Eating live seafood
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This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (July 2015) |
The practice of eating live seafood, such as fish, crab, oysters, young shrimp, or young octopus, is widespread.
Contents
Live seafood dishes[edit]
| Location | Name | Image | Description | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Drunken shrimp |  |
Drunken shrimp is a popular dish in parts of China. It is based on fresh-water shrimp that are placed in a strong liquor, baijiu, and then eaten, often while they are alive. Modified recipes are used in different parts of China. For example, the drunken shrimp can be cooked in boiling water instead of serving them while they are still live. In other recipes, the shrimp are boiled first and then marinated in alcohol.[1] | Drunken Shrimp on YouTube |
| Yin Yang fish | Yin Yang fish, or dead-and-alive fish, originated in Taiwan, and consists of a whole live fish which has had some of its flesh deep-fried in such a way that the fish remains alive after the frying process. Some chefs say they prepare the fish this way to demonstrate it freshness to the customer.[2][3][4][5] Preparation of this dish is now prohibited in Taiwan and illegal in Australia and Germany. However, the practice continues in China. | Eating A Deep Fried Fish That's Still Alive – Huffington Post | ||
| Japan | Ikizukuri |  |
Ikizukuri, lit. "prepared alive", is the preparation of sashimi made from live seafood. Fish is usually used, but sometimes octopus, shrimp and lobster are used instead.[6] The practice is controversial, and ikizukuri is outlawed in Australia and Germany.[7] | Live Sushi on YouTube |
| Odori ebi |  |
Odori ebi, lit. "dancing shrimp", is a sashimi delicacy in Japan. It includes live baby pink shrimp, usually dunked in sake, wriggling their legs and waving their antenna as they are eaten. The meal is prepared rapidly and quickly served to ensure the shrimp are still alive. Dancing shrimp are also eaten in Thailand, where they are known as Goong Ten, กุ้งเต้น. | Eating live "dancing shrimp" in Thailand on YouTube | |
| Korea | Sannakji |  |
Sannakji is a type of hoe, or raw dish, in Korea. It consists of live baby octopuses (nakji), either whole, or cut into small pieces and immediately served, usually with a light sesame oil seasoning. The dish is eaten while still squirming on the plate.[8] | Eating Live Octopus in Korea – Sannakji on YouTube |
| Widespread | Live oyster |  |
Oysters are often eaten live.[9] | |
| Live lobster |  |
Restaurants in New York City serve live lobster, advertising that they allow customers the opportunity to “pick belly sashimi out of its still moving body”.[10] | I eat a live lobster in Japan on YouTube |
Ethical viewpoints[edit]
London resident Louis Cole runs a YouTube channel in which he eats live seafood.[11][12] The Guardian commented on the ethical issues raised by the behaviour of Cole that: "It seems objectively less cruel to kill a scorpion instantly than to rear chickens in battery cages or pigs in the most miserable pork farms.[11]
The view that oysters are acceptable to eat, even by strict ethical criteria, has notably been propounded in the seminal 1975 text Animal Liberation, by philosopher Peter Singer. However, subsequent editions have reversed this position (advocating against eating oysters). Singer has stated that he has "gone back and forth on this over the years", and as of 2010 states that "while you could give them the benefit of the doubt, you could also say that unless some new evidence of a capacity for pain emerges, the doubt is so slight that there is no good reason for avoiding eating sustainably produced oysters".[13]
Health issues[edit]
In India, the government provides support for an annual fish medicine festival in Hyderabad, where asthma patients are given a live sardine to eat which is supposed to cure their asthma.[14]
Infection by the fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum is seen in countries where people eat raw or undercooked fish, such as some countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, and North and South America.[15]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 醉蝦
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/17/eating-a-deep-fried-fish_n_360576.html
- ^ Leach, Ben (18 November 2009). "Chinese diners eat live fish in YouTube video". The Daily Telegraph (London).
- ^ http://www.islandcrisis.net/2009/11/fried-living-fish/ (defunct 28 June 2015)
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/17/eating-a-deep-fried-fish_n_360576.html
- ^ http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1928778.ece
- ^ Microtrends: Ikizukuri
- ^ South Korean fishermen, health officials tangle over octopus Loa Angeles Times, 29 October 2010.
- ^ Kurlansky, Mark (2009) The Big Oyster: A Molluscular History of New York Random House. ISBN 9781409077930.
- ^ Corn, L. (2011). "Eating live lobsters: Painful or delicious?". Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ a b The man who eats live animals The Guardian, 17 April 2012.
- ^ Food For Louis Louis Cole onYouTube
- ^ Cox, Christopher (April 7, 2010). "Consider the Oyster: Why even strict vegans should feel comfortable eating oysters by the boatload". Slate. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^ Indians eat live sardines to cure asthma The Telegraph, 20 May 2012.
- ^ U.S. National Library of Medicine, Medline Plus, "Fish Tapeworm," [1].
External links[edit]
- Macho foodies in New York develop a taste for notoriety The Observer, Sunday 30 May 2010.
- Foods to Try Before You Die Fox News, 19 October 2009.
- Lobsters and Crabs Feel Pain, Study Shows Discovery News, 27 March 2009.
- Do fish feel pain? HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
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