According to the article, the problems are that "Conventional oysters are known to carry risks of foodborne illness and are currently threatened by overharvesting and pollution."
They don't link to any source though.
They don't link to any source though.
Pollution is certainly bad FOR oysters, but synthetic oysters neither mitigate pollution, nor does reduced oyster farming lead to more wild oysters in the environment, as far as I know. Oysters can (and I gather often are) grown on structures that facilitate harvest, rather than necessarily competing for space with the wild ones. Plus, seeding oyster growing areas pretty much ensures more propagation of oysters in where they are farmed. And since oysters filter the water, growing fewer oysters (farmed or otherwise) would just increase pollution.
Since oysters are pretty easily cultivated, the solution to overharvest is to build more oyster growing structures and increase production... which leads to better water quality, which leads to healthier oyster populations. A virtuous cycle as I understand it.
EDIT: I must also confess here that I don't particularly love eating oysters. The irony of my positivity towards oyster farming is not lost on me :-)
For example:
(2008) "Contamination profiles of heavy metals, organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkylphenols in sediment and oyster collected from marsh/estuarine Savannah GA, USA", Kumar et al.
"What are the symptoms of illnesses that can result from eating contaminated raw oysters or clams?
The illnesses of most concern from eating raw or undercooked oysters or clams are Vibrio infection, norovirus infection, and hepatitis A. See fact sheets for those diseases for more details.
Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pains, severe weakness. Vibrio infections can also cause skin rashes and blisters, shaking chills, and high fever. Hepatitis A can cause yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes. Some of the illnesses can be quite serious and require quick medical attention."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sewage-shell...
One friend of mine who loves beef cackled with glee when he heard that salad greens were being recalled because of some microbe.
You may like these new oysters for other reasons, but it seems like microbes are everywhere.