Blog #4: Consider the Lobster

David Foster starts by explaining what his voice will sound like when he is talking from the main text and what he will sound like when he reads the footnotes. The Maine Lobster Festival is a very famous festival where thousands of people come together not just to eat lobster, but for so much more. He starts to explain the different types of lobster foods that were served and his experience there in the third person. Until now, I did not know that lobster was considered a "low-class" food. Since I've learned the many ways lobster can be prepared, I never would have thought this was meant for the lower class. Foster's experience at this festival affected him greatly, and I can see that through his article. He writes that it is not for everyone and is considered a mid level county fair. Interestingly enough, every year the US industry produces about 80 million pounds of lobster and Maine acquires more than half of that. He then starts to talk about the preparation of the lobster. He questions if it is okay to eat something for pleasure when they are supposedly boiled alive... PETA has supposedly tried to boycott this festival or at least change the way the lobster is being prepared. Although this is a very popular and enjoyable place to attend, whether you're a resident of Maine or just a tourist looking for something new to witness, the preparation is important to know about. So, personally, I do eat lobster. Not on a daily basis or anything but I do think it's a luxury to eat. The best I've had was lobster mac and cheese. I do not know how this lobster was prepared, but I also didn't care to ask, I don't think anybody would. But reading this article really has me thinking. People don't think about the harmful process it is for the lobsters to be prepared. I would like to hear that boiling the lobsters alive is not true but I know it probably is. I think Foster is right to be concerned about the animals we choose to eat just because we would all be curious if there was an article like this on any animal. Not that I would suddenly stop eating fish or meat because of this, but is selfish just to think of our needs and to ignore the pain these animals may suffer. There definitely are ways for an animal to be prepared peacefully and the fastest way may not be the best way.

Reading the time consuming research Foster wrote about in his article really can make somebody think about the actions they take without thinking. The "research" genre plays a big part in Foster's article because he went and researched, as well as have people's perspectives on this festival and eating animals in general. So, yes, Foster will still go to this festival because it is something the residents of Maine go to every year, but changing the preparation style would turn more people on to coming and eating the lobster. I do not know how other people will feel after reading this article. Some people may be turned off from fish for a long time or for the rest of their lives. Some people will not care and keep on eating it. And lastly, some people(like me) will continue to eat this food but will hope for a change in the preparation style because it's not fair for us to enjoy eating something that went through torture to be made. If there's any other conclusion to this article about the way other readers see this, I'd like to know their perspectives, but that is mine and I hope not just this festival, but any other restaurant or festival or any place that sells food will make sure the animals they are preparing did not suffer with pain in any way.