Miriam Conteh-Morgan

During the American colonial period, lobsters were not valued as food and were mainly eaten by the poor, prisoners, and indentured servants. Native tribes near the coasts used lobsters as fertilizer or bait rather than food. People even hid lobster shells to avoid the stigma of poverty. In Massachusetts, indentured servants sued to limit their lobster meals to three times a week, winning the case. Lobsters were abundant, easy to collect from the shore, and considered bottom feeders. They were often consumed as a paste or stew. In the early 19th century, lobsters were cheaper than Boston baked beans, sometimes even fed to cats. However, by the late 19th century, as railroads spread and lobsters were served on trains, people who were unfamiliar with them found them delicious. This led to increased demand and the start of lobster canning. By the 1920s, with lobsters becoming less plentiful but demand growing, lobsters transitioned to a delicacy, popular among celebrities and the wealthy by the 1950s.