Ed's Soapbox
I am as big a champion of sustainable agriculture and responsibly, ethically raised meat as most, but I have to say I'm baffled by Whole Foods' recent decision not to sell live lobsters and crabs in their stores because these crustaceans suffer unnecessarily in captivity and subsequent death.
I'm sure lobsters and crabs don't look forward to being put in tanks, killed and eaten, but if we can't eat lobsters and crabs with impunity, what's next? Whole Foods banning the sale of Bumble Bee (or even a fabulous fancy-pants brand like Ortiz) tuna because the tuna suffer horribly on their way to the can?
Talk about slippery slope.
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3 Comments:
A restaurant in my parents' town in Florida recently stopped serving lobster after a local newspaper ran an article about the heart-rending way in which lobster scream as they are boiled. Of course, lobster don't have vocal cords, and the "screaming" is the sound of the shell expanding due to the heat of the water. Unfortunately, rational discussion (and fact checking) seems to have gone out the window as hand-wringing politcal correctness has flown in. My boyfriend, who is from Maine, does point out that a lobster in storage for months on end is not apt to be as tasty as it might be, however.
Barbara Hanson at 9:40AM on 06/18/06
Can we all just admit that everything, probably including asparagus, would prefer not to be killed and eaten? We should find ways to end life painlessly (if for no other reason than the food tastes better when it's not riddled with adrenalin). But most humans can't afford to sustain life on a vegan diet, so meat and crustacean meals are here to stay. When they come after the oysters, I swear I'll put a tidal pool in my own backyard and raise them myself.
annien at 1:41PM on 06/18/06
Hmm. I disagree with the sentiment that "most humans can't afford to sustain life on a vegan diet." No, I'm not a vegan, but we eat our share of meatless meals, and it's pretty cheap to center your meals around legumes, grains, and vegetables--way cheaper than buying meat every day. What are not cheap are those many vegan specialty products, cookies and soy ice cream treats and frozen fake chicken nuggets and such. Those can get expensive, but a nice bowl of black beans and rice with a side of grilled veggies is both inexpense and much tastier than your average tofu hot dog--or even a boneless, skinless chicken breast. I think they key is to be a good planner and to have good ingredients on hand. And when we eat meat, we eat good meat.
Oh, that Whole Foods lobster-liberation business? What a bunch of hooey!
SaraBir at 9:59AM on 06/19/06