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Do lobsters really scream when you put them in boiling water? Or is it a myth?
David Foster Wallace, in Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays, explored this question exhaustively. But once again, the answer is: Absolutely not. They don’t have vocal chords or any other means of vocalization. Dr. Robert Bayer, a professor of animal and veterinary sciences at the University of Maine and director of the research organization the Lobster Institute, says if there’s any noise at all when the lobster hits the pot, it might be air coming out of its stomach through its mouth parts. “But it’s nothing that even resembles a scream,” says Bayer.If they don’t scream, are they suffering in silence? Bayer’s Lobster Institute holds that the invertebrates have such primitive nervous systems (they have no brain and 100,000 neurons versus a human’s 100 billion) that they don’t feel pain. A 2005 study financed by the Norwegian government reinforced this view.
This is entirely incorrect. Crustaceans do feel pain and suffer during the excruciating process of being slowly boiled alive:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29915025/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/lobsters-crabs-feel-pain-study-shows/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/nov/08/animalrights.sciencenews
I don't think they scream, but I could swear I've heard a few humming Negro spirituals.
"How many lobsters do you think die of old age - very few I am thinking."
"Also, lobsters live long lives at sea, sometimes over 100 years; clearly such a long life isn't indicative of a constant battle with predators and parasites."
It may interest readers that the first statement is more true than the last. Lobsters are now known to belong to a class of animals that do not age. That is, the...+READ
"How many lobsters do you think die of old age - very few I am thinking."
"Also, lobsters live long lives at sea, sometimes over 100 years; clearly such a long life isn't indicative of a constant battle with predators and parasites."
It may interest readers that the first statement is more true than the last. Lobsters are now known to belong to a class of animals that do not age. That is, the telomeres in their cells do not change length with cell division, which is the source of tissue aging in other animals. Without an external cause of death, a Lobster will just continue to grow. Indeed, there are no known examples of a lobster that has died of old age.
Given this, even that 100 year old lobster will eventually die from a predator or accident. And, if this weren't true, there'd be even older specimens out there. Plus, the 100 year old examples are not that common and statistics predicts that there'd be some anyway even if predation were frequent.
Since every lobster therefore dies watching itself do so at the hands of some external cause, boiling or splitting the head quickly are among the most humane ways that most lobsters will ever experience.
A good source for more info on the aging process is the NPR "Radio Lab" episode entitled "Mortality," featuring an interview with the scientist who first figured out that, in most animals, cells divide only a finite number of times because their telomeres (structures on the ends of the DNA) shorten with each division and thus act as counters (lobsters excluded).-COLLAPSE
All Lobsters should be shot in the head serveral times to put it out of it's misery.
Alternativly you could be a vegitarian like me.
If you really feel guilty about the lobster, soak it in a pot of beer before cooking....it gets inebriated, slows down, and is easy to handle (and pretty insensate). If I had to choose a way to go, I don't think I could do much worse!
I would think that if a lobster can be "happy" in the frigid ocean waters of the north and still be content in room temperature tanks in a market or restaurant then they probably wont notice the steam or boilling water.
I live in south Fl. and can only go in the ocean during the months of July,August and September and have NEVER been able to go in the ocean north of The Carolinas. I have been to...+READ
I would think that if a lobster can be "happy" in the frigid ocean waters of the north and still be content in room temperature tanks in a market or restaurant then they probably wont notice the steam or boilling water.
I live in south Fl. and can only go in the ocean during the months of July,August and September and have NEVER been able to go in the ocean north of The Carolinas. I have been to The Hamptons many times and cant in get past my ankles.-COLLAPSE
There seems to be a lot of misinformation in this thread that could have been easily rectified had the posters made a quick visit to Wikipedia or another site with information about lobsters. For example, lobster cannibalism has never been observed in the wild. Yes, they will eat each other in the absence of other foodstuffs in captivity (e.g. in a tank), but then again, humans do the same thing....+READ
There seems to be a lot of misinformation in this thread that could have been easily rectified had the posters made a quick visit to Wikipedia or another site with information about lobsters. For example, lobster cannibalism has never been observed in the wild. Yes, they will eat each other in the absence of other foodstuffs in captivity (e.g. in a tank), but then again, humans do the same thing. Also, lobsters live long lives at sea, sometimes over 100 years; clearly such a long life isn't indicative of a constant battle with predators and parasites.
