Study concludes crabs feel pain

[McBell]

I always humanely euthanize my potatos first.:angel2:

How?

I mean, I like 'taters but not the idea that they suffer....

 

[tomspug]

I remember back in high school, my biology teacher said that seafood have a colouring material in their body called cyan-something that breaks down into cyanide.

thus the reason lobsters, crabs, etc. are cooked live.


The really interesting thing is that I have not been able to confirm this statement by my old biology teacher since the start of this thread.

I've learned never to believe anything told to you by a science teacher without a degree unless it's in the textbook.

 

[Valjean]

How?

I mean, I like 'taters but not the idea that they suffer....

If you cover their eyes they'll go to sleep, then whack them smartly with a potato masher.

 

[McBell]

If you cover their eyes they'll go to sleep, then whack them smartly with a potato masher.

Would a meat tenderizing hammer work? :help:

I ain't got no 'tater masher.

 

[Storm]

Would a meat tenderizing hammer work? :help:

I ain't got no 'tater masher.

You could go the Benny & Joon route with a tennis raquet.

 

[McBell]

You could go the Benny & Joon route with a tennis raquet.

My daughter was reading over my shoulder and said, "I want to use the Gallagher method!"

 

[kadzbiz]

Freezing is not a humane way to euthanize an animal. It causes ice crystals to form in the blood. It's painful and slow.

It may cause ice crystals to form, but I would expect that the animal, as humans, would fall asleep first and die in their sleep.

 

[linwood]

I'm suprised studies are just finding this out now as well. I've had people tell me that you can hear lobsters scream when you boil them. I wouldn't expect it to be any different with crabs.

Actually that`s not true but I`ve freaked out alot of waitresses thanks to that story.

 

[jamaesi]

It may cause ice crystals to form, but I would expect that the animal, as humans, would fall asleep first and die in their sleep.

I honestly haven't the slightest idea where this false belief that hypothermia is painless way to die comes from. It's not. There's the long and horrendously painful period before you lose consciousness and then die.

 

[linwood]

How to kill a live lobster

As for dead lobsters being poisonous... they aren't, but they do decay rapidly which is why you don't want to eat a crustacean when you don't know how long it's been sitting around. It's perfectly fine (and more humane) to kill them prior to cooking them.

wa:do

I`m not sure you`d say that if you`d ever seen a live lobster sliced in half with a chefs knife.


It is true they decay very rapidly one dead.

Do you know why PW?

I`ve been told it`s a rush of mercury through the lobsters body from the trauma of death.

But thats just kitchen folklore as far as I know.

I`ve never even researched it.

I`ll go have a Google.

Edit;

Just checked your link.
That humane killing is ok for a lobster but would make a crawfish boil a tedious party.

 

[kadzbiz]

I honestly haven't the slightest idea where this false belief that hypothermia is painless way to die comes from. It's not. There's the long and horrendously painful period before you lose consciousness and then die.

Ah, yep, I certainly did have a false belief there. I've been further enlightened.

 

[Watchmen]

I've been crabbing many many times and will go crabbing many many times more. I have no qualms about the way I cooked them before or how I will come them in the future. No qualms whatsoever.

 

[Valjean]

I`m not sure you`d say that if you`d ever seen a live lobster sliced in half with a chefs knife.


It is true they decay very rapidly one dead.

Do you know why PW?

I`ve been told it`s a rush of mercury through the lobsters body from the trauma of death.

But thats just kitchen folklore as far as I know.

I`ve never even researched it.

I`ll go have a Google.

Edit;

Just checked your link.
That humane killing is ok for a lobster but would make a crawfish boil a tedious party.

Mercury?! If there were mercury in lobsters then they definitely would be toxic, no matter how you cooked them.

 

[kadzbiz]

I've been crabbing many many times and will go crabbing many many times more. I have no qualms about the way I cooked them before or how I will come them in the future. No qualms whatsoever.

I like crab too, and lobster, and prawns, and fish, and octopus,.........

 

[zenzero]

Friends,
In India people break the claws and normally they are dead before boiling.
However, it still goes through the pain.
No doubt Jainsim, buddhism and branches of sanatan dharma gave stress on non-violence and some still eat only fruits and leaves and no roots to enable the plant to grow again and again. Taking only as little as possible to surive and co-exists with nature.
Love & rgds

 

[linwood]

Mercury?! If there were mercury in lobsters then they definitely would be toxic, no matter how you cooked them.

All shellfish have a certain level of mercury in their systems.
It`s their way of fighting off pollutants from what I understand.

However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury. For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern. Yet, some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. The risks from mercury in fish and shellfish depend on the amount of fish and shellfish eaten and the levels of mercury in the fish and shellfish. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
FDA / EPA What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish - March 2004

 

[McBell]

It was my understanding that the mercury is from pollution...

 

[linwood]

It was my understanding that the mercury is from pollution...

I have the same understanding, sort of.

A little research has shown me it`s an enzyme that causes a lobster to deteriorate once it dies.

I do wonder about the mercury thing though.

I live on the Gulf of Mexico and seafood is an important part of my professional life.

A few years back when they started warning us not to eat oysters they claimed at the same time that it wasn`t due to the polution in the bays but to higher than normal mercury content in the shellfish.

I thought yeah but, isn`t the mercury content higher because of the pollution in the bays?

So I suppose I should keep Googlin`.

 

[Valjean]

Yes. Pollution. Mostly from coal burning power plants, which discharge tonnes of mercury into the atmosphere. This is why the USDA now recommends dietary limits on pelagic fish, particularly those high on the food chain.

 

[painted wolf]

It is true they decay very rapidly one dead.

Do you know why PW?

I`ve been told it`s a rush of mercury through the lobsters body from the trauma of death.

It's because their digestive system is set up in such a way that they basically start digesting themselves over time. This process happens quickly, as they don't have quite the same muscle structure as we do.

Lobsters like most oceanic predators do have mercury in their bodies... due to coal fired power plants. You shouldn't eat more than three 6oz servings of lobster in a month.

Here is a handy list of sea foods and the recommendations for serving sizes.
Mercury Levels in Fish : American Pregnancy Association


wa:do