Switzerland Bans Boiling Lobsters Alive
Recently, the Swiss government has enacted a law banning the common culinary practice of boiling lobsters alive.
The crustacean delicacy will continue being served in restaurants all across the country, except that starting this March when the new regulations go into effect, restauranteurs are now expected to be in full compliance with government directives requiring that lobsters be stunned before being cooked, or otherwise killed instantly prior to boiling.
I feel this law is a tricky one: on the one hand, it could easily lead to wasteful government spending at the taxpayer's expense, by forcing restaurants to get some form of official document issued by a central authority certifying they are in compliance with the new law, or perhaps by forcing businesses to send their employees to tax subsidized training courses on how to prepare lobster in a more humane way.
Governments are experts at misusing public funds, so the two situations outlined above seem like a definite possibility.
This ban is also an infringement of its citizens' right to free choice, in that it limits what food products the population is or isn't allowed to consume.
On the other hand, given the lobster's advanced nervous system and a capacity for feeling pain, the widespread practice of boiling the animal alive does seem like something taken straight out of an ISIS propaganda video, and perhaps the sort of barbaric ritual we as a species should condemn as needlessly inhumane.
Assuming this particular piece of legislation wasn't drafted unilaterally by bureaucrats, and that it instead reflects the consensus amongst the population, then maybe something good could come out of this ban.
What do you guys think? Do you believe we need animal cruelty laws like this one, or do you think this is just another case of a controlling government playing nanny to its citizens?
As for me, I'm genuinely torn on this one! All I know is that I find myself cutting back on meat and animal products more and more these days. In fact, I see that many prominent anarcho-capitalists on Steemit happen to be vegan or vegetarian, which I suppose is consistent with the non-aggression principle.
I guess it's true that an anarchist mindset and veganism really do go hand in hand!
Good news! I hope they introduce that law in Poland too:)
I also read there's a similar law in Italy stating that lobsters should not be kept on ice in restaurant kitchens, so the trend seems to be in that direction. In Europe, at least.
While i am not a "true vegetarian" by most traditional vegetarian standards, as i will occasionally eat some meats, if part of a cultural event or holiday in a "when in Rome mind set" as i often have interesting philosophical outlooks on things like this, i do believe that if we are going to consume the animal, it should be that the animal is not wasted, and that it be put down in the most humane way possible.
We are genetically designed through evolution to be able o eat meats, and to want to eat them, but we also evolved with a mind which should be able to allow us to realize the sense it is the right thing to do to make sure that the life we take, to sustain ours, does not endure suffering and its sacrifice, was not wasted by being scraped off a plate half eaten into a bin just because someone's eyes were to big for their belly.
In my opinion, this seems like a very mature and kind thing for a species that eats meat to do.
I tend to agree.
I'm prone to mood swings, and I've found that consuming meat products tends to intensify the troughs, but if someone is a meat lover who can't go by a single day without eating beef, pork, chicken or shellfish, then all I ask is that they opt for less extreme methods of preparation.
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STOPhello there nice post...i am upvoting you and following..please do the same for me and do let me know by replying...go vincentb
Thanks for the upvote, but the only way we're going to achieve some form success as a community is if more of us start posting original content.
I had a look at your page, and the bulk of your posts appear to be imbedded YouTube videos by other authors, without attribution or any type of editorial comment.
This is a very inefficient way to build trust, and a recipe for disaster, as there are automated accounts that flag and downvote plagiarized content.
Write a well-thought out opinion piece on a subject that interests you, and I'll be more than happy to upvote and follow your account! It's nothing personal, but until then, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on your offer.
hello there nice post...i am upvoting you and following..please do the same for me and do let me know by replying...go vincentb
Please refer to my reply to @singhgaurav90.