Lobsters in Grocery Stores???

[Jessss2008]

I didn't know they did that until I went to the Super Store (I live in Canada) and I saw a tank (not overly big) CRAMMED with about 75+ lobsters (and another with crabs) with their claws taped shut! I didn't get it. What? They sell them as pets? Why are they still alive? My mom then told me that that's how you cook lobster....alive...ALIVE!

You throw a LIVE lobster in BOILING WATER?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How the HECK is that humane? I thought slaughterhouses were the worst we could get (besides murder) but now it's like "murder at your own house!"

I cannot believe that! I was floored and almost started crying right there. I wanted to take all the lobsters and crabs with me! HOW DO PEOPLE DO THAT?!

Sorry for ranting but I didn't know this happened?! :cry:

[Tori~CL]

Yep, that's how you cook lobsters..It's freakin sad all around but I noticed my local grocery store does not do this anymore..

[Jessss2008]

I was told some pretty nasty things about how to cook/prepare them too. Something about their bladder and their skin being peeled off BEFORE they go into the scalding water to burn alive?

Sounds like something they would do to....A CHICKEN!
People irritate me with their lack of feelings for other creatures. :(

[EphemeralPanda]

Its IS really horrible.

IF you put the lobsters into the boiling pot tail first I think they even let out like a high pitched scream or something... although they say its air escaping?!

No idea... but I think its terrible.. and really not necessary at all. My local sobeys' (im also in Canada) sells them fresh from the tank.. and every time I see it I fantasize about buying at least 1 and putting him into a home aquarium.

[Treehugger267]

No idea... but I think its terrible.. and really not necessary at all. My local sobeys' (im also in Canada) sells them fresh from the tank.. and every time I see it I fantasize about buying at least 1 and putting him into a home aquarium.

My kids ask if we can rescue the ones in our store every time we go. They guy takes them out and lets them pet them...oye!

[hoodedclawjen]

yeah, several stores around here have lobsters in tanks and fish in tanks... all swimming about waiting for people to pick who is next for the slaughter. :(

[Envy]

:p

[EphemeralPanda]

:lol:

[Kaskata]

.. and every time I see it I fantasize about buying at least 1 and putting him into a home aquarium.


I know someone that did that. I guess it lived for a few days, but apparently the store he got it from breaks the spine of the lobsters right before they are sold.

[Treehugger267]

I know someone that did that. I guess it lived for a few days, but apparently the store he got it from breaks the spine of the lobsters right before they are sold.

OMG! Why would they do that?:furious:

[animallover7249]

Yeah, it's a really really sad situation for the lobsters (and crabs!). I have no idea how people can be so heartless. :cry:

[Semicharmed]

Try living where I live. Cape Cod... Chatham, specifically. We're a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem... According to the bumper stickers, at least.

Never mind the supermarkets and fish piers and fish markets ALL over the place - people come to my door all the time with bags of live oysters, or live lobsters fresh from their boats with a smile and a "Thank your Dad for me, honey."

I just keep reminding myself I'm moving soon... And that being here to finish my degree was necessary... Blargh.

Maybe I'll go stalk famous people today to cheer myself. I hear Oprah is on Cape.

[VeganTigress]

:p

~Falls over laughing, rolls on the floor, gasps for air, fails, chokes, laughs even harder~~

That made my day :)

[animallover7249]

Try living where I live. Cape Cod... Chatham, specifically. We're a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem... According to the bumper stickers, at least.

Never mind the supermarkets and fish piers and fish markets ALL over the place - people come to my door all the time with bags of live oysters, or live lobsters fresh from their boats with a smile and a "Thank your Dad for me, honey."

:cry:


:hug: :hug:

[Melanie]

We have a SuperStore in my city too, and every time I pass by that lobster tank, I get so sad. :(

[sleepydvdr]

Cooking lobsters has to be the most horrible way to kill an animal ever. I don't know if it is true, but I heard a long time ago that you have to cook them this way. If you don't then they are poisonous. Does anyone know if this is true?

[Semicharmed]

Cooking lobsters has to be the most horrible way to kill an animal ever. I don't know if it is true, but I heard a long time ago that you have to cook them this way. If you don't then they are poisonous. Does anyone know if this is true?