I don't eat lobster myself, but not for any moral objection to it. Honestly, I think they just look really gross, like big bugs. My brain puts them in the same category as cockroaches (which a Thai woman told me are exquisitely delicious, and I'm sure it's true, but I don't care to verify it), and that just gives me the heebie jeebies. I'd be more willing to eat dog and cat (which I would try in a very small quantity) than I would lobster.-COLLAPSE
Alton Brown does have a point.... if you have a problem with the killing and eating of lobsters, then dont think of them as "animals" think of them as "bugs"..... they have exoskeletons and usually feed off of the "leftover trash" at the bottom of the ocean.... very much like roaches.
now, while i wont eat bugs, i like lobster..... sorry if you think its cruel, but there are far worse things...+READ
Alton Brown does have a point.... if you have a problem with the killing and eating of lobsters, then dont think of them as "animals" think of them as "bugs"..... they have exoskeletons and usually feed off of the "leftover trash" at the bottom of the ocean.... very much like roaches.
now, while i wont eat bugs, i like lobster..... sorry if you think its cruel, but there are far worse things out there-COLLAPSE
A friend of mine has a mother who is a cook and who ran some restaurants in south asia, her mother and she (MD, PhD) swear that lobsters scream when they're boiled/streamed. I guess I believe her but I've never noticed it -- and hope not to!
I once had a kitchen prep job that required dismembering lobsters for hours a day. I can tell you with certainty that they DO sometimes emit a squealing sound if they are steamed. Think about a tea kettle: as water boils inside it, it forces out boiling vapor and whistles. The same thing happens with lobsters.
Although I do feel sorry for lobsters, I feel hypocritical about it. I eat plenty of...+READ
I once had a kitchen prep job that required dismembering lobsters for hours a day. I can tell you with certainty that they DO sometimes emit a squealing sound if they are steamed. Think about a tea kettle: as water boils inside it, it forces out boiling vapor and whistles. The same thing happens with lobsters.
Although I do feel sorry for lobsters, I feel hypocritical about it. I eat plenty of other meats, but I just don't kill any but lobsters.
Added lobster trivia bonus: lobsters are cannibals!-COLLAPSE
Is it humanitarian to spray a cockroach with Raid or stomp on them? Unless you have problems doing that you shouldn't have any problems cooking a live lobster.
Does it really matter? You think life at the bottom of the sea is any easier? How many lobsters do you think die of old age - very few I am thinking. They are gobbled by parasites, eaten by something bigger and badder, so its all relative. Even if the feel pain I am guessing the 5-10 seconds it takes to die is a lot less than the weeks it takes for a worm to eat them inside out, or for something...+READ
Does it really matter? You think life at the bottom of the sea is any easier? How many lobsters do you think die of old age - very few I am thinking. They are gobbled by parasites, eaten by something bigger and badder, so its all relative. Even if the feel pain I am guessing the 5-10 seconds it takes to die is a lot less than the weeks it takes for a worm to eat them inside out, or for something else to eat a claw and keep swimming.
besides they are tasty!
later-COLLAPSE
Alton Brown of "Good Eats" puts his lobsters in the freezer for 10 minutes. I can't recall exactly what he said ... relaxes them and puts them to sleep -then you boil them (while they are in a semi-coma)
That chain food store mentioned above publicized their dropping of lobster in tanks as a humanitarian gesture, when in reality it was a money looser. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it all boils down to the bottom line.
