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From peasant fodder to posh fare: How snails and oysters became luxury foods

Phys Org
Summary
Nutrition label

85% Informative

Eating land snails has an ancient history, dating to the Paleolithic period, some 30,000 years ago in eastern Spain .

Ancient Romans dined on snails, and spread their eating habits across their empire into Europe .

The first French recipe for snails appears in 1390 , in Le Ménagier de Paris ( The Good Wife's Guide ), but not in other cookbooks from the period.

By 1883 only 6,000 oysters were landed, and the population was declared extinct in 1957 .

Over-fishing, pollution, and invasive species all threaten oyster populations worldwide today .

Due to this scarcity of wild oysters and the resources required to safely farm environmentally sustainable oysters, they are now a premium product.

VR Score

88

Informative language

89

Neutral language

33

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

47

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

External references

25

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