Lobster Lunacy

"Wanna grab something to eat?"
"Sure!"

The anecdote regarding lobster used to being considered a prison food, "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace, was really intriguing. This is in direct contrast, as DFW mentions, to today. Nowadays, lobster (along with most seafood) is seen as a delicacy, a food fit for the rich. So my question was: How did lobster rise all the way from being dumped on a paper plate all the way up to being served on a silver platter?

To answer the aforementioned question. I did a bit of research. During the early to mid 1800s, lobster was plentiful. The Atlantic was teeming with lobster, and were even given the nickname "cockroaches of the sea". When the railroad industry took off in the mid to late 1800s, however, so did lobster. Lobster was served on the trains to those who had rarely or never even seen it before. Inland passengers loved it. From there on, lobster became popular in the inner states, and its price skyrocketed.

"In the U.S. pop-food imagination, lobster is now the seafood analog to steak, with which it’s so often twinned as Surf ’n’ Turf on the really expensive part of the chain steak house menu."

Whenever I go to a restaurant, my parents are always telling me to order a specific item. In fact, most of the time it's a type of seafood, either fish or shrimp. They tell me to because they believe it's the most value. But what exactly is "value"? I certainly don't prefer eating shrimp or lobster to pizza, and pizza is only a fraction of the cost. If the value is not dictated by my own level of satisfaction or taste, then surely it must be the nutritional one? 

One argument one might make then, is the nutritional value behind the food. While there might be something there, it is definitely not the main reason for the exponential rise in cost. If it were, then why aren't fruits and vegetables more expensive? Surely something like spinach has at least as much, if not more nutrition then lobster. Why, then, aren't you eating spinach three times a day? If we truly based food price on nutritional value alone, then why isn't spinach listed under the main course and not some dish served on the side?

So if lobster isn't valued for nutrition or health benefits why is it so expensive? That's essentially the same question as asking why do we watch reality TV? Or, why do we follow celebrities? It's all about cultural perception.We want to eat like the rich, talk like the rich, be the rich. Lobster, itself, has not changed over the years. It has not suddenly changed its self to become more palatable or more nutritional. It has stayed the same from the time the Founding Fathers landed to now.  But it is the value that we place on it that has. We have transformed it into a delicacy. A food once consumed in vast quantities by the poor, has now consumed middle class America.

"How about we go to Red Lobster?"
"Yeah....... no."

"All Hail Our New King"