According to a "retired" lobsterman, these creatures are one step from a cockroach and would eat/destroy each other without hesitation if the claws were left un-clamped. That being said, any measure of dispatch to place them on my plate is satisfactory. Leave them sitting in tepid water while other preparations are made and then a quick move to the boiling water and barely any resistance and on...+READ
According to a "retired" lobsterman, these creatures are one step from a cockroach and would eat/destroy each other without hesitation if the claws were left un-clamped. That being said, any measure of dispatch to place them on my plate is satisfactory. Leave them sitting in tepid water while other preparations are made and then a quick move to the boiling water and barely any resistance and on to dinner.-COLLAPSE
I remember alton brown suggested putting the bugs in the fridge for a few hours if your humanitarian urges were nagging you.
If you're boiling a lot of lobsters or crab don't put too many in the pot at a time. Cook them in shifts, then wait for the water to come back to a rolling boil after you take one shift out. They die a lot more quickly that way.
I have pulled dungeness crabs right out of the Puget Sound and boiled and cleaned them with my family. If anything it feels more morally sound to kill and clean your...+READ
If you're boiling a lot of lobsters or crab don't put too many in the pot at a time. Cook them in shifts, then wait for the water to come back to a rolling boil after you take one shift out. They die a lot more quickly that way.
I have pulled dungeness crabs right out of the Puget Sound and boiled and cleaned them with my family. If anything it feels more morally sound to kill and clean your food yourself.-COLLAPSE
Living in New England, we cook live lobsters every month or two. We like to drink champagne and give them names (which always ends up being "Clicky" and "Pinchy" after a couple glasses of champagne). We then apologize to Pinchy (or Clicky); it sucks that you have to be food, but hey, we gotta eat. Then we plop them headfirst into the boiling water and dance around the room until they are ready to...+READ
Living in New England, we cook live lobsters every month or two. We like to drink champagne and give them names (which always ends up being "Clicky" and "Pinchy" after a couple glasses of champagne). We then apologize to Pinchy (or Clicky); it sucks that you have to be food, but hey, we gotta eat. Then we plop them headfirst into the boiling water and dance around the room until they are ready to eat. They never scream and they only kick for a few seconds before they die. If this makes you squeamish, great; more lobsters for us.-COLLAPSE
I think one of the most horrific cooking experiences I've had was when I went to the store and got two live lobsters to take home and cook for dinner. I could hear them rustling in the box in the back seat of my car. I finally got them home, put them in the sink, and then my cat pops up and starts playing with them. I was horrified, and I couldn't put them in the pot of boiling water. I called my...+READ
I think one of the most horrific cooking experiences I've had was when I went to the store and got two live lobsters to take home and cook for dinner. I could hear them rustling in the box in the back seat of my car. I finally got them home, put them in the sink, and then my cat pops up and starts playing with them. I was horrified, and I couldn't put them in the pot of boiling water. I called my guy friend and he had to come over and cook the lobsters for me because the lobsters kept squirming and scaring me. I'm a pansy, and I've learned to have the restaurants deal with the butchering and cooking next time I have a hankering for lobster.-COLLAPSE
I tend to have more sympathy for animals with more sophisticated nervous systems that are butchered in the thousands ever day. Like cows, pigs, chickens, etc.
Boiling a lobster doesn't bother me at all. I tend to think it is a little bit hypocritical to be squimish about cooking a lobster when I don't think twice about picking out a nice hunk of cow corpse at the local butcher. Could I kill a...+READ
I tend to have more sympathy for animals with more sophisticated nervous systems that are butchered in the thousands ever day. Like cows, pigs, chickens, etc.
Boiling a lobster doesn't bother me at all. I tend to think it is a little bit hypocritical to be squimish about cooking a lobster when I don't think twice about picking out a nice hunk of cow corpse at the local butcher. Could I kill a cow? Probably not. But I can dispatch a lobster for sure.-COLLAPSE
I have no idea what a lobster or a crawfish feels, but I know they have very tiny brains, and that should lessen the pain response.
Now what do you think about the new policy, of a certain natural food market, to deal with lobsters . . . They decided it was inhumane to sell them alive, so they got them out of their markets, except in one state. Now they apply an electrical charge to kill them....+READ
I have no idea what a lobster or a crawfish feels, but I know they have very tiny brains, and that should lessen the pain response.
