I might have to slap the next Italian I hear criticize the US

[Glengoyne]

Story HERE (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-04-28T140510Z_01_L27553812_RTRUKOC_0_US-LOBSTER.xml)

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian restaurant was fined 688 euros ($855) for displaying live lobsters on ice to attract patrons, in an innovative application of an anti-cruelty law usually affecting to household pets.
A court in the northeastern city of Vicenza ruled the display was a form of abuse dooming the crustaceans to a slow death by suffocation.
"We're appealing," said Giuseppe Scalesia, who runs La Conchiglia D'Oro, or "Golden Shell," restaurant along with his brother Camillo.
"They said that the lobsters, laying on the ice, suffer... They compared them in court to other animals, like cats and dogs."

The case was brought by Gianpaolo Cecchetto, a former environmental activist, who took his two young children to the Vicenza restaurant in May 2002.
"They were shocked by the display," Cecchetto told Reuters, adding he immediately got in touch with the ENPA national animal protection entity. "ENPA took care of the lawyers and legal proceedings."
Italy has some of the world's toughest animal rights laws. The city of Rome in October banned goldfish bowls, seen as cruel, while Turin passed a law last year that would fine dog owners 500 euros unless they walked their canine friends at least three times a day.



I'm honestly not sure which is more ridiculous. The assertion that something we're going to boil alive has rights, or that they require dog owners to walk their pets three times a day.

[Flasch186]

why not just keep them in a tank? This seems stupid on the retaurants part not to keep them in one of the million Lobster tanks that span the globe. Stupid them, maybe stupid to have the suit to begin with but you wouldnt want to see a cow slowly suffocated to death behind a Chili's, right?

[21C]

I'm honestly not sure which is more ridiculous. The assertion that something we're going to boil alive has rights, or that they require dog owners to walk their pets three times a day.
I've never understood why the lobster needs to be boiled alive.

[Glengoyne]

why not just keep them in a tank? This seems stupid on the retaurants part not to keep them in one of the million Lobster tanks that span the globe. Stupid them, maybe stupid to have the suit to begin with but you wouldnt want to see a cow slowly suffocated to death behind a Chili's, right?

It's is actually a pretty common practice to chill your lobsters before cooking them. When we buy lobsters at the grocery store, and bring them home, we bring them home on ice. Then we put them in the Fridge. In fact(well I think it is a fact..but haven't double checked to be honest) it is supposed to be more humane to chill them first, rather than drop them straight into the pot of boiling water. The chilling is supposed to put them into a state of suspended animation or some such.

[Glengoyne]

I've never understood why the lobster needs to be boiled alive.

They release an enzyme upon death that causes their insides to degrade RAPIDLY.

[21C]

I did not know that.

I haven't bought or cooked them myself but I'm pretty sure when I've seen them on sale here that they haven't been alive - just on ice like most other seafood. I could be wrong though.

Edit - just did a quick search and apparantly what I'm seeing is pre-cooked lobsters.

[MrBug708]

I work at McCormick and Schmick's right now and we keep our lobsters alive, but in the walk-in fridge. Cooking them alive is the best way to go

[bulletsponge]

Mmmm Lobster :P

[AlexB]

I might have to slap the next Italian I hear criticize the US

ping: jbmagic :D

[Desnudo]

Have you been subjected to a lot of criticism from Italians?

[Joe]

Have you been subjected to a lot of criticism from Italians?


Haven't we all? They never stop criticizing the Sopranos. :mad:

[Dutch]

Have you been subjected to a lot of criticism from Italians?

Was that a slap? ;)

[Desnudo]

Haven't we all? They never stop criticizing the Sopranos. :mad:

I'm afraid I have to side with the Italians on that issue. ;)

Edit: That the Sopranos now sucks.

[Galaxy]

An old thread,

But I was in Boston last week and saw they had a story on Boston magazine about wanting to outlaw lobsters, ect.

[RendeR]

If you ever want to enjoy seafood again, do NOT eat a lobster that died prior to being cooked. Don't BE that guy.

Glengoyne hit the nail on the head, upon death the lobster's body decays at a rate that would stun a science fiction special effects team. Literally within 5-20 minutes the muscle mass becomes inedible and within a full hour a noxious and sometimes dangerous slime forms within the shell.

Keep them alive, keep them wet, keep them very cold and BOIL THE LITTLE BASTARDS TILL THEIR DONE.

then enjoy with melted butter.

[Chief Rum]

I might have to slap the next Italian I hear criticize the US

ping: jbmagic :D

I am surprised we have gotten this far in this thread and no one has suggested to headbutt the next Italian instead.

[Glengoyne]

I am surprised we have gotten this far in this thread and no one has suggested to headbutt the next Italian instead.

