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Thread: Asked Whole Foods dude if they have any live lobster and was kicked out of the store.

  1. #1

    Asked Whole Foods dude if they have any live lobster and was kicked out of the store.

    Apparently asking to purchase a live lobster is a terrible thing to do at Whole Foods. Up until I was kicked out of their store for asking about live lobster, I really liked their meat selection. They have Bison, amazing thick cut bacon, all sorts of seafood. But apparently I'm "very inhumane" for wanting to purchase live lobster.

    They do sell frozen lobster tails though. I'd love to know how they manage to get lobster tails without killing a lobster. It was after I asked this question that I was told to leave the store. Anyone have any insight into this? Do lobster processors do some sort of lethal injection that is so much more humane than cutting its head off or boiling it? Do pigs, cows, and fish sold at Whole Foods get this same humane execution? I'd prefer not eat food that has been killed by some lethal injection or even shocked, seems like it's ruin the meat.

    Do you all enjoy eating lobster and have you ever had any second thoughts on how humane it is to consume lobster?

  2. #2
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    All the animals I consume are dead.

    They actually kicked you out of the store for asking for a live Maine lobster? You didn't call anyone an asshole or anything?

  3. #3
    Well yes, after the guy acted like an asshole and told me I was very inhumane, I called him an asshole, which resulted in me being kicked out of the store. But couldn't he have just said "no, we don't carry live lobster, but we do have lobster tails"? No need to tell me I'm inhumane. I'm dead set on eating a lot more lobster now just to spite that prick. But it's really had to find. I'm wondering what's the deal. I used to see live lobster at just about every grocery store. Now I can only find it at Market Street for a fortune.

  4. #4
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    What difference does it make who does the killing to the store clerk? At least as far as dropping a lobster in a pot goes. Lobster's a gonner either way.

    Inhumane? Nature doesn't have much sympathy for food... Dude must not watch many nature shows. Those predators like wolves and lions don't mess around... they start eating before the prey is even dead.

    I ordered half a cow from a friend of mine that raised beef. Damn thing was alive before we had it slaughtered and turned into steaks and hamburger.

    That might not count, because I never met it while it was running around.
    Last edited by Devildog; 02-22-2013 at 02:03 AM.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Big Dave View Post
    Apparently asking to purchase a live lobster is a terrible thing to do at Whole Foods. Up until I was kicked out of their store for asking about live lobster, I really liked their meat selection. They have Bison, amazing thick cut bacon, all sorts of seafood. But apparently I'm "very inhumane" for wanting to purchase live lobster.

    They do sell frozen lobster tails though. I'd love to know how they manage to get lobster tails without killing a lobster. It was after I asked this question that I was told to leave the store. Anyone have any insight into this? Do lobster processors do some sort of lethal injection that is so much more humane than cutting its head off or boiling it? Do pigs, cows, and fish sold at Whole Foods get this same humane execution? I'd prefer not eat food that has been killed by some lethal injection or even shocked, seems like it's ruin the meat.

    Do you all enjoy eating lobster and have you ever had any second thoughts on how humane it is to consume lobster?
    That's what is wrong with a lot of these "extremists" on both sides. They have no clue how reality works and how big of hypocrites they are. Sadly enough, I have never enjoyed the taste of lobster. My goal this year is to do just that. Where would the best place be to start?

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Utah View Post
    That's what is wrong with a lot of these "extremists" on both sides. They have no clue how reality works and how big of hypocrites they are. Sadly enough, I have never enjoyed the taste of lobster. My goal this year is to do just that. Where would the best place be to start?
    The best place to start eating lobster is your own kitchen. That's the great thing about lobster is that you don't have to go to a fancy restaurant to get the best, freshest lobster. As long as it's alive you know it's as fresh or fresher than anything you'll find. There's only one way to cook lobster; half a cup of salt in the water, boil it for 10 minutes, bust it out of the shell, dip it in clarified butter.

    So that's my complaint, it looks like the animal rights jerks have convinced grocery stores not to carry live lobster anymore. The only place I can find it is at Market Street at Knudson's Corner where they sell fresh seafood, and they mark it up so much it's almost as cheap to have them just cook it for you. There's a seafood market across the street from Pioneer Park that I'd like to check out, they ought to have lobster too.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Big Dave View Post
    The best place to start eating lobster is your own kitchen. That's the great thing about lobster is that you don't have to go to a fancy restaurant to get the best, freshest lobster. As long as it's alive you know it's as fresh or fresher than anything you'll find. There's only one way to cook lobster; half a cup of salt in the water, boil it for 10 minutes, bust it out of the shell, dip it in clarified butter.

    So that's my complaint, it looks like the animal rights jerks have convinced grocery stores not to carry live lobster anymore. The only place I can find it is at Market Street at Knudson's Corner where they sell fresh seafood, and they mark it up so much it's almost as cheap to have them just cook it for you. There's a seafood market across the street from Pioneer Park that I'd like to check out, they ought to have lobster too.
    Fantastic. Thanks!

  8. #8
    I was at a BIG Lobsterfest in Rockland, ME. This festival serves on the order of 20k lbs of lobster annually. Of course there was a huge protest by several animal rights groups.

