The Atlantic's usually exemplary Food Channel posted today an entry concerning the humane treatment of crustaceans. While I am a supporter of the humane treatment (and slaughter) of livestock, this article seems a bit past the line for me.
First, the author is extrapolating from the fact that a hermit crab can sense an electrical field in a shell to a lobster suffering from being cooked in a boiling pot of water, despite the fact noted in an article he links to that the sensors in the lobster shut down at 25°C (or slightly above room temperature). The linked article also questions if crustaceans have the mental capacity to perceive pain, having six orders of magnitude less neurons in their brains than mammals. As Sheriff Truman said, "Where there's no sense, there's no feeling."
Second, while the author does describe a practical method for dispatching a lobster in your home kitchen, his other solutions to this inhumanity to crustaceans are the industrial crushing of the lobsters and packaging of the meat or to give your lobster their own electric chair, neither of which are proven to be any better for the crustacean if they were able to perceive pain. The author also alludes to an issue which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, that the American carnivore tries to remove the fact from their mind that meat comes from animals (but I should dedicate that to a future essay here). In any case, while I have been known to brain a lobster before dumping it into a pot of boiling water this method would be utterly impractical for a crawfish boil.
Lastly, when issues like this come up and someone proposes the government get involved, I can't help but think we have bigger issues we need to tackle first. The economy has gone to shit, many people don't have access to basic medical care, some people that don't agree with us are trying to make nuclear weapons, we're in two wars, but let's deal with the possible crustacean torture first. While we're at it, let's look at banning foie gras again too.
