Lobster used to be food for SLAVES!
Lobster has a long culinary history. It's always been a plentiful food, and it did not achieve popularity until the mid-19th century. This was when New Yorkers and Bostonians developed a taste for it, and the industry flourished. Before that, it was fed to slaves or lower members of society, and it was considered a mark of being poor.
This all changed once roads and highways were built, and it was possible to transport fresh lobster to cities without access to the ocean. When this happen, the demand for fresh lobster made it become a delicacy around the US and the world. What a change in a few years! Lobster went from being the lowest of the food food-chain (!) thought only to be good as bait or fertilizer to being one of the most expensive plates on the menu!
