Is There A Reason Why Lobsters Are Boiled Alive?

Because like crabs they do not have a shelf life. In order to eat them and ensure fresh and non-contaminated meat it is best to cook them at the time of consumption. Otherwise they need to be frozen immediately as the meat is ripe for bacteria and spoilage.

Shellfish go off really quickly, so the fresher they are the better.

Like all shellfish they do spoil quickly. However, not necessary to boil alive. You can like others have said, plunge your knife through their shell between the eyes and give them a quick death. Also, you don't have to boil them you can always clean them first then cook them in other fashions. Many people like the goo inside (I forget the culinary term), I personally don't. The enzymes in both lobsters and shrimp will destroy the flesh if not alive or flash frozen. I never buy shrimp (prawns) with their head on due to this.

Lobsters spoil extremely quick once they are dead

So that they are fresh and do not spoil. Also, once you break the shell, it causes flavor loss from the meat as the water would come in direct contact with the meat.

As everyone has already stated, they need to be prepared fresh. They do not have a shelf life. Someone up above gave the warning that they do scream when they are boiling in a pot of hot water.... That's exactly what it sounds like. Kinda freaky.

Much better to boiled them alive to avoid poison, boiling a dead lobster will not taste good.

They don't have a shelf life. The bad thing is, when you boil them...my wife swears they scream!

Http://au.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/frontend.php/question?qid=20080201211546AAi33aA

This is the best answer I've seen in a long time, and tells how to humanely kill them, and yes they make a high pitched sound when thrown in the pot of water. (I used to be married to a lobster fisherman)

I think a quick kill and cook wont compromise the taste. You eat them dead right? So all that boiling time after they've died doesn't count?

There is no reason, it doesnt make the meat taste better, and with freezing there is no reason to worry about spoiling. Cooking them alive is nothing more than barbaric in this day and age.
If you have a freezer let it freeze for an hour or two and then cook it.

To be honest, having tried Lobster its not that good.  Its like eating a large tastless prawn, its the money you dole out that makes you think its a worthy dish.

John Scotland
Works for a seafood company

Why do we boil them? Obviously you have never been bitten by a lobster while trying to eat him! Trust me it ain't like clams! And don't even get me started on crawldads! I'm going to miss aunt Judy  crawldad 1 aunt Judy 0