWeed](\"https:\/\/cannabisnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Philippe-Cousteau-Jr-and-Ashlan-Gorse.jpg\")
<\/a>
as a formidable weapon to be wielded by conservationists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
of restoratively farmed seaweed,\u201d Philippe says. \u201cCannabis is, in many ways, the seaweed of the land. It sequesters carbon when it\u2019s sungrown and helps with soil health. These are extraordinary land and sea ingredients that are meant for each other.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\n
\nRead More: The Cannabis of the Sea<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"