Now what do you think about the new policy, of a certain natural food market, to deal with lobsters . . . They decided it was inhumane to sell them alive, so they got them out of their markets, except in one state. Now they apply an electrical charge to kill them. So what is more humane, electrocution or boiling? Hmmm . . .
Saying all that, I don't eat lobster!-COLLAPSE
Very Funny......... If boiling a live lobster is cruel...what do you twisting the neck of chickens/turkeys to butcher it then???
Too funny maxmillion.
Last year I had the pleasure of attending a lobster boil, and the hostess, knowing we were neophytes, went around the corner in the kitchen and let out a very realistic-sounding "lobster scream." We, of course, were horrified! It was quite a performance.
My husband ate three (yes, 3) whole lobsters and got roundly sick. Some would say it serves us right!
^ Luckily for you I have saved a link that answers this enduring question for the day I get the guts up to make a lobster bisque a la Alain Giraud.
http://www.secretlifeoflobsters.com/blog/2005/12/how-to-kill-lobster-dedicated-to-david.asp
What's the most humane way to kill a lobster?
TREVOR CORSON: You turn it upside down on a cutting board and take the largest kitchen knife you can...+READ
^ Luckily for you I have saved a link that answers this enduring question for the day I get the guts up to make a lobster bisque a la Alain Giraud.
http://www.secretlifeoflobsters.com/blog/2005/12/how-to-kill-lobster-dedicated-to-david.asp
What's the most humane way to kill a lobster?
TREVOR CORSON: You turn it upside down on a cutting board and take the largest kitchen knife you can find and plunge it straight into the bottom of its head [by which I mean its thorax -- the main body shell] and then quickly slap the knife down so it cuts through the middle of the head, through the nose and between the eyes. That's the way Julia Child killed her lobsters and that's how professional chefs kill their lobsters. It seems more gruesome, but it's very quick.
Step 1: Hold the lobster upside down and place the point of the knife between its hindmost legs.
Step 2: Thrust the knife straight down into the body.
Step 3: Slice down through the head, to split the front of the animal in half.
A few additional pointers:
*** Before you put the lobster under the knife, cool it in the freezer for fifteen minutes or so. This will deaden the functioning of its nervous system, as well as slow its metabolism and prevent the animal from moving around while you're working.
- You don't have to slice all the way through the last bit of shell to the cutting board -- leave the top of the lobster's shell intact for a more attractive presentation on the plate.
- If you execute the knife maneuver correctly, the claws and front legs should go instantly limp. But be aware that because lobsters have a decentralized nervous system, the tail and hind legs may continue to twitch. (If that bothers you, remember that this is an animal equivalent to a mosquito. If it still bothers you, you should probably consider becoming a vegetarian.)
- Immediately after you kill the lobster, put it in the pot to boil, as you would have with the live animal.
WARNING: Working with live animals and large knives can be tricky. Try this at your own risk. I make no claims to be a qualified instructor of culinary butchery, and I will not be responsible if you hurt yourself while attempting to replicate the techniques described here. If you're at all uncomfortable with the idea of implementing this technique, stick to the boiling alive, okay? Better that the lobster gets hurt than you.
On the other hand, for those of you who crave additional drama and heroism in your kitchen, there are, of course, even more exciting ways to kill a lobster:-COLLAPSE
But then, how DO you kill them? Hacking them in two doesn"t kill them, electrocuting neither. Do you suggest drowning or poisoning them?
I think that we should slip the lobster a vicodin or a couple of valium and perhaps add a cup of vodka to the boiling water just in case.
of course, bayer's institute and other entities that profit from the lobster industry will say that the lobster feels no pain, but there is much scientific evidence that they DO feel pain--maybe even more pain than a human.
this whole subject was researched by david foster wallace
http://www.lobsterlib.com/feat/davidwallace/page/lobsterarticle.pdf
and i believe his conclusions are well-supported
A lobster is a living creature and should not be subjected to such barbaric treatment. It wasn't so long ago that out esteemed scientists thought that young babies didn't feel pain, and carried out surgiacl procedures on them without anaesthetic!