The Harvests of Prince Edward Island: Irish Moss

To this day, if you drive around the western shore of Prince Edward Island during the summer and early fall, you will see the impact the Irish Moss industry has had on the communities that make up that part of the province. You would be certain to see half-ton trucks equipped with high sideboards for hauling moss as well as several moss processing plants plants, a namesake café and the wharves where the moss is unloaded from the boats. You might also see moss drying on people’s driveways and lawns and if you are fortunate you might see large, powerful horses in the shallow waters raking in the moss .

The impact of the Irish Moss industry on western P.E.I. becomes obvious as soon as you begin to talk to the people of the area or even listen to some of the local music. Island icon, Stompin’ Tom Connors expresses the area’s feelings toward the industry when he writes “You can hear the roar from the Tignish Shore, There’s moss in Skinner’s Pond.” The Island entertainer talks about the discovery of moss in his home community in Western, P.E.I. in his “Song of the Irish Moss.”

The most obvious of the global impacts of Irish Moss is the versatility and many uses of the product that is extracted from the plant, known as carrageenan. This extract has no calories, is tasteless, colourless and odorless, so it can be added to products without changing the taste or the caloric intake. It is used by producers of beverages such as beer and wine to keep the liquid clear. It is used in products such as toothpaste, and insect repellents to hold the other ingredients together and for the same reason in shampoos, water-based paints and cosmetics. The largest and best known use for Carrageenan is within the dairy industry. In fact nearly 90% of the extract on the market is consumed by this sector for use in products such as chocolate milk and pudding. The product also has the sought after property of preventing large ice crystal from forming, making it an integral ingredient in ice cream.

There are so many products that we use every day that contain this extract and the list may expand to pharmaceuticals in the near future. There has been a connection made between Irish Moss and the progress of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It appears that Irish Moss slows the progress of the deadly disease that plagues much of the world. As a result, there is obviously a new found interest in the small underwater plant. So far, the industry is not aware of any government initiatives to attempt to replenish the depleted moss beds off western P.E.I. Hopefully the connection will be investigated further and the impact on the Island’s industry will be positive and a way of life that is slowly slipping away will be restored on the west coast of Prince Edward Island.