5.3. A poor man's meal: 🦞 lobster. How a sea insect made it from cat food to president's dinner plate. Food history for the future of food.

Up into the 1800s, lobster was considered trash food in the U.S., fit only to feed prisoners, the poor, and cats. Surprising, huh? How did lobster rise from the dirty bottom of the food preference list to float at the very top amongst the high society? Find out how lobsters were entangled in protests and revolts of servants, snuck into passengers' foods on train rides, and were even caught up in World War II. Red to Green is a podcast focused on the future of food and food sustainability. We cover topics like cellular agriculture, cultured meat, food waste, food packaging, and more. More info and links to resources on https://redtogreen.solutions/   For sponsorships, collaborations, volunteering, or feedback write Marina at [email protected] Please leave a review on iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/red-to-green-food-sustainability/id1511303510 Thanks to our partners of this season Food Labs: Food Labs is a leading European VC and company builder in food, health & sustainability. They cover the entire value chain – from ag-tech, alternative proteins, water supply, food security, decentralized food production, vertical farming, to food waste and carbon reduction. https://foodlabs.de/ The American lobster is native to the Atlantic coast of North America, mainly from Labrador to New Jersey. In the early days of the first settlers and way up into the middle of the 19th century, lobsters were so plentiful in this area that people could wade into the water and catch what they needed for dinner with their hands. While early colonists depended on the crustaceans for much of their food, the sheer abundance of the animal didn't help its popularity. When lobsters washed up on the shore after storms, they were considered smelly trash and used for fertilizer in the fields. They were the cheapest source of protein available in the area and therefore regarded as undesirable peasant food, too bland to be edible for discerning tastes. As 19th-century American navy captain and politician John J. Rowan stated: "Lobster shells about a house are looked upon as signs of poverty and degradation." Lobsters were also a common food in prisons, much to the displeasure of inmates, and were the food of servants.