If you cook live lobsters... Poll

[Deleted]

Lobster poll

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

Water already boiling, then head first in the pot.

[Deleted]

I don't eat lobster. At all.

My first thought was about which method would be less cruel. Apparently they scream?

Also, if you put the lobster in the water, then boil it, won't that make the meat rubbery?

[iamali]

Stab it in the back of the head (breaks their spinal cord or whatever it's called on a lobster) and then boil it.

[iamali]

Apr 10, 2014 16:44:06 GMT -5 toledo said:

Apr 10, 2014 16:42:37 GMT -5 iamali said:

Stab it in the back of the head (breaks their spinal cord or whatever it's called on a lobster) and then boil it.

Why not just swing it and slam its head on the wall?

Because... claws*.

Stabbing it kills it instantly, which is what I assumed the OP was going for.









*Except Pacific lobsters don't have claws.

[TrickyBob]

Poor lobsters. I am glad other people find boiling live creatures to be cruel because it is.

[iamali]

Apr 10, 2014 16:45:57 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Poor lobsters. I am glad other people find boiling live creatures to be cruel because it is.

Ok I'm kind of sick of playing the whole "animal killer" role, but anytime an animal/live creature is killed to be the food a human, their death isn't pleasant.

Removing oneself so far from the act doesn't change that either.

[EmilieMadison]

Kill it first, then boil. Or broil. Or steam.
God, I love lobster.

[TrickyBob]

Apr 10, 2014 16:48:37 GMT -5 iamali said:

Apr 10, 2014 16:45:57 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Poor lobsters. I am glad other people find boiling live creatures to be cruel because it is.

Ok I'm kind of sick of playing the whole "animal killer" role, but anytime an animal/live creature is killed to be the food a human, their death isn't pleasant.

Removing oneself so far from the act doesn't change that either.

I eat animals. But they are dead before they are cooked. I find it cruel when people don't kill cows/pigs/what have you correctly and let them suffer. I find throwing a live creature into boiling water cruel. I do not find killing the lobster before boiling it alive to be cruel. 

I guess I don't find immediate death cruel but find, what sounds like, a slow death to be cruel. 

[iamali]

Apr 10, 2014 16:50:51 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Apr 10, 2014 16:48:37 GMT -5 iamali said:

Ok I'm kind of sick of playing the whole "animal killer" role, but anytime an animal/live creature is killed to be the food a human, their death isn't pleasant.

Removing oneself so far from the act doesn't change that either.

I eat animals. But they are dead before they are cooked. I find it cruel when people don't kill cows/pigs/what have you correctly and let them suffer. I find throwing a live creature into boiling water cruel. I do not find killing the lobster before boiling it alive to be cruel. 

I guess I don't find immediate death cruel but find, what sounds like, a slow death to be cruel. 

I really think we agree with each other here.

Which is why I recommended the method I did.

[EmilieMadison]

Apr 10, 2014 16:45:57 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Poor lobsters. I am glad other people find boiling live creatures to be cruel because it is.

I dont like to boil them alive because even though I am not particularly swayed by crustacean cruelty, I dont think it's right to make anything suffer needlessly when you can kill it instantly and then cook it.  

[rosiedozie]

I haven't very cooked live lobster, but I would go for the knife method, I think.

I've also heard that you can put them in the freezer and they slowly drift out of consciousness and then die. Not sure if that's better or worse than straight into boiling water.

[Deleted]

I once asked a waitress it Red a Lobster if they boil their lobsters alive and she whispered NO and swore me to secrecy. She said they do the knife to the thorax trick and then boil. Made me feel better about eating at RL lol

[Gato]

As a kid in Maine, I saw lobsters boiled a hundred times. I've only ever seen them dumped in boiling water, never heated up with the lobster just sitting in there. It still bothers me a little. However, chickens are run through electrified water to stun them before slaughter. Cattle are stunned with an electric prodder. Supposedly, the boiling water stuns the lobster in a similar fashion. So if you are cool with processed chicken and beef, I don't really see getting up in arms about lobster.

I would not try to kill a live lobster with a knife. They're not just sitting on a chopping block waiting to get stabbed. Too many ways to botch that job.

[papie]

I boil them alive by throwing them in boiling water. Honestly I put the cover on and two seconds later take it off and there is no more movement, it is a pretty fast death, I have also never heard then scream.


Mmmmmmm, lobster.

[lilafowler]

WAIT? What about bivalves? You cook them alive.

I am terrified of crustaceans so I don't touch or prepare them while they're alive but they are damn delicious when they're dead.

And now I want oysters. And clams. And mussels.

IN MY BELLY

[lilafowler]

DO CLAMS SCREAM!?

[VeryViolet]

Apr 10, 2014 19:00:28 GMT -5 AutumnRose25 said:

We put them in the boiling water.

Also, the reason you keep live lobsters in a cooler before you cook them is because the cold basically lulls them into a "slowed state" so they aren't as aware as normal.

