Why This Once-Popular Soup Is Now Banned In The US

Once the pinnacle of American fine dining and celebration fare, these days, it's more likely to get you fined than fed. Just as shark fin soup has become a point of contention between conservationists and chefs, the fall of turtle soup reflects a broader cultural reckoning with how culinary trends impact endangered species. 

Consuming turtle meat has been banned in the United States since the enactment of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, making it illegal to "take" (which includes pursuing, trapping, harming, wounding, harassing, or killing) endangered species, encompassing all six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters. Sadly, by the time the legislation had been passed, the sea turtle population had been so significantly diminished by overfishing that it was hardly considered a viable commercial pursuit. So how did this rich, gelatinous staple of high-society banquets and political feasts go from delicacy to felony? The answer begins well before turtle soup reached the presidential tables of the Gilded Age.

Before the tragic overharvesting and subsequent legal protection, turtle meat was a staple protein for Native American tribes. European sailors and early American colonists also came to depend on it due to the abundant population and easy hunting prospect of the large, docile animals. Probably because of its reputation as a survival food during the early 1700s, much like lobster, turtle meat was considered "poor man's meat," and the plentiful turtle came to be reserved for consumption by servants, enslaved people, prisoners, and livestock.

As time went on, tastes changed, and turtle soup became a refined hallmark of the American celebration meal and of the 4th of July in particular. To mark the end of the Revolutionary War on December 4th, 1783, George Washington invited his officers to a turtle feast hosted by Governor George Clinton at Fraunces Tavern, a still-operating establishment in Lower Manhattan. President Abraham Lincoln's famously lavish second inaugural ball included turtle stew on the menu, along with tongue en geleé, pickled oysters, and calf's foot in wine jelly.

By the mid-1800s, turtle soup had become highly fashionable and in-demand, enjoyed by President Andrew Jackson and featured as Térapénea a la Maryland on the menu at New York City's Delmonico Restaurant, which was considered at that time to be the best restaurant in the country. In the African American community of Newport, R.I., large-scale gatherings known as "turtle frolics" were said to be even more popular than pig barbecues or oyster roasts, where the soup was seasoned with limes and served directly from the huge shells.

While turtle soup had become a fixture at upscale restaurants across the country, the rising and unsustainable demand and subsequently declining turtle populations caused market prices for turtle meat to soar and, by the turn of the 20th century, concerns were already surfacing among naturalists and scientists about the exploitation of sea turtles. As early as 1897, the U.S. Fisheries Commissioner issued a stark warning about the dwindling green turtle population, strongly recommending a full harvest ban to prevent extinction. In 1907, Florida passed one of the earliest state-level laws aimed at protecting turtles, banning the harvest of green and loggerhead turtles. 

Protective regulations slowly closed in on the harvest, but sea turtles remained classified and regulated as a fishery resource through the mid-20th century, with commercial harvesting continuing in parts of Florida into the 1960s. By the early 1970s, scientific consensus and conservation momentum had begun to shift legal frameworks, and the commercial harvest of sea turtles was banned entirely.

The story of turtle soup reflects a broader arc of American cultural values and environmental impact. While turtles still face threats today, many populations are slowly recovering — a quietly swimming legacy of one of the country's earliest and more successful conservation efforts. From colonization and class divides to the beginning of environmental ethics, the rise and fall of turtle soup offers a revealing portrait of how America has consumed, celebrated, and ultimately reconsidered its relationship with the natural world.