--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lobsters bred in such abundance around…" description: "\"“Lobsters bred in such abundance around Britain’s coastline that they were fed to prisoners and orphans or ground up for fertilizer; servants sought wr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/bill-bryson-340_lobster_lobsters-bred-in-such-abundance-around-b_1093915.jpg" --- # Lobsters bred in such abundance around Britain’s coastline… ![“Lobsters bred in such abundance around Britain’s coastline that they were fed to prisoners and orphans or ground up for fertilizer; servants sought written agreements from their employers that they would not be served lobster more than twice a week.” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/bill-bryson-340_lobster_lobsters-bred-in-such-abundance-around-b_1093915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/bill-bryson-340_lobster_lobsters-bred-in-such-abundance-around-b_1093915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/bill-bryson-340_lobster_lobsters-bred-in-such-abundance-around-b_1093915.jpg) > ““Lobsters bred in such abundance around Britain’s coastline that they were fed to prisoners and orphans or ground up for fertilizer; servants sought written agreements from their employers that they would not be served lobster more than twice a week.”” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In 19th‑century Britain, lobsters were so plentiful they were used as cheap food for the poor and as fertilizer, leading workers to negotiate limits on how often they’d eat them. **In simple terms:** Lobsters were abundant and cheap, prompting labor negotiations. Key Takeaway Even abundant resources can be undervalued. Themes resource abundance labor rights food history Mood historical critical Type educational analytical When to use this quote - industrial era - food policy - worker contracts Key Concepts economic surplus class dynamics negotiation tactics Questions to Reflect On - What modern resources are taken for granted? - How can workers protect themselves from cheap, low‑quality provisions? A Different Perspective Abundance can lead to exploitation and devaluation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Part of the reason people could eat so well was that many foods that we now think of as delicacies were plenteous then. 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I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Lobster quotes > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [“Whenever the wife wants to do drugs, she thinks about Sartre. 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Kill it with a sharp chef’s knife straight between the eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/lobster-both-ways-is-popular-tonight-the-preparation-is-easy-enough/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [“Honestly,’ she said when they were out of Bruce’s earshot, ‘he’s as bad in the kitchen as you are. What do you people do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-pascal/honestly-she-said-when-they-were-out-of-bruce-s-earshot-he-s-as-bad/) [Francine Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-pascal/) > [“I look like a lobster, don’t I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-tozer/i-look-like-a-lobster-don-t-i/) [Gabrielle Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-tozer/) > [I'm a big fish eater. Salmon - I love salmon. My sister loves Chinese food and sushi and all that. I'm not as big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-fanning/i-m-a-big-fish-eater-salmon-i-love-salmon-my-sister-loves-chinese/) [Elle Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-fanning/) > [Am I really just a narcissist, Cause I wake up to a bowl of lobster bisque?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/am-i-really-just-a-narcissist-cause-i-wake-up-to-a-bowl-of-lobster/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [Even his hair was bigger—a massive globe of blue-black frizz so thick that his lobster-claw horns appeared to be drowning as they tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/even-his-hair-was-bigger-a-massive-globe-of-blue-black-frizz-so-thick/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [If a lobster didn't look like a sci-fi monster, people would be less able to drop him alive into boiling water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-a-lobster-didn-t-look-like-a-sci-fi-monster-people-would-be-less/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-murray/i-was-in-the-virgin-islands-once-i-met-a-girl-we-ate-lobster-drank-pi/) [Bill Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-murray/) > [Doing abominations is against the law, particularly if the abominations are done while wearing a lobster bib.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/doing-abominations-is-against-the-law-particularly-if-the/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [We constantly see surveys that reveal this ignorance, especially among our high school students,78 percent of whom, in a recent nationwide multiple-choice test, identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/we-constantly-see-surveys-that-reveal-this-ignorance-especially-among/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I prefer sinners and madmen, who can learn, who can change, who can teach-or people like myself, if I may say so, who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-prefer-sinners-and-madmen-who-can-learn-who-can-change-who-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Leo waited while the fish centaur put away his supplies. 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