LoL!

When I saw this thread I wondered what had happened to bring it back to the surface.

Then I read it, and was just trying to change the title to
"I might have to head butt the next Italian I hear criticize the US"

Apparently I lack the skill to do so.

Speaking of Jbmagic. Maybe somebody stole my edit button!

[sachmo71]

Haven't we all? They never stop criticizing the Sopranos. :mad:


Or Olive Garden.

[Subby]

I am very old, but not too old to learn something new, it seems.

Thanks!

[MIJB#19]

I might have to slap the next Italian I hear criticize the US

ping: jbmagic :DHe could slap himself!

[Mustang]

It always perplexes me to think over time how people were determined to find ways to eat certains things that can be inedible in certain scenarios. Like the Lobster... I mean, what was the process people went through to ultimately determine 'Ok.. I can eat this thing if I kill it as fast as possible in boiling water.. '

And the blowfish, I mean.. how f'n determined do you have to be? "Ok.. there has to be SOMETHING on this thing that I eat"

I think one of the few things I've seen in my lifetime that this has happened to is chicken wings. Wings used to be cheap as hell and pretty much considered discards.. (at least from what I remember in the 70's). Then buffalo wings came along...

Anyways.. just babbling.

[WSUCougar]

about wanting to outlaw lobsters
There I was, peacefully taking in the beauty of the Old North Church in the twilight, when the FBI agent approached me from behind.

"Sir?" he said.

"Yes?" I replied, hesitant to turn around and face the music.

"We know all about you," he continued.

"Oh?" I replied, moving my hand every-so-slowly toward my coat pocket.

"Yes, sir, we do. You left a pretty easy trail to follow. The scent of Old Bay on your clothes. The drops of melted butter on your floor..."

I did not respond this time, only continuing the slow movement of my hand. Inside the pocket now, I could feel the shell, the gentle wriggling of the feet and claws scuffling across the material...in a flurry of motion, I removed the rubber bands from the claws as I'd done a thousand times before, grasped the beast by its torso, and - wheeling - flung it at the face of the surprised fed. It caught him in the nose, and I could hear his screams of pain as I fled into the night.

Yes, I am a lobster felon. Hear me roar.

[Galaxy]

There I was, peacefully taking in the beauty of the Old North Church in the twilight, when the FBI agent approached me from behind.

"Sir?" he said.

"Yes?" I replied, hesitant to turn around and face the music.

"We know all about you," he continued.

"Oh?" I replied, moving my hand every-so-slowly toward my coat pocket.

"Yes, sir, we do. You left a pretty easy trail to follow. The scent of Old Bay on your clothes. The drops of melted butter on your floor..."

I did not respond this time, only continuing the slow movement of my hand. Inside the pocket now, I could feel the shell, the gentle wriggling of the feet and claws scuffling across the material...in a flurry of motion, I removed the rubber bands from the claws as I'd done a thousand times before, grasped the beast by its torso, and - wheeling - flung it at the face of the surprised fed. It caught him in the nose, and I could hear his screams of pain as I fled into the night.

Yes, I am a lobster felon. Hear me roar.

LOL.

[Bubba Wheels]

When lobsters become outlawed, then only the outlaws will have lobsters!

BTW, I have heard that its better to steam a lobster than to boil one. Any confirmation on that?

[Galaxy]

They first outlawed foie gras in Chicago, and now other cities like Philadelphia want to do it.

Now lobsters are next, or at least the process of boiling them?

[Galaxy]

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060715/REPOSITORY/607150310/1028/OPINION02

An article talking about lobsters.

[WSUCougar]

Too bad there are no colossal lobsters. That would be something to talk about.

[Anthony]

i LOVE lobster tails, i just don't know how to eat the rest of it. the whole using a nutcracker to get at the other meat part trips me up. it winds up getting messy and there isn't as much meat as there is in the tail.

[ISiddiqui]

Using the cracker to get at the meat in the claws and legs is half the fun of eating lobster! Kind of like how I can't imagine eating Snow Crab without having to work my way through it. It's like entertainment with your meal ;).

[Fidatelo]

Call me a pussy (or an Italian I guess) if you'd like but I can't stand going into a restaurant and seeing those little guys all huddled in their tank, waiting to get boiled alive. I'm by no means a vegan, but I can't see how its ok to treat lobsters the way we do.

Then again, I don't really know the ins-and-outs of how most food is produced, so perhaps I'm simply ostriching myself to the nastiness that is behind most meats. Regardless, lobster is not on my menu.

[cuervo72]

They are just big bugs that live in the water.

