/2009
Right Between the Eyes.....
Chefs and common kitchen cooks have been trying to figure out alternate ways to “painlessly kill a lobster”. However, according to PETA, all of them are inhumane. One such method, used by Julia Child (who eats anything that doesn’t eat her first), says that taking the point of a knife and ramming it right between the lobster’s eyes before boiling it kills the creature instantly. Not the case...even if the nervous system goes into a state of shock, it feels the pain up until the nervous system is destroyed.
Another misconception is is placing the lobster in a saltwater solution before boiling them. This supposedly makes them unconscious, but after they come out of the solution, it only takes 30 seconds for them to regain consciousness. So, if it takes 3 whole minutes to boil a lobster alive, they still suffer 2 and a half minutes, right?...I don’t know.
What’s an even worse method is to place the lobster in cold water and gradually heat to boiling! Supposedly, they lose consciousness before before the water becomes uncomfortably hot....which would be when????? Anyhow, they now struggle 5 to 7 minutes. J.R. Baker decided to try this “in the name of science”.
The absolute cruelest way (according to CEASE..Coalition to end animal suffering and exploitation), is placing the lobster in fresh water. Like tap water. According to Baker, as they are transferred from salt to fresh water they flip wildly and assume “unnatural positions" (well no shit). The lobsters joints swell and they throw up. They have no defense against the water getting in the gills. It’s like a slow injection into the bloodstream of a human.
Personally, I can’t be in the same room during the boiling process, nor could I watch the slaughtering of cows and pigs. Somebody’s post yesterday was talking about killing pigs for food in Mexican culture, and I am sure I could not have watched....and then eat it. If I could afford to eat lobster daily, I would. For healthy reasons and the fact that it is delicious! Like Wallace says in the essay(pg.223), that he likes to eat certain animals and he wants to be able to keep doing it, regardless of his personal ethical system. Simple as that, I think. Who http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8968183445527038077&postID=7541540955498918598#agrees or disagrees?
Paula
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Just a comment about the slow increase of temperature...if you like to take hot showers, have you ever been in there long enough for your body to adjust to the water? Well, eventually it should. You'll notice that the water isn't very warm any more so you increase the temperature of the water. (They have put temperature controls on the hot water heaters for a reason...) If you're like me, you'll increase the temperature of the water several times before you get out. While it is a scary thought...you are essentially cooking yourself. It's just fortunate that the controls in the basement keep the water from getting dangerously hot.
ReplyDeleteok, yeah...interesting point, however when you and I are taking a shower, the chances of someone else coming in and controlling the temperature of our shower are pretty slim and would most likely send us into a flailing and shower curtain clinging rage! The lobster doesn't have a temperature gauge in the pot...no control over it's destiny. They are crustaceans for crying out loud (no pun intended). Everything that you think that tastes good was either shot, shocked, pounded, crushed, cut down, injected with drugs...I think that being emotional is one thing...being emotional toward your food...I don't know. Personally, I just don't think about anything except lamb and veal when it comes to "not-eating little animals".
ReplyDeleteRegardless of what technique one chooses, it seems like all attempts to kill a lobster will bring it pain. From boiling it alive to ramming a sharp knife between its eyes, these acts are bound to cause the lobster torment, discomfort, and pain. As PETA advocates, none of these acts are humane and should not be viewed as such. No matter how intent someone is on providing a lobster with "humane" death, any attempt to intentionally kill the animal is not without suffering. It's great that there are people who keep the animals well-being in mind during this process, but in the end, their actions are no greater than the detached butcher because they all result in the death of another animal for ones personal gains.
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