Fiona Bird, author of Seaweed in the Kitchen, tells a fascinating story about an old priest that grew up on seaweed.
Canon Angus MacQueen, born in 1923 lived on the isle of Barr UK. MacQueen recounts stories of living off the land and sea. For instance the importance of seaweed as a fertilizer. The seaweed used as manure is kelp, Laminaria digitata, and Laminaria hyperborea. The Islanders refer to as “tangle“. He was also quoted saying “After a year or two you became an expert on what to eat and what not to eat. What to eat, was nice things, like the baby seaweed on the tangle (kelp) – the dulse. We grew throughout the summer months feeding ourselves on seaweed.”
The entire story can be read here, and is a wonderful look into old-time farm/island living and shows how important seaweeds were to these people for centuries.