I read an article in New Scientist (11-8-07) in which an animal behaviorist, Robert Elwood at Queens University in Belfast, did studies which led him to conclude that lobsters, as well as other crustaceans, can indeed feel pain. This means that when they are dropped alive into boiling water they do suffer. Dr. Elwood reasons that the pain response is present even in "lowly" creatures as a protective mechanism to help them survive. The most common color for lobsters is a greenish-brown. When lobsters are dropped into boiling water a red protein (astaxanthin) stops functioning and rises to the surface; this is why the lobster on your dinner plate is red.Last fall my sister and husband went on a trip to the Northeast and it was at this time that I was reading about this issue. Because they were eating lots and lots of lobster and other seafood which they really love, and because I love them more than all the lobsters on the planet, I chose not to write about it at that time. But now they are in New Zealand and Australia and so far I haven't seen any travel posts about eating lobsters, so I'm gonna go for it.
The issue, of course, is suffering. In my family we often talk about the ethics of eating and food choices. For me it always boils down (pun intended) to the suffering an animal goes through before it ends up on someone's plate. To sum up my motto: I prefer to eat a delicious, nutritious meal without an animal having to die for it. There are other people who don't have the luxury to make that choice, but I do. Anyone who has ever boiled a lobster alive can attest to the fact that when dropped into scalding water, lobsters whip their bodies wildly and scrape the sides of the pot in a desperate attempt to escape their situation. How can someone watch that and then be able to eat it?
Despite the above image of mean 'ole lobsters about to boil a baby alive, lobsters are "remarkable, sophisticated creatures" says marine biologist Jelle Atema. Lobsters carry their young for nine months and can live to be over 100 years old. They have long childhoods, use signals to explore their surroundings, and form social relationships. Most scientists agree that a lobster's nervous system is quite sophisticated. They may look like they're from outer space but they're not that different from us. And since there is no humane way to kill these sensitive and amazing animals I would recommend the pasta primavera instead.
2 comments:
Lobsters don't seem to be too concerned about one another's pain. They gladly eat one another whenever an opportunity presents itself...
- Your Big Sis
I'll be the first to say that I find Mother Nature often very cruel. I'll even agree with a statement I once heard that animal rightists who promote the humane treatment of animals are disagreeing with the basic tenants of how the natural world works. People like me can barely watch some of those nature programs where lions tear gazelles limb from limb. I would rather see a "Garden of Eden" type world, where the lion can lay with the lamb.
Having said that, I must correct one little thing in your statement. In the wild, lobsters are not cannibals. Cannibalism does occur under crowded conditons, such as when they are captive in tanks or cages which is why they have to be put into individual compartments in lobster hatcheries. They will eat their molt, so it may appear that they are eating another lobster but it's just their own shedded shell. Lobsters are opportunistic feeders and have been called scavengers, but they actually prefer fresh catch.
I would also like to say that we, as humans, have the power of choice. If we were caged with no other food source we too might turn to cannabilism, but we would have the choice to do otherwise.
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