No, I don't believe that's true. At least not technically true. I believe the MAIN reason a lot of shellfish are cooked alive is to assure they are fresh when they're eaten.

Because shellfish spoils VERY rapidly and can give you food poisoning if it's not super fresh. Not actual poisoning, but, yanno...

If their shells don't open up when they are steamed, you know they were dead when they went in the pot, and you don't want to eat that.

I think it's mostly a freshness thing.

[4EverGrounded]

No, I don't believe that's true. At least not technically true. I believe the MAIN reason a lot of shellfish are cooked alive is to assure they are fresh when they're eaten.

Because shellfish spoils VERY rapidly and can give you food poisoning if it's not super fresh. Not actual poisoning, but, yanno...

If their shells don't open up when they are steamed, you know they were dead when they went in the pot, and you don't want to eat that.

I think it's mostly a freshness thing.I've also heard there's also an enzyme that certain shellfish release when they're killed. That enzyme eventually makes the meat turn inedible mush that's harmful to eat so you have to either freeze it quickly after death, keep it very cold/on ice or cook it.

IMO, it's both a freshness thing and an enzyme control thing.

[Semicharmed]

I've also heard there's also an enzyme that certain shellfish release when they're killed. That enzyme eventually makes the meat turn inedible mush that's harmful to eat so you have to either freeze it quickly after death, keep it very cold/on ice or cook it.

IMO, it's both a freshness thing and an enzyme control thing.

I've heard that too... Though I didn't think it was specific to shellfish. I thought it was basically all animals? I might be wrong, but I always thought that's why fish were gutted so quickly, and why we don't buy "whole" animals that haven't had their stomachs/guts removed. Shellfish people just happen to buy whole, so real enzymatic release and gross decomposition is a risk.

Maybe?

I'll have to ask my father. He was a lobsterman for years when he was younger. :(

[whisper]

Thats why I don't shop at Walmart, Albertsons, or Ralph's. They all have live lobsters for sale at most of their stores. Luckily there are others I can shop at near me....like Vons and Stater Bros. Neither one carries live animals at any of their stores as far as I know.

I have called and complained at the other stores about their lobsters.

[Jessss2008]

I heard they cook them alive because they taste the best that way!

I was shocked! I feel so hillbilley-ish because I didn't know that they cooked lobster that way until now but seriously!!! I couldn't stop staring at them.....I felt so bad! People are so heartless....such messy, selfish jerks!

[4EverGrounded]

I've heard that too... Though I didn't think it was specific to shellfish. I thought it was basically all animals? I might be wrong, but I always thought that's why fish were gutted so quickly, and why we don't buy "whole" animals that haven't had their stomachs/guts removed. Shellfish people just happen to buy whole, so real enzymatic release and gross decomposition is a risk.

Maybe?

I'll have to ask my father. He was a lobsterman for years when he was younger. :(I thought fish were gutted and beheaded because Westerners can't stand to see them with heads/guts intact and because Westerners don't eat the heads/innards like other cultures do. But that comes from very limited trips to the Asian Markets where you can find loads of things you can't find anywhere else. :boobies:

But I'd love to hear what the real reason is from an "insider" point of view so the myth can be busted (or confirmed) once and for all.

[*Star*Lass*]

I cannot believe that! I was floored and almost started crying right there. I wanted to take all the lobsters and crabs with me! HOW DO PEOPLE DO THAT?!

That's totally understandable. It would break my heart to see that. Thankfully, i haven't seen any live lobsters for sale yet in the UK. At least they don't sell them where i shop.

It's disgusting :(

[jenni-anti-fur]

yeah, several stores around here have lobsters in tanks and fish in tanks... all swimming about waiting for people to pick who is next for the slaughter. :(

Totally Agree...My Fave Store Voluntarily Stopped and I was soooo happy about that.

[veggiemeggie]

It's pretty terrible and whenever I see them in those tanks awaiting death... it freaks me out.

One thing that might console you is that they may not feel pain, the research seems to be split on whether or not lobsters (or crabs) can sense pain when boiled. Their nervous systems may not be able to sense it. Some scientists think that the trashing around is due to an escape instinct. Not that it makes it okay to kill animals and eat them just because they may not feel pain, it absolutely is not okay. Just thought I'd mentioned what I've read.