ELSA HAHNE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
In the heart of Cajun country, Allen Mclain farms about 3,000 acres of rice together with his wife, father, and two younger brothers. Much of their crop, all south of LA-14, is under threat. Saltwater from the Gulf is slowly, and some days quickly, making its way up through marshes, bayous, and over levees.
But Mclain has found two new allies: microalgae and LSU researcher Naohiro Kato. While most Louisiana farmers sell their rice for under $1 per pound, a single pound of fucoxanthinol for medical use – produced from farmed microalgae – could fetch around $1 million.…