Bottom Feeders

[Chesterton]

I was wondering if anybody with some biology under their belt has an opinion about eating so-called bottom feeders: shrimp, crab, lobster and the like. Some people say they won't eat them because these things feed on stuff like rotting flesh and feces. I was searching around some websites once and came across differing ideas. So two questions:

1. Are they actually bottom feeders? A couple of websites said crab and lobster actually hunt (and hunt and eat each other, too).

2. If they do feed on rotting carcasses full time or part time, does it matter to a human eating them? Seems if there are nutrients in the corpse that the eater can use it will use those, and unusable material will "pass through" the eater anyway?

I like all that stuff, but I've heard people say for instance, "shrimp are the cockroaches of the sea". It's kind of unpleasant to think of if that's true.

 

[Koizito]

Maybe they do eat that, so what? Their body processes what they eat so you won't eat feces or anything like that... By that logic, would you say that a lion eats grass, since its preys eat it?

 

[AV1611VET]

By that logic, would you say that a lion eats grass, since its preys eat it?

In the next dispensation, after earth has seen its greatest evolutionist ever go down in defeat, this anti-evolution scene will be commonplace:

Isaiah 11:7b ... and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

No evolutionist, theistic or otherwise, would admit that lions eat straw; and certainly no cladist would admit that straw has nutritional value.

 

[sandwiches]

I was wondering if anybody with some biology under their belt has an opinion about eating so-called bottom feeders: shrimp, crab, lobