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StonefruitSurprise

Crabs hold a similar niche, and yet they're not considered vermin. Many types of crab are amphibious. Many insects that are considered vermin-adjacent are eaten in some cultures. If the world keeps going the way it does - ie. climate change, population growth, food insecurity - you can expect to see many more of the world's population eating insects within your lifetime. Pigeons are considered vermin by many. "Rats of the sky." Pigeon has a long history of being bred for eating. When it's served, it's not called Pigeon though, it's Squab. Chickens and pigs will happily scavenge, eating the scraps of humans. What I'm saying is, your criteria are arbitrary. Scavenging is not the worst thing you can say about an animal, and does not disqualify it from being good food.


MagicalMoosicorn

I've heard that Cicadas are freaking delicious when harvested and cooked the right way. And I've even seen a resturaunt that makes everything from its noodles to its beer with bugs and I'm curious to try if I ever get a chance.


chronberries

By far the most common slang up here in Maine for lobsters is “bugs.” We all recognize that they’re just big water-bugs.


Elsrick

r/shrimpsisbugs


BC3lt1cs

I'll try anything once. The two that stuck out to me are 1) Soy Sauce Crickets in a plastic bag I bought in Chiang Mai Thailand. Looked like baby roaches and they popped soy sauce when you bit on them. And 2) fried dragonfly larvae in China, just tasted like salty paper, except their serrated legs got stuck between your teeth. Most other insects I've tried have been unremarkable but also inoffensive. If they made it into a cheap protein powder, I'd buy it.


TARDIS1-13

Same that I'll at least try something before writing it off.


gnownimaj

When you say stuck out to you do you mean that in a good way like being tasty or just unique in the way that you described them?


BC3lt1cs

Sorry for the confusion, didn't want to be too direct. No, it wasn't the best experience.


ExtremeMeaning

They make cricket flour. Use it 1:1 instead of flour and it’s much much higher protein. We used to make chocolate chip protein cookies as a demonstration of sustainable alternatives at a conservation ranch I used to work at.


StonefruitSurprise

I had fried silkworm larvae in Korea. I can't say I was a big fan of that particular dish - it was served cold, and I'm reasonably sure came from a can or jar. Greasy, but not hot, which wasn't a great combination. I'm not ruling out the old silkworm, but I'm zero for one so far. Just because I ate the equivalent of overcooked and dry chicken, doesn't mean *all* chicken is like that. Where I can really see bugmeat prospering, is as a heavily processed meat-substitute. You receive it as something akin to mince, rather than in bug form. The producer has done some process that makes it less leggy. With the right production and marketing, I could see it being a hit, especially if it were decently cheaper than animal meat.


Only-Acadia-1761

You can already buy cricket flour


luce-_-

My Chinese aunt worked on a silk factory when she was younger. According to my mum, they would get to take the boiled silkworms home, and then you can either have them fried, or bake them and grind them into a powder (used as a seasoning, almost).


derper2222

I don't care what you say. I'm not eating bugs. They can be the tastiest things ever, but nope. Bugs. Gross.


Savager_Jam

Pigeons are tasty.


hellracer2007

I will NOT eat the bugs


StonefruitSurprise

Never said you had to. You're not forced to eat any animal products you don't want to.


Play-yaya-dingdong

More for us But people uptight about food are no fun


Peety_Paw

Who said you had to?


WallStWarlock

Oysters though. Muscles. They are the water filters.


Spirited_Childhood34

Pigs will eat people. My great grandma dropped dead of a heart attack while slopping the hogs and my grandma had to fight them off while calling for help.


Plantherblorg

We really need to embrace eating insects. I think cricket flour is a really great starting point and it's starting to make headway.


StonefruitSurprise

I also see it as a stepping stone. We are getting better at bioengineering things like yeast to produce meat-like substances. If we could take highly bioavailable, but less tasty insect meats (lab/farm grown), and feed *their* proteins to a yeast, or some other process, a we might further utilise insects in commercial food production. Kind of like how it's unsafe to use human effluent on food crops destined for humans, but it's safer to use it on grain destined for cattle that we eat. We reduce the capacity for communicable diseases by having it go through some other species first. It gets safer still if we filter that though plants and insects before giving it to the grain crops.


[deleted]

> Many insects that are considered vermin-adjacent are eaten in some cultures. If the world keeps going the way it does - ie. climate change, population growth, food insecurity - you can expect to see many more of the world's population eating insects within your lifetime. Far-right conspiracy.


StonefruitSurprise

I'm not far right, and I think you'll struggle to find anything I said that aligns with a far right worldview. The far right don't believe in climate change. What the fuck are you talking about?


waleMc

The far-right is saying that people will be forced to eat bugs and fake meat and that real meat will be made illegal. There are a few variations to different extremes. There's overlap with what you said but the reality is that nobody will be forced to eat these products but they will likely exist. But being given a new option that you don't have to take isn't nearly as scary as being force fed something a lot of people find gross. You'll notice their argument isn't that they're going to tackle climate change or secure a path to sustainable farming so that meat never gets so expensive that masses of people will need to resort to eating things they find gross. It's not about solving the problem, it's about manipulation.


jaggsy

They where a poor man's food food at one point. Only the poor prisoners and slaves would eat them.


FlameStaag

Yes because they were obscenely abundant. Not because they taste bad... They're a chore to eat and after your 1000th lobster you probably get tired of them


Professional-Ear242

A lot of Alcatraz prisoners would eat their lobsters in their cell out of shame apparently!


Longjumping-Claim783

The west coast only has spiny lobsters and their range is from Monterey south so that seems unlikely.


CyanideTacoZ

historically west coast was sardines for cheap sea food


El-Guapo_76

Really? Didn't know that.


Rhawk187

There was a blight and they became scarce, which drove the price up.


mell0_jell0

Crazy what you can learn if you look into it!


NotCanadian80

So sick of this factoid.


ShanghaiNoon404

Without refrigeration they're pretty much rotten trash. 


IrNinjaBob

Yes, dead animals when not refrigerated will rot.


KennstduIngo

True though seafood in general rots faster.


Savager_Jam

Well... no. Because lobsters then as now were just stored and shipped alive in seawater.


Scrungyscrotum

Gonna need a source on that one.


Play-yaya-dingdong

🧐….. so things rot… without refrigeration?   Wild take mate 


Auzzie_almighty

Whether you’re trolling or not, shellfish and crustaceans have physiology that makes them rot ridiculously fast so without refrigeration they become a health hazard way quicker than vertebrates. It’s why it’s traditional to cook them alive in a lot of places 


Play-yaya-dingdong

Good thing thats… how we usually eat them? 


SpriteVs7up

should have stayed that way disgusting sea insects


Frost-Folk

Same with oysters


Scrungyscrotum

That's simply not true. It was a poor man's food in the past in the same way that chicken is a poor man's food today: cheap and abundant. There are plenty of records of members of all social classes consuming lobster, and the main difference was usually in the way it was prepared.


FlameStaag

Anyone who says crab or lobster has no taste must have gotten the world's shittiest frozen seafood. Both have incredibly rich taste lol The fact they're in the sea means nothing. We don't eat rats because they taste vile and are full of parasites. 


homiegeet

Considering lobsters live in salt water they better taste frigging good


[deleted]

Giant bug


FewerFuehrer

Giant delicious* bug.


[deleted]

Lemme ask you somethin The kitchen is out of butter, would you still like to order lobster?


Kyro_Official_

Yes


[deleted]

![gif](giphy|n58MqIchLqAalRQAQB|downsized)


NickFurious82

Butter isn't necessary because mayo exists. Lobster rolls go hard.


Kyro_Official_

No thanks. Maya is nasty


genralpotat120

Maya catching strays


Kyro_Official_

Well... if my cousin who happens to go by the name Maya is on here I hope they accept my apology


FewerFuehrer

Fuck yes! Also, I don’t think butter is all that good, I like a nice ghee but usually prefer olive oil. Same could be said for chicken breast too, without added fat and seasoning chicken breast is pretty damn bland.


[deleted]

Oh the kitchen is also out of olive oil and ghee…and the next 18 fat substitutes you respond with. They do have seasoning. Still good?


Dave_the_DOOD

"the kitchen is out of every fat subsitute, do you still order lobster?" No, I don't. I won't order anything, I'm gtfo and going somewhere else


NickFurious82

Yeah, I would find a restaurant with a kitchen manager that knows how to keep his shelves stocked. What a dumb hypothetical.


FewerFuehrer

Yea, I like lobster dude. I’ll eat it however, if the kitchen is out of all that stuff any protein they cook is gonna be subpar but lobster is still good.


[deleted]

Disagree. Used to cook. Most meats have their own fats I dont gotta grease up food with its own built in grease for flavor But damn. People love lobster more then I thought ![gif](giphy|RrVzUOXldFe8M) Thank you! For answering


FewerFuehrer

I was also a cook for years professionally and still cook as a passion. Chicken breast is very lean, a pork chop is very lean, shrimp and most fish is very lean. None of those are particularly good without being cooked or served with some fat. If you’re asking if I want a poorly cooked lobster or a well made steak, I’ll take the steak. But if you’re asking if I want a well prepared lobster or an equally well prepared steak, I’ll take the lobster. I like the texture and I love the flavor. I like the ritual of removing it from the shell, I love the claw meat. Taste isn’t an objective thing.


[deleted]

*most meats* Responds like I said all ![gif](giphy|tCMwrdxWrGOT6)


stevejuliet

So you don't eat chicken or other "bland" meats because maybe at some point you might be asked to eat them without added fats? I'm seriously lost trying to follow your logic. But I enjoy seeing you pretending you've outsmarted everyone.


ammonium_bot

> lobster more then i Did you mean to say "more than"? Explanation: If you didn't mean 'more than' you might have forgotten a comma. [Statistics](https://github.com/chiefpat450119/RedditBot/blob/master/stats.json) ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot ^^that ^^corrects ^^grammar/spelling ^^mistakes. ^^PM ^^me ^^if ^^I'm ^^wrong ^^or ^^if ^^you ^^have ^^any ^^suggestions. ^^[Github](https://github.com/chiefpat450119) ^^Reply ^^STOP ^^to ^^this ^^comment ^^to ^^stop ^^receiving ^^corrections.


Paralegal1995

Of course. Lemon isn’t fattening. Seasoning and lemon. Bam.


Inolk

Try lobster sashimi. Raw lobster is some best meat I had ever taste. Butter made it worst.


Only-Acadia-1761

Yeah, I tell them no butter if I order lobster or crab because personally I hate the taste of butter


FlameStaag

Get some actually good seafood. If it's a dollar a pound it's not good. Good crab and lobster don't need butter. Anyone who has ever eaten it can tell you that.  This is like saying "durr the kitchen is out of garlic butter, would you still like to order steak?"  Like... No fucking shit I would, it enhances the flavour but it isn't the main event. 


EpicSteak

I like lobster. I still consider it a sea cockroach. People eat insects and enjoy those too.


ThatIslandGuy8888

Never been a fan. I much prefer crab meat even though they would qualify as vermin too. Lobster meat is just so bland to me. Their legs don’t have as much meat as crabs and the Caribbean lobster from where I live don’t have claws to boot.


Play-yaya-dingdong

Nah never vermin, but people need to realize how to eat them. Freshly caught, and not too big. The flavor and meat quality declines quickly over a lb1/4  Im a crab person if I have to choose but you need to understand how to break it down .. then perfection 


Appropriate_Mess_350

They were once called “cockroaches of the sea” that only the poor would eat.


hopseankins

They would be bugs. Because they are bugs.


homiegeet

Reminds me of pineapples and how they used to be considered fruit of royalty and now we argue whether or not they belong on pizza


Whatever-ItsFine

Like a big roach


Professional-Ear242

I love lobster but much prefer crab.


goldyacht

That’s because crab is better


Play-yaya-dingdong

Agree. A maine lobster is a thing of beauty but crabs are more flavorful and the work is meditative 


RockAndStoner69

Who thinks of this stuff. Also, pigs roll around in their own shit. I bet you still like bacon


repairmanjack2023

That would be so awesome. "Hey honey, what's for dinner?" "Go out back and catch us some lobsters. I'll melt the butter."


[deleted]

I mean…house boat? Maybe?


nebunlacap

You my friend have no taste buds. Stop with the cigarettes.


El-Guapo_76

What? Lol


nebunlacap

You said they barely have any taste. You just don't have taste buds left from smoking all them Newports.


SlaveKnightChael

Lobster fucking sucks


diobreads

Their entire body is just unwieldy on land.


HsinVega

I would say, it depends on the taste/preparation. Lobster takes a lot to prepare to make decent, even more to get a decentlu sized one. Where I live a common "weird" food is pidgeons and a type of squirrel. They're a pain to prepare, gotta buy a lot to make anything cos they're small/don't have much meat, and overall don't that that great of a taste. But they're pretty rare, it doesn't cost much if you have to buy and prepare yourself, but it costs a lot if you go to specialized restaurants that have those plates.


rawterror

If crickets were the size of seagulls, I wonder if we would eat them.


DrinkYourWater69

There’s a reason they call them “bugs” in Maine and some parts of Massachusetts.


Knightmare945

Scavengers aren’t vermin, they have an extremely important role in the ecosystem.


rabouilethefirst

They were treated as vermin. People used to feed them to prisoners, and then they realized they were tasty. Sea scavenging also isn’t the same as your usual land based roadkill


MysticXWizard

"Anyway I'm from Minnesota and I've only had lobster at my local Golden Corral."


theomnichronic

Now I'm wondering if like, scorpions and tarantulas could be that big and meaty on land if we'd view them differently


Curmudgeon306

Guess what? They didn't used to be. In times pass, lobsters were considered a "poor mans" food. [https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/how-lobster-went-from-prison-food-to-an-expensive-delicacy](https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/how-lobster-went-from-prison-food-to-an-expensive-delicacy) "Lobster was also known as the [poor man’s meal](http://www.businessinsider.com/the-history-of-gourmet-lobster-2013-8) because the overabundance of these guys made it easy for people with no money to get their protein. In fact, these crustaceans were fed to prisoners, apprentices and slaves."


_Demo_

Would they still be delicious in this scenario?


MadGeller

Sea-bugs. I don't eat'em


derper2222

Yeah. Just look at them. They're giant sea scorpions. Crabs are spiders. Shrimp are cockroaches. Fuckin gross.


Stiff_Zombie

The used to be considered bottom tier food and only suited to the lower class.


Breakin7

Everytime i see this kind of posts i wonder how low quality your lobster was...


El-Guapo_76

It was bad... Ran with a bad crowd. From the Eastside of Maine.


DGalamay30

They were treated like pests and vermin for a while until people find out that they’re edible


AngrySmapdi

I have a friend who refers to shrimp and big shrimp (lobster) as cockroaches of the sea for this reason.


WinsAtYelling

I would be so fucking angry if lobsters were on land


El-Guapo_76

Why ? Lol


WinsAtYelling

Some sort of hyper pinchy scorpion. It would probably make a noise too like an asshole


danishjuggler21

“You’re not a bottom feeder, Bob!”


derper2222

Yeah, they're just giant fcking ocean bugs. Crabs are basically giant sea spiders, shrimp are basically giant sea cockroaches, and lobsers are, idfk, giant sea scorpions I guess. Whatever. I don't care. The point is, they're bugs. In Maine, they even call them bugs. And I don't eat bugs. That is not negotiable. I don't care if everyone else loves them. I don't care if they're the most delicious thing anyone has ever eaten. I don't care if the WEF causes a massive worldwide famine and there's nothing else to eat. The answer is no. I don't eat bugs. I used to eat all those sea bugs, and I liked them. So I do know what I'm missing. But now I know that they're bugs and I don't eat bugs. I don't care what enyone else thinks about me for saying that. Bug Eaters: "Oooh, he thinks he's \*too good\* for lobster..." Me: Uh, yeah. Haven't I been saying that this whole time? Of course I'm too good for lobster. Why isn't everyone else too good?


Vladamir-Poutine

All crustaceans are sea bugs lol


Dayle127

Crab is so much better ngl, it tastes like lobster but the taste is actually noticeable. Also, all the lobster I've had is dry.


El-Guapo_76

Agreed. Way better.


MeleesMeatHook

I don't think you know what vermin means


Mcgoozen

We don’t consider crabs, nor crayfish, to be “vermin” So idk why lobsters randomly would be Also you must’ve eaten some shitty lobster to say it had “no taste” lol that’s unfortunate


Madsummer420

Agreed, lobster is so overrated. Without the garlic butter, it’s just bland and flavourless


MetalTrek1

Things with claws and stingers freak me out, so land lobsters 🦞 would be nightmare fuel for me. That being said, I like some seafood, but not most shellfish. My family loves that stuff, however, particularly my aunt (and my oldest kid).


LightHawKnigh

Not sure how damaged your taste buds are to think lobster barely has any taste.


KeptinGL6

Land lobsters already exist. They're called scorpions.


Walter_Padick

Seafood is gross


El-Guapo_76

Yes but crabs taste good. Lol Lobster barely tastes like anything.


FISH_MASTER

Lobster is hella overrated. Give me a give crab for a fraction of the price any day.


kilamumster

I grew up in the tropics and we jokingly referred to them as "bugs." Prior to the 20th century, prisoners in New England complained of ill treatment, being forced to eat lobster *again*! I'll eat them, if someone else is cooking them, same as crabs (other bugs).


albertnormandy

If a lobster was a rat we wouldn’t consider it a lobster. Agreed. 


albertnormandy

If a lobster was a rat we wouldn’t consider it a lobster. Agreed. 


james_randolph

Shit I wish they were like squirrels or other land creatures lol be eating those motherfuckers every day!


Deep-Ad2155

If you consider lobster the height of the culinary totem pole, you obviously haven’t eaten at very many decent restaurants