#BanLobsterBoiling
Should cooks be banned from boiling lobsters? | The Tylt
Should cooks be banned from boiling lobsters?
Switzerland has banned cooks from putting live lobsters in boiling water, which is how they are traditionally killed and prepared. Proponents have always said crustaceans lack a central nervous system and thus don't feel pain. But animal rights groups point to a 2013 study that showed crabs attempted to avoid electric shocks, which would indicate they do feel pain. Skeptics insist lobsters are basically the cockroaches of the sea. Should lobster boiling be banned?
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Should cooks be banned from boiling lobsters?
#BoilThatLobster
Joseph Ayers, a professor of marine and environmental services at Northeastern University, scoffed at the ban:
“I think the idea of producing such a law is just a bunch of people anthropomorphizing lobsters. I find it really quite remarkable that people attribute to these animals humanlike responses when they simply don’t have the hardware for it.”
Why? Lobsters can't feel pain. They lack the neural pathways. They don't even have brains. They're basically big cockroaches.
— Goddess Queen (@PromiseRW) January 13, 2018
#BoilThatLobster
If they're just insects, who cares?
According to the most modern data it really is accurate to think of lobsters as ocean-bound beetles.
#BoilThatLobster
Would you worry about the feelings of an alien facehugger? Because this thing is way more terrifying.
But anyone who's boiled lobster knows they struggle to escape the pot. It's pretty awful. David Foster Wallace did a deep dive on this topic in his brilliant 2004 essay "Consider the Lobster."
I read Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace years ago and have never been able to eat lobster since. You can’t convince me they don’t feel pain when they’re clammering to escape a pot of boiling water. Good on you, Switzerland. https://t.co/bkSLdboasl
— Rebecca Ritchey (@eatingb00ks) January 16, 2018
Some say you can still eat your lobster: just come up with a more humane way to kill them.
You're never going to stop people eating lobsters, or other animals. However, it's important do kill humanely. And the answer to the question is, YES, all animals feel pain. Stop kidding yourselves that they don't, just because they can't scream.
— Peter Blair (@illchangethis) January 11, 2018
And plenty of animal-rights activists say it's pretty convenient for humans to say crustaceans and fish feel no pain, so we feel less guilt about our cooking practices and eating habits.
Of course they feel pain. Humans tell themselves that lobsters, fish, etc. can't feel pain so they their conscience won't bother them.
— Max Haveloos (@Max_Haveloos) January 11, 2018
