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Karma? Who is studying whether or not there are a lot of truly mean spirited lobsters out there that might have it coming?

i think the more important question is, even if there is overwhelming evidence that crustaceans can feel pain, what percent of the population would that deter from eating them?

im guessing somewhere between 0 and 1.

I have related amoooozing story. I always felt a little bit guilty about the whole boiled alive thing so I decided to go for the chef knife through the head technique. Long story abbreviated, boyfriend did NOT want to kill lobsters he wanted to fill up the bathtub and name them, so the knifing fell to me. He couldn’t even be in the same room, actually he decided to take a nap while I took care of business. So I got the lobster in position, knife point in the middle about 1 inch back from eyes, and I couldn’t do it, had to psych myself up for it. I don’t care how cold hearted you are, the first time you thrust a knife into a living creature, even if it looks like an overlarge but delicious bug, its not easy. Ok back into position, overlarge bug must not suffer because boyfriend, and apparently I, are both cowards. I do it. But right before I do I sort of let out this little scream, like a little school girl. Pathetic I know. Second one was easier. I get them in the pot, and go to other room to tell manly man that dinner is on its way. Find him in fetal position with blankets up around chin, clearly freaking out. “What happened, I can’t eat them, I heard one scream!”

This whole debate over whether or not lobsters feel pain drives me crazy -- and I wrote THE BOOK on lobsters! ("The Secret Life of Lobsters" by Trevor Corson.) The headlines always make it seem as though settling this debate one way or another is going to impact lobster eaters. If we're being honest with ourselves, it shouldn't make one iota of difference.

Let's be clear: if we're not vegetarians, we're responsible for the daily slaughter of all sorts of sentient creatures that most certainly do feel pain. If you're going to eat meat, and you have a conscience, the issue is finding meat from animals that have been treated and killed in as humane a manner as possible.

Lobsters are no different. I've followed the scientific arguments about lobster pain closely for several years and I'm unconvinced that we know much one way or the other. So I decided I would just assume that being boiled alive is likely to hurt. In which case, we should kill lobsters quickly and humanely before putting them in the pot. It's that simple. Here's how to do it: http://tinyurl.com/97fpr

The squeamish reactions to killing a live lobster that many of us have are, I think, a direct indicator of how far removed we've become from our food. The lobster is pretty much the last animal that most of us still encounter alive before we eat it. And it's clearly a shock to come face to face with what we're doing.

But it's also an opportunity -- a profound one -- to reconnect with the web of life that we both exploit and depend on. If you eat meat and you get through the experience of killing a live lobster, trying slaughtering a goat next -- which I have done -- and see how that makes you feel. It might turn you into a vegetarian, but if you continue as a carnivore, you'll certainly never eat meat thoughtlessly again.

tcorson makes some excellent points, several I've been mulling over for years re procuring one's own meat if one eats omnivorously. I personally can only say I've personally killed my own fish, but hubby grew up in the country and has killed many a chicken. I dislike the idea of killing an animal, but I recognize that if I'm willing to eat it, I should be willing to do the dirty work. Since we plan to retire to a farm in the next 10 years or so, I know I will eventually be faced with that task. That said, it seems obvious that the goal, always, should be to do so as quickly and painlessly as possibly.

I'd opt for killing the lobster first, but I'm not convinced it makes much difference. The reason they look like "bugs" is because that's essentially what they are (invertebrates) -- their nervous system is completely different from ours and it's unlikely they experience "pain" in the way we know it..

Opposing research concludes that lobsters are delicious with butter.

I about died laughing when I read that.

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