[Anthony]

think of it this way - how do you cook fish? first you catch it by making it bite a hook (that can't feel too good), then you put it in your bucket while it suffocates to death. we don't treat fish any better but no one thinks twice about it. animals with tiny, simply brains don't experience the same range of pain or emotions more sophisticated animals do. just cuz you wouldn't want to be boiled alive doesn't mean it should be applied to a simple animal that most likely doesn't even experience pain.

[Fidatelo]

think of it this way - how do you cook fish? first you catch it by making it bite a hook (that can't feel too good), then you put it in your bucket while it suffocates to death. we don't treat fish any better but no one thinks twice about it. animals with tiny, simply brains don't experience the same range of pain or emotions more sophisticated animals do. just cuz you wouldn't want to be boiled alive doesn't mean it should be applied to a simple animal that most likely doesn't even experience pain.

I actually don't agree with fishing either, for the reasons you list above. In fact its quite awkward when I go to my parents cabin because everyone else loves to fish, so I have to sit and read a book while they maim sea creatures for fun.

[Anthony]

I actually don't agree with fishing either, for the reasons you list above. In fact its quite awkward when I go to my parents cabin because everyone else loves to fish, so I have to sit and read a book while they maim sea creatures for fun.

oooooook. PETA would love to have you join their ranks.



i bet you let mosquitoes take as much blood from you as they want. :D

[WSUCougar]

Then again, I don't really know the ins-and-outs of how most food is produced, so perhaps I'm simply ostriching myself to the nastiness that is behind most meats.
I'm afraid that's the case. But at least you're being civil about it. I have a co-worker who's a real imperious ass about "the poor, suffering animals" and yet doesn't have a clue about the realities. Okay, lady, when you live on an island wearing coconut fronds and eating nothing but poi get back to me.

[Mustang]

i bet you let mosquitoes take as much blood from you as they want. :D

Not too much though. If they suck up too much blood, it slows them down and makes them a target for predators such as bats. Can't be a factor in their death now can ya?

:D

[MrBigglesworth]

I'm afraid that's the case. But at least you're being civil about it. I have a co-worker who's a real imperious ass about "the poor, suffering animals" and yet doesn't have a clue about the realities. Okay, lady, when you live on an island wearing coconut fronds and eating nothing but poi get back to me.
I had a philosophy discussion course in college, and one thing we went through was why it is considered ok to eat fish and what not and keep animals as pets. We justify it because we are higher animals, that think and/or feel on a plane higher than them, that they just can't understand. Then the question was asked: what if an alien life form came along and thought at a level that we couldn't comprehend. Would it be ok for them to eat us, or keep us as pets? That discussion didn't exactly turn me into a vegan (as Seanbaby once noted about animal rights, as far as I know animals have the right to chew regurgitated weeds while they wait for someone to ram a steel rod through their brain and cover them in ketchup), but it does make me take a second thought about a lot of stuff.

[Desnudo]

When lobsters become outlawed, then only the outlaws will have lobsters!

BTW, I have heard that its better to steam a lobster than to boil one. Any confirmation on that?

The way I was taught was to steam them. Put a little water in the bottom of a dutch oven, heat, drop the lobstahs in and cover. Listen closely for screams of pain if you're a sadist.

[Passacaglia]

Wait -- someone named Seanbaby has been quoted TWICE today? Is this guy the next Confucius?

[MrBigglesworth]

Wait -- someone named Seanbaby has been quoted TWICE today? Is this guy the next Confucius?
Well, they were both by me. I went to search for the one quote, then stayed on his site and read more again because I can never tear myself away, and I found out that he is updating it again after several years off!

www.seanbaby.com

[Fidatelo]

I'm afraid that's the case. But at least you're being civil about it. I have a co-worker who's a real imperious ass about "the poor, suffering animals" and yet doesn't have a clue about the realities. Okay, lady, when you live on an island wearing coconut fronds and eating nothing but poi get back to me.

I guess I mostly just don't like to think about what happens to the food I eat, but things like lobster tanks and fishing throw it in my face and force me to deal with the issue. I would never say "hey you, stop fishing!" or "you cruel lobster eating douchebag, how would you like to be boiled alive!" For the most part I guess I just lose my appetite for the food once I start picturing it suffering, and thankfully for most foods I'm naive enough about their pre-dinnerplate lives that I can picture them happily wandering up a conveyor belt into the sleeping chambers or something :)

All that said, I do think catch and release fishing is kind of cruel. Don't we have enough things to occupy our time that we need to borderline torture creatures for 'sport'?

[Fidatelo]

oooooook. PETA would love to have you join their ranks.



i bet you let mosquitoes take as much blood from you as they want. :D

They might be able to convince me to join if Pam Anderson was doing the debriefing.

As for mosquitos, I have no problem killing those little fuckers, they attacked me first dammit!