Locust and climate change, friends forever?
For the first time since its launch in 1948, this year there will be no Lobster Festival in Maine . In sandwiches, empanadas, sautéed, in salads, as a cream and as a filling for ravioli or dumplings. Goodbye to the democratization of lobster in all its formats at the price of Big Mac . And that's not all: t-shirts, hats, articulated dolls, various souvenirs and full-length lobster costumes will have to wait another year in the closet. The coronavirus is winning all the battles and the monothematic festival of this marine crustacean has not been the exception.
If lobster is everything in this coastal region, it's easy to imagine that the cancellation of the big event is the closest thing to absolute nothing. This does not mean that there are no lobster . As if it were a biblical plague, here it is with full hands , but instead of falling from the sky, they bubble up from the warm water. With the curtain down, the only way to help the 5,600 local fishermen during these difficult times are buying lobster directly from fishing boats who arrive at the docks without knowing if the capture will feed their families.
In fact, the viral crossroads has caused an unreal situation: tons of lobsters ready to boil without hungry mouths to suck every last milligram of their brains. If David Foster Wallace raised his head, he would realize that the dust raised by his brilliant report 'Consider the Lobster' , published in Gourmet Magazine in August 2004, it was child's play compared to the one that is falling sixteen summers later.
For tourists to understand what the American lobster means, cousin of the European lobster with which it shares large claws, there is nothing better than taking a look at the unofficial figures . Since the early 1840s, the industry has grown into a giant of half a billion dollars thanks to his new best friend, climate change . With the abrupt rise in ocean temperatures , the lobster has multiplied its presence by five in the last three decades. “In 2019, they caught over 1 million pounds of lobster in Maine , a catch valued at more than $485 million , the fourth largest in history,” says Marianne LaCroix , executive director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative for Traveler.es. “And yes, it is true that the new atmospheric conditions with climate change have been optimal for the appearance of more lobster larvae on the coast of Maine, which has led to the lobster boom in the region and increased notoriety around the world”.
A euphoria that may be temporary, since some scientists endorse the theory that if global warming continues its unstoppable advance, lobsters will change the waters of Maine for those of Canada , following the trail of the best conditions for its natural habitat. Yes ok the lobster population has increased more than 500% along the coast of Maine in the last 30 years , the population is predicted decrease between 40% and 62% in 2050 . “Maine fishermen are working closely with scientists to understand how climate change will impact future fisheries. We have implemented the same practices of responsible fishing for 150 years to ensure the success of our industry. We are not climatologists and we cannot control Mother Nature, but as an industry, we have a vested interest in protecting our resources and maintaining stock,” says Marianne LaCroix.
Because it is something known: lobster likes summer, heat and sunlight burning the sand . Exactly the same as the tourist. And it is that they are so similar that even the color of the skin of both reddens in the same way when burning skin and shell. Like two opposite poles that attract each other, the car parks of Penobscot Bay they would be full to the brim by now. It is time for lobsters and you can breathe in the environment. Massachusetts car license plates, which this year are barred from maine beaches if they are not residents, they are recognizable by the legend “ The Spirit of America ”. But if anyone or anything truly deserved that special status it would be the lobster. Not in vain, its flavor as subtle as caviar and less strong than oysters, has served for the rich to see lobster as the closest thing to a delicacy for the gods.
“The point is that lobsters are basically giant sea bugs . And it is true that they are the scavengers of the sea, who eat dead things, although they also feed on live shellfish, certain kinds of injured fish and, sometimes, they eat each other. And yet they are good food. Or so we think now," he wrote. David Foster Wallace . Gone are those times when prisoners they demanded the warden stop eating lobsters . “Even in the harsh penal environment of early American history, some colonies had laws prohibiting inmates from being fed lobster more than once a week because it was considered cruel , like forcing people to eat rats. One reason for that low status was due to how abundant lobsters were in New England."
