# Sympathy for Lobsters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046 "2012-01-10T13:58:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/1 "2012-01-10T13:58:45Z")
Anyone ever wonder if lobsters feel pain while they are being boiled alive? I’m no biologist or crustacean expert but it seems like they have pretty primitive nervous systems, being crustaceans and all. I wonder, do they even notice? Do they even possess a dim resemblance to what we would call consciousness? BTW, if you’ve heard about lobsters screaming shrilly while being boiled alive it’s a myth. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/2 "2012-01-10T14:06:42Z")
Lobsters are widely considered to be not too bright, but there’s no logical reason they wouldn’t feel pain. They do have nerves, and they do react to painful stimulus by moving away, becoming aggressive and other things that people do when they’re in pain. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29915025/ns/technology\_and\_science-science/t/lobsters-crabs-feel-pain-study-shows/#.TwxFrXo2Eig](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29915025/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/lobsters-crabs-feel-pain-study-shows/#.TwxFrXo2Eig) …and they’re delicious with butter and garlic. I see no reason humans should be the only animals to give a crap if their food has feelings. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/3 "2012-01-10T14:07:32Z")
If they didn’t want to be boiled alive, they shouldn’t be so delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/4 "2012-01-10T14:12:22Z")
Their hideous insect-like appearance should be enough to drive people away. They’re the cockroaches of the sea! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/5 "2012-01-10T14:15:07Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Their hideous insect-like appearance should be enough to drive people away. They’re the cockroaches of the sea! Absolutely. You should trap all you can and send them far away from you. Like, to me. You’ll need some dry ice… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/6 "2012-01-10T14:16:27Z")
They live in the ocean along with other horrible creatures and I’m okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/7 "2012-01-10T14:18:07Z")
Back when I worked in a (very upscale) dining hall in college, my co-workers and I boiled so many lobsters (especially near the end of a semester, when people are in use-it-or-lose-it mode with their meal plans) that I often joked that we would be the first ones executed when the lobster revolution started. I did occasionally feel bad for them, but let’s face it, a lobster is pretty much just a big bug. A lobster dying to be eaten is dying for a better purpose than most bugs people swat or step on. If you don’t want the lobsters to feal pain, I’ve heard of putting them in the freezer for a few minutes before boiling to make numb them and force them into hibernation. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/8 "2012-01-10T14:20:43Z")
Consciousness? The only Descartes a lobster recognizes are the ones at desupermarkets. Mmmmm… existential lobster. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/9 "2012-01-10T15:01:13Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > They live in the ocean along with other horrible creatures and I’m okay with that. They’re sold in markets where I have to shoulder past horrible creatures just to get to them and I’m okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/10 "2012-01-10T15:12:13Z")
Once, I was just about to drop my lobster in the pot of boiling water, when I started to consider his (her? its?) feelings about the matter. So, I changed my mind. I took him to the forest and set him free. I still feel really good about that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/11 "2012-01-10T15:44:07Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Anyone ever wonder if lobsters feel pain while they are being boiled alive? I’m no biologist or crustacean expert but it seems like they have pretty primitive nervous systems, being crustaceans and all. I wonder, do they even notice? Do they even possess a dim resemblance to what we would call consciousness? If you’re not into biology or philosophy (I’m not) you might be surprised how complicated these debates get. How you define pain and how you define consciousness is important. But here’s an interesting read and a good overview: [“Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace](http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster). I don’t have a dog in this fight because I’m a vegetarian and wouldn’t eat them anyway, but it seems to me there is some reason to believe the lobsters are trying to stay alive. > [@](#): > > BTW, if you’ve heard about lobsters screaming shrilly while being boiled alive it’s a myth. Well, they do make a noise. It just isn’t a scream. It’s apparently air and water escaping from their shells. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/12 "2012-01-10T15:49:32Z")
Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a crustacean of wealth and taste I’ve been around for a long, long year Stole many a crab’s soul and faith \ ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/13 "2012-01-10T16:12:57Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Once, I was just about to drop my lobster in the pot of boiling water, when I started to consider his (her? its?) feelings about the matter. > > So, I changed my mind. I took him to the forest and set him free. > > I still feel really good about that. 😃 I actually went to great lengths once to research the least painful way to kill one. So yes, I do care, but I still intend to eat one any chance I get. There are those who will tell you that stabbing them in the head before boiling is kindest, but they are wrong. The lobster brain is tiny, and the chances of actually hitting it dismal. The best way I found is the fast plunge into vigorously boiling water. Those people who put them in a strainer above cold water and bring it slowly to a boil are pure sadists and should be punished. There is a difference between killing to eat and wanton cruelty. For all the horrors of the modern slaughterhouse, I’m betting it beats being stabbed in the shoulder with a spear and then chased, wounded, for a day and a half before being finally eviscerated. We can do better, and we should be held responsible for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/14 "2012-01-10T18:10:06Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Consciousness? The only Descartes a lobster recognizes are the ones at desupermarkets. > > Mmmmm… existential lobster. I eat, therefore it is. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/15 "2012-01-10T18:21:55Z")
Oddly enough, we’ve done this before … > **[Do lobsters feel pain when boiled alive](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=501646)** > > A few weeks ago, when my wife and I were buying lobster, we were mulling over this very question. Though I’m no scientist and certainly no Cecil I was able to think this through a bit. My conclusion is that animals at that level probably function... > **[Why shouldn't invertebrates feel pain](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=372632)** > > http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap\_lobster\_pain\_050214.html “It concluded that most invertebrates – including lobsters, crabs, worms, snails, slugs and clams – probably don’t have the capacity to feel pain” So the question is why shouldn’t... > **[How quickly does a lobster die....](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=289206)** > > …when thrust into the boiling water to be cooked? Does shock kill it immediately, or does it have time to feel the pain? I really don’t know the answer, but I had a kid ask me(nephew, age ten) and I couldn’t answer. > **[How to kill a lobster?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=285398)** > > So, what’s the most humane way to kill a lobster / crayfish / crab etc? I watched an Iron Chef episode where they tied up some crabs and put them in a dry wok to cook in their own juices - I thought that there must be a ‘nicer’ way to kill the poor... > **[do shrimps and lobsters feel pain when boiled?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=266379)** > > Are shrimp and lobsters actually boiled alive? I’ve heard that they are, supposedly to keep them fresh and make sure they turned a pretty red or pink. Can anyone point out research how much pain a shrimp or lobster of crab would suffer as a result... Some of these are real old & probably ought not be re-awakened with new replies. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/16 "2012-01-10T18:38:45Z")
Lobster sympathizer! Soon you’re going to be demanding that they get the right to vote, I bet. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/17 "2012-01-10T18:55:20Z")
I do feel bad for them and avoid eating them even though they’re delicious. If it were possible to prove that they don’t feel pain I would eat them, but I don’t think that it is and I’m not going to roll the dice and hope that I’m not torturing something to death. The article Marley linked to says it takes them 30-45 seconds to die in a pot of boiling water. That’s a lot of potential agony. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/18 "2012-01-10T19:10:59Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Once, I was just about to drop my lobster in the pot of boiling water, when I started to consider his (her? its?) feelings about the matter. > > So, I changed my mind. I took him to the forest and set him free. > > I still feel really good about that. So you’re the one who is responsible for the [Tree Lobsters](http://www.treelobsters.com/). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/19 "2012-01-10T19:13:00Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Lobster sympathizer! Soon you’re going to be demanding that they get the right to vote, I bet. I oppose this. They’ll just vote in their own best interests. Next, they will demand the right to marry- humans and each other! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046/20 "2012-01-10T19:39:34Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > I do feel bad for them and avoid eating them even though they’re delicious. If it were possible to prove that they don’t feel pain I would eat them, but I don’t think that it is and I’m not going to roll the dice and hope that I’m not torturing something to death. The article Marley linked to says it takes them 30-45 seconds to die in a pot of boiling water. That’s a lot of potential agony. ☹ I don’t like to seem them all crowded together in their aquariums, either. I’m an omnivore, but I’m eagerly awaiting the day when they develop vat meat that has no relation to living animals except for being delicious. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sympathy-for-lobsters/609046.md?page=2)