A culinary instructor at Nova Scotia Community College in Cape Breton is educating students on a more humane approach to cooking and preparing lobsters. Adam White, who has a culinary background spanning 15 years as a chef and 20 years as an instructor, has adopted a method influenced by recent studies from England. In December, England announced plans to ban the practice of boiling lobsters alive by 2030, following the recognition of decapod crustaceans and cephalopod mollusks’ ability to feel pain under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act.
Traditionally, lobsters were cooked by boiling them alive in heavily salted water for 11 to 14 minutes, but White highlights the need for a more compassionate approach. He now teaches his students to freeze lobsters for 20 to 30 minutes, which slows their metabolism and nervous system, reducing their pain sensitivity during a quick and humane killing process involving a knife between the eyes.
Several countries, including Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand, have already outlawed the practice of boiling lobsters alive. The decision in England to implement a ban emerged from a review by the London School of Economics, drawing on research by retired professor Robert Elwood, a prominent figure in the study of pain in crustaceans and cephalopods.
Elwood’s experiments have shown that these creatures exhibit responses indicative of pain rather than mere reflex actions. He emphasizes the prolonged suffering caused by boiling lobsters alive and advocates for the use of more humane methods for their preparation. Despite these findings, Nova Scotia’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture has stated that there are no current plans to alter existing practices in the province.