    One of the attendees that year was a Harvard biology professor who was interviewed on TV regarding the protest. He methodically dismissed all of the protesters' claims about 'inhumane treatment'. The first and foremost reason boiling a lobster is not 'cruel' is the fact that lobsters do not have a central nervous system and have a minimal pain response. IIRC much of the localized pain response merely acts to regenerate missing limbs. I have to wonder if most of the reason people protest eating lobster is due to the fact that they can live for up to a century or longer in some cases.

    Anybody who thinks boiling a lobster is 'inhumane' (a process which kills the beast in ~3 seconds or less) has never seen what a seagull will do to it. In fact, one of the best ways to get horribly ill is to eat crustaceons or shellfish that is dead at the start of cooking. If it is a few minutes old, not a problem. But if it is several days old it could kill you.

    While living in New England I ate enough lobster to last a lifetime because it was cheaper than a decent steak (~$4-6/lb). Those nastly sea cockroaches are some good eatin'.

  9. #9
    I almost wonder if the guy initially thought you were trying to take the piss out of him. It wasn't that long ago that Whole Foods (very publicly) went through the controversy and complaints from both sides regarding live lobsters. I'm sure their employees are trained to defend the corporate position on this. Plus, if he thought you were picking on him (as I suspect) then his dickish response would be expected.
    2014 utahby5 World Cup Bracket Predictor Challenge Champion. No one who speaks German could be an evil man.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by DanielLaRusso View Post
    I almost wonder if the guy initially thought you were trying to take the piss out of him. It wasn't that long ago that Whole Foods (very publicly) went through the controversy and complaints from both sides regarding live lobsters. I'm sure their employees are trained to defend the corporate position on this. Plus, if he thought you were picking on him (as I suspect) then his dickish response would be expected.
    Ask anyone on the street if they've heard about the Whole Foods lobster controversy and I'm sure you'll get a "what?" response. Just like the response I got from the butcher at Harmons when I asked him if they don't sell lobster due to animal rights issues. I looked it up after the incident and was surprised to find this ridiculous debate. But it was more than 5 years ago, hardly recent, so no wonder I wasn't aware.

    I asked the guy very politely, Whole Foods would be unwise to instruct their employees to defend their position rather than just state that it's company policy and direct them to the website if they have questions.

    But now that you mention it, maybe I will go in there again with the intent to disrupt and ask him where the hell are the live losters and then point to all the dead lobsters and all the other dead meat they have and insist on knowing whether their meat was killed or whether it was from animals that died naturally of old age.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Big Dave View Post
    Ask anyone on the street if they've heard about the Whole Foods lobster controversy and I'm sure you'll get a "what?" response. Just like the response I got from the butcher at Harmons when I asked him if they don't sell lobster due to animal rights issues. I looked it up after the incident and was surprised to find this ridiculous debate. But it was more than 5 years ago, hardly recent, so no wonder I wasn't aware.

    I asked the guy very politely, Whole Foods would be unwise to instruct their employees to defend their position rather than just state that it's company policy and direct them to the website if they have questions.

    But now that you mention it, maybe I will go in there again with the intent to disrupt and ask him where the hell are the live losters and then point to all the dead lobsters and all the other dead meat they have and insist on knowing whether their meat was killed or whether it was from animals that died naturally of old age.
    The eco piety is absurd. I think years of buying carefully packaged shrink-wrapped meat has desensitized people that eating meat comes at the cost of an real animal's life. Let me be clear that I eat meat often. I respect you cooking a live lobster. I think that honors the lobster's life far better than buying frozen tails. I know I sound kind of woo but I'm serious.

    And the employee was ridiculous. Why's it so difficult to say, "Nope, no live lobster but if you want we have frozen tails. Sorry about that." Whole Foods takes itself way too seriously.
    "Well-behaved women seldom make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan View Post

    While living in New England I ate enough lobster to last a lifetime because it was cheaper than a decent steak (~$4-6/lb). Those nastly sea cockroaches are some good eatin'.
    When we lived on the beach my dad would often go night diving and pull in a couple of lobsters which he would chuck in the freezer. Just toss 'em straight in without cleaning or packaging them or removing the antennae. Dad must have hated cleaning fish because he taught all of us kids how to wrap a freshly caught fish in aluminum foil, toss it in a firepit in the sand, and when done, carefully open up the foil, then fillet the fish along the backbone, deftly peel back the side and eat the flesh without scaling or piercing the digestive system. The only sea creature I ever saw Dad clean was a sea turtle, a horrible experience because they cry big turtle tears when you cut their heads off. But I digress.

    Anyway, Dad's proclivity for chucking various sea denizens (mostly lobster but also crabs and sea urchins) into the freezer used to drive mom crazy. On Saturday morning when she'd defrost the refrigerator she'd call Dad into the kitchen with a flinty voice. "Paul, you need to get rid of these animals NOW." So Dad would pull out Mom's largest pot and boil everything in the freezer and call us kids down to breakfast. I still don't know how to properly eat lobster in fine company using the correct implements.
    Last edited by Katy Lied; 05-25-2013 at 05:39 AM.

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