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Past
and Present
Seaweeds have been harvested for food,
fertilizer, and medicine for thousands
of years. The Chinese used seaweed for
medicinal purposes as early as 3000 B.C.
One of the earliest records, the Chinese
Book of Poetry, indicates that sea vegetables
were considered a delicacy as far back
as the time of Confucius. In Iceland,
where seaweed has been eaten for centuries,
the oldest law book refers to the "rights
and concessions involved before one might
collect and/or eat fresh sol (Palmaria
palmata) on a neighbor's land."
Ancient Hawaiian nobility also kept limu
(edible algae) gardens where rare and
choice varieties of seaweeds were cultivated
to provide gourmet food for the royal
family.
Other cultures have used seaweed for fertilizer
and fodder. For centuries, inhabitants
of the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides
have made a sacrifice each Hallowtide
to the sea god Shony, "with entreaties
to send seaware to enrich our ground."
Bellum Africanum, written in 46 B.C.,
states, "The Greeks collected seaweed
from the shore and having washed it in
fresh water, gave it to their cattle."
Throughout Europe and Great Britain, seaweed
has been used for many years to replenish
the soil and promote plant growth.
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