I'm LOLing that somehow flash boiling that is a guaranteed way of killing them is sooooo cruel, but having cows and pigs killed with a bolt to the head or being electrocuted, which is frequently botched on a daily basis for a lot of livestock, is okay?

I am with autumn on this one. I have actually never cooked lobster but I have cooked lots of crabs. You put them in a cooler and they go into a sedated state and then you throw them in the pot where they die pretty much instantly. It is absolutely no worse and probably a lot less bad then what happens in commercial meat production.

[spedrunner]

There was an anthony bourdain episode (I think) where he ate something live.....dancing shrimp or something like that?!!! Anyone know what I speak of?

[VeryViolet]

Apr 10, 2014 19:20:00 GMT -5 @scottydeux said:

It may come as no surprise that I find cooking live lobsters inhumane.

I forgot to add this when I posted before. You are probably a vegetarian and I have no problem with anyone being against eating meat/fish etc. because they don't want to kill/eat animals. I just think it is silly to think that boiling lobsters is awful while eating chicken for dinner. That chicken went through a lot worse to get to your plate most of the time.

[papie]

Apr 10, 2014 19:33:18 GMT -5 @scottydeux said:

Apr 10, 2014 19:29:37 GMT -5 VeryViolet said:

I forgot to add this when I posted before. You are probably a vegetarian and I have no problem with anyone being against eating meat/fish etc. because they don't want to kill/eat animals. I just think it is silly to think that boiling lobsters is awful while eating chicken for dinner. That chicken went through a lot worse to get to your plate most of the time.

It's all death, so I see what you are saying. I think you are actually right that lobster death isn't necessarily the worst, but why not not make them slowly asphyxiate/have their brains and blood boil. Why not. If I had that power I would choose the 'kinder' route.

Because you are home in your kitchen alone with a pile of lobsters and all you think is dinner, not "how could I be nice to these cute little creatures".

[lilafowler]

papie they are not cute. My brother calls then sea bugs. They are fascinating though, despite my terrification.

Ellie and I go to the local Asian market:

[underwaterrhymes]

I was a pescetarian for four years up until this past spring when I started eating chicken again. I do eat lobster. I grew up eating crabs, too, and they were always boiled live. I didn't think about this much as a kid. It's just how it was.

As an adult, I choose not cook crustaceans in my home, just as I choose to not eat pork or beef. (Honestly, I'm only eating chicken in my home because it's easier with K and I am trying to purchase only ethically sourced poultry.)

But I have and will continue to eat lobster rolls and crab cakes while I'm out.

And even as I was not eating beef, pork, or chicken for ethical reasons, I still ate seafood, which often involves the death of bycatch. It's a precarious position to claim you're avoiding a certain food for ethical reasons when there are just as strong ethical reasons for not eating another.

One of the more interesting books I've read on the subject of what animals we feel comfortable eating is "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows." It's written from a vegan perspective, but it raises the issue of cultural perspective in what types of foods are and are not acceptable to us.

One day, I'd really like to be vegan. This is not the time for me, but I do see myself, at the very least, being vegetarian one day when K is older.

Ramble, ramble...

[papie]

For me, as much as I struggle with eating meat, it is very important to be "real" about it. I need to remind myself that it is an actual animal I am eating, and that it is a choice I am consciously making. Killing the animal (which I only do for lobsters really but would do I guess if I had that kind of life) is part of that process and is keeping you in touch with what is happening. I don't want to eat it hypocritically, I want to be totally honest with myself about it.
I talk to my kids a lot about the animals we eat because it is important to me that they understand that. If they make the choice to stop eating then, I will support them and help them.

[hereigo]

Apr 10, 2014 16:29:31 GMT -5 loonylunalovegood said:

So, I go to the Keys every year to catch live lobster. We rip their heads off and then freeze them. It sucks either way, but its better then boiling them live.

Plus, lobster is better grilled anyways.

Ditto this.

[msmerymac]

Apr 10, 2014 16:36:50 GMT -5 @teabag said:

I don't eat lobster. At all.

My first thought was about which method would be less cruel. Apparently they scream?

Also, if you put the lobster in the water, then boil it, won't that make the meat rubbery?

They don't scream. They don't have vocal chords. It's the air in their shell escaping, which comes off as a high-pitched whistle. 

And I say this as a vegetarian, not as someone trying to justify crustacean slaughter.

[wannabe]

Gimme all the lobsters.

[papie]

Apr 10, 2014 22:28:35 GMT -5 toledo said:

Apr 10, 2014 19:42:46 GMT -5 papie said:

Because you are home in your kitchen alone with a pile of lobsters and all you think is dinner, not "how could I be nice to these cute little creatures".

I solve this by never having lobster in my kitchen.

That is such a sad kitchen.

[juliagoulia]

I am extremely allergic to shellfish so I've never cooked them, but I have a pet lobster, named Turtle, who is awesome. But he's kind of a dick because he ate all my expensive fish so now I can only buy cheap feeder goldfish and minnows. He is bloodthirsty! That's all I wanted to add. I don't get to talk about him much.