Why lobsters are boiled alive

According to Science Focus , lobsters and other shellfish have harmful bacteria naturally present in their flesh. However, lots of chefs freeze their lobsters, then kill them before cooking — as an alternative method that kills the bacteria in the same way. And, in fact, many industry experts are actually welcoming the proposed legislation to ban boiling living lobsters — as it seems unnecessary.

We have always killed our lobster in the most humane way before cooking. We believe in karma. We currently kill our lobsters by blast freezing them. Luis trained as a zoologist, but now works as a science and technology educator. In his spare time he builds 3D-printed robots, in the hope that he will be spared when the revolution inevitably comes. Scientists know that the tail-flipping of lobsters when being placed in a pot of boiling water is an escape reflex, signaling their distress.

It's the lobster's lack of a centralized brain that leaves scientists with a big question mark to whether or not it can actually feel pain. Some researchers have found that placing lobsters on ice before putting them in boiling water minimizes the tail-twitching, however, placing them in cold water that is brought to a boil has no sort of anesthetic effect.

All of the above has led some countries to outlaw the boiling of lobsters and other shellfish alive via The Washington Post. In another experiment, shore crabs learned to avoid a location in which they had received an electric shock. Is he convinced crustaceans can feel pain? Other scientists are less sure. The problem has more to do with how we anthropomorphise various critters.

Steneck has been studying lobsters since in the waters around Maine, the north-eastern-most US state. It is home to 1. Maine — and the coastline north of it, in Canada — is the sweet spot for lobsters, he says, thanks to its cool water. What is surprising, says Steneck, is how sustainable the practice appears to be. Lobsters are fascinating creatures.

They are solitary, except when mating — they probably would not appreciate being kept in a tank with other lobsters — and they can live to When they grow out of their carapace, it splits and the creatures backs out of it, vulnerable and naked, until it grows a new one.