AHC: Western Algaculture

Any way to make Europe (and in turn America) have a sizable (although no need to make it a major) Algacultural farming, as part of the food supply, without being seen as famine food?
 
Any way to make Europe (and in turn America) have a sizable (although no need to make it a major) Algacultural farming, as part of the food supply, without being seen as famine food?

How many edible and cultivable algae are there in the european seas? the shallows around the North Sea and the Baltic seem a good place to implement that if the righ plants are found.

(According to Wikipedia some species of marine algae are used in parts of the British Isles, anyway).
 
at least as many as in Asia where Purple Laver (which is also native North Atlantic/Baltic Sea) is used for nori in Japan, but other than traditional welsh food its seen as famine food (just as Dulse and Sea Lettuce is)
 
In Ireland and other coastal, rocky parts of the British isles as fertilizer and a way to make a topsoil where there isn't one. So while it's not a core part of the diet, it's a crucial part of farming, and it's been this way since neolithic times according to soil analysis.

And as Falecius mentioned, seaweed is also used in meals, usually as part of oatmeal.

I don't see this really catching on except in certain geographic environments. So seaweed and algae would likely be eaten only in coastal areas, especially if the land is poor. It's not an especially glamorous dish like, say, any sort of meat, so nobody's going to bother transporting it over long distances. As a result, it'll likely remain a local food rather than a widespread one.

I'll take America as an example. If algae's part of American cuisine in the colonial era, it'll still not really spread west, since you can't grow much seaweed on the Great Plains. By the 20th Century it's considered a weird local food endemic to parts of the the East Coast. On the other hand, there's a good chance it becomes something health nuts go after.

So that's not exactly an answer, just a rephrasing of your question and a clarification of the problem.
 
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