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The Failed Teddy Roosevelt Backed Plan To Raise Hippos As A U.S. Meat Source- Lake Cow Bacon
In in the 1910s, Americans were eying hippos and other African animals as potential solutions to shortages and problems in the States
Ideas often sound good in the moment, but over time can lose the sparkle of brilliance and practicality that once seemed so obvious. There have been many big ideas of innovation in the history of the United States, but one of them that was decidedly a dud was a plan backed by Teddy Rossevelt and a number of other politicians to import and raise hippopotamuses in the United States as a new source of meat and as a solution to a growing ecological problem.
Throughout American history, people hunted hard for both food sources and also due to pelts and the eradication of nuisances. As a result, by 1910 a possible meat shortage was staring the country in the face. Additionally, the south was being ravaged by an invasive plant species — a water hyacinth, which was negatively impacting the ecological system by blocking waterways, which in turn was killing off fish populations
Frederick Russell Burnham believed he had the solution to these problems. A scout, traveler and general adventurer, he had developed a reputation around…