Rather rat meat than eat lobster again? It seems impossible, but it happened. There was a time not too long ago storms and ocean currents off Boston caused that locust colonies fill the sand and rocks. There was no fuss or bickering over the prized treasure. Out in the open, the foul-smelling beasts decomposed unclaimed. They were cornered as grass for prisoners or as fertilizer. A shocking image that perfectly represents how volatile and random it can be the social status of a food throughout the history of mankind . The brilliant New York writer knew this well when he accepted the commission to write a Chronicle of the Maine Lobster Festival . Accustomed to being idolized by his readers, he wanted to turn the screw looking for a new audience that he did not usually reach with his books: fans of popular cuisine and, more specifically, fans of cooking and eating lobster .
David Foster Wallace realized that the American lobster was the closest thing to the ribeye . If the best cut of barbecued beef represents the quintessential American masculine culture , the still alive boiling lobster would be its marine equivalent. curling the curl, lobster and red meat join forces in a huge dish called Surf and turf . A sea and mountains with the best of each house. Two delicacies of a way of doing things, of a way of thinking and, why not, of a way of being in the face of the ravages of life.
That's why David Foster Wallace he wanted to willfully provoke the reader with an unavoidable question in any kitchen in America: “Is it okay to boil a sentient living creature solely for our taste pleasure? And an associated set of concerns: Is the previous question an irritating sign of political correctness, or is it sentimental? What does "it's okay" mean in this context? Is all this a simple matter of personal decision? Imagining the faces of the festival organizers reading the report with pro-animal overtones is funny. At no point in the text does David Foster Wallace encourage people to stop eating lobster , he simply throws questions into the air and allows the seed of something unusual to germinate in texts promoting gastronomic journalism: critical thinking.
“I am curious to know if the reader can identify with any of these reactions and recognitions and discomforts. He also worries me about coming across as strident or preachy when what I am actually is rather confused,” he pointed out in the closing paragraphs. “Do you ever consider, however idly, why they might not want to think about it ? I'm not trying to harass anyone: I'm genuinely curious. In the end, Is not being especially aware of what one eats and its general context and paying attention to these things and reflecting on them part of what distinguishes a true gourmet? Or is all the special attention and sensitivity of the gourmet supposed to be just sensual? Is it really all a simple matter of taste and presentation?” he writes aptly.
Hitting the conscience of the gourmet escogó at all levels . Especially since the gourmet, with ruddy cheeks and a prominent belly, it has been massaged with contents of easy digestion . Quite the opposite of a text with thorns capable of causing heartburn to the avid consumer of American lobster. How dare he suggest that a gourmet could be immoral! If David Foster Wallace wasn't one of us, the organizers thought, that meant he was one of theirs. . And one of theirs involved being part of the PETA activists , who requested the boycott of the Maine Lobster Festival for many years.
Those huge aquariums, full of lobsters waiting their turn to end up in the pot, were always an unbeatable showcase for protest actions. “ We have consistently performed at the Maine Lobster Festival ", He says Elizabeth Allen , director of PETA United States exclusively for Conde Nast Traveler . “The group staged loud protests, put up billboards, used aerial banners and more to remind festival goers that lobsters, despite feeling pain and fear, are horrifically killed for a fleeting moment of enjoying their taste. Research shows that lobsters have sophisticated nervous systems, made up of ganglia throughout their bodies that make them highly sensitive, and can feel every moment of their prolonged deaths when plunged into scalding hot water."
Regarding the repercussion of the text by David Foster Wallace, the director of PETA USA also has a very formed opinion: “ helped highlight the plight of these sensitive animals by encouraging readers to see them not as shellfish but as part of marine life . She managed to convey the experience of feeling animals with their needs, thoughts, which may not look like us, but have the same capacity to suffer”. From a bird's eye view, it's ironic to think how the lobster has ended up in the mouths of two historically opposed groups . Those who love it for its juicy meat to the touch of liquid butter, and those who defend it tooth and nail like be sentient , far from the human jaws. Historically, the two groups met at a festival that this year has postponed the eternal conflict until next summer.