Scientific concensus is that crustaceans do not feel pain.
I'd love Luc the food scientist to chime in on this one as well.
They do not have the brain neurons that process pain.
Remember these particular animals soak up water, then basically explode out of their shell to grow a size and develop a new shell. A lobster or crab that is 7 years old has gone through this process dozens of times, so I seriously doubt a couple seconds alive in boiling water is a big deal.
And man do they taste good!
As previously stated, they are also very violent animals in their natural domain. Having a claw and arm (sometimes both) ripped off during daily battles is not uncommom, yet they miraculously grow new ones next time they molt.
The only pain felt during a boiling death is the guilt of the person who can't keep their emotions in check.
By the way, it is also dangerous and generally illegal to cook an already dead crustacean because toxins begin to form very shortly after death, which when critical mass is achevied will harm and potential killer the person who eats it. This is why lobsters and crabs are always cooked alive and dead ones are discarded.
Cat Man  |