Aug 10, 2024 3 min read

#15 Why has the global north been obsessed with shrimp?

This edition is a part of an ongoing series called The Story of Shrimp.

The more we read into this, the more it feels like an accessible aspirational commodity. This tiny crustacean is one of the highest consumed seafood items in the world. In the US alone, on an average, the per capita consumption of shrimp is nearly six pounds (3 kg) , more than any other seafood. It has some nutritional value. It is low in calories and high in proteins. It also has some essential omega fats, amino acids and minerals essential for our health. It also has a versatile taste – you can fry it, saute it, steam it, boil it, barbeque it, pickle it, add it to curry, there a zillion ways of eating shrimp. Its meaty bite comes from its six abdominal segments, made of collagen, which one gets access to after stripping away its head, legs, respiratory and reproductive organs, and its exoskeleton. No other seafood item in the world has had the power that shrimp has had. Today, its demand and supply dictates fisheries policies across the globe.

The age of decadence
What happened to catapult this decopod into everyone's plate? For ease of explanation, we are going to talk about the USA when in reference to global north. which is also currently the top importer of shrimp in the world. The history of shrimping in the USA goes back to the 1800s, when immigrants from China settled themselves in the Bay area of California, and around the Mississippi Delta region of the Gulf of Mexico. This was also a time when people from China were coming to the USA to work in mining (California Gold Rush), railways, agriculture and factory set-ups. Shrimp breeds in the near-shore open waters. They would be caught, and dried on large planks of wood held by stilts, and sold in the local market. The arrival of the diesel engine in the early 1900s meant the advent meant motorised boats could travel a distance and trawl for more shrimp in less amount of time. The concept of canning, ensuring food has longer shelf life also came about during this time. The seafood market began to sell canned shrimp as an aspirational must-have item at parties. The 1920s were the era of decadence. It was the age of jazz music and cocktail parties, and shrimp cocktail – large shrimp with its 'tail' intact became an ambitious item to have. Corporations would host parties serving cocktail shrimp as the prized snack. The advertising era of the 60s ensured restaurants all over the USA advertised shrimp. 'All you can eat shrimp' became a sought-after tagline in these restaurants.

So much was the demand, that all the shrimp of the sea soon got trawled off. Moreover, the trawlers scraped the ocean floor, taking with it other marine species — turtles, dolphins as by-catch. Costs of catching shrimp were also rising, and the economy, by the 30s and 40s, had taken a hit. The seafood industry in the US desperately needed to maintain the status quo of shrimp.

In comes farming
After a ton of research, it was discovered that under right conditions, it is possible to breed shrimp on a large scale. There are over 2000 varieties of shrimp, largely under two categories – the warm water and larger Penaeidae and the generally smaller cold-water Caridea. Only about thirty varieties of shrimp are available commercially. Out of these, two became extremely popular – the black tiger prawn and the white legged shrimp. The black tiger prawn, it was discovered, could multiply quickly and live in a crowded water column, and its breeding suited the paddy farms. The World Bank jumped in on this idea and decided to fund South-East Asian countries, in particular Thailand into shrimp farms. Soon, it became cheaper to breed shrimp in south-east Asia, and sell it to the USA, and to the end consumer. This went on for a few decades. Forrest Gump, the mainstream Hollywood blockbuster made shrimp very very popular in the USA again.

Disease hit the black tiger prawn in the 2000s, and after a brief lull, a new variety, the Pacific white legged shrimp was used to breed instead. Today, this variety remains the most popular. The shrimp farms in south-east Asia still exist, but most have been rendered useless because of extreme pollution caused by fecal matter and a mix of chemicals and fertilisers used to pump the shrimp.

India
India, today is one of the leading exporters of shrimp to the USA. India's own fisheries policies have largely been dictated by shrimp. How does the shrimp move from India to Americas? How it moves from an Indian farm to an American plate? What are the side-effects of this booming business? We will find out in the weeks to come. Stay tuned.

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