Have you heard of good salt? Burger patties can use this UAE desert herb in place of salt.

In the UAE’s desert fields, where a hardy plant is growing using salt water and prospering while aiding in the production of ‘healthy’ burgers, sustainable agriculture’s potential in the harshest conditions is on display. According to AFP, a succulent called salicornia is already being used as a salt substitute in hamburger patties in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, a country that imports almost all of its food. Tina Siegismund, head of marketing and innovation at frozen food company Global Food Industries, based in the United Arab Emirates, said, ‘You get the salty flavour with less sodium, but you also have other benefits.’

The company’s healthy burgers, which also include chicken, quinoa, and kale, contain the asparagus-like plant, which cuts the sodium intake by 40%. Siegismund claims that the plant, which is native to portions of North America, Europe, South Africa, and South Asia, is perfect for the harsh climate in the UAE since it has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory characteristics. In the UAE, a country on the frontlines of climate change with regular temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), agriculture contributes less than 1% of GDP.

An experiment by the Dubai-based International Center for Biosaline Agriculture using brine run-off from desalination facilities saw the start of salicornia production last year on a number of fields throughout the United Arab Emirates (ICBA). The chief scientist at ICBA, Augusto Becerra Lopez-Lavalle, stated that research was being done to produce more of the ‘high-value crop,’ which sells for $20 per kilo (2.2 pounds) in France. Lopez-Lavalle told AFP, ‘We moved from developing this prototype to piloting at scale with eight farmers, and the question now is how to expand up.

In the future, salicornia could ‘become a really important food ingredient. If there is an economic value and the production system is developed for this, it can become a replacement for salt and any other micronutrients that are added today artificially to processed food.’ For now, salicornia remains a niche product, its health benefits unknown to most, admits Siegismund. ‘It’s not a product that makes big, big profit, but we believe in it and we will continue,’ she said, as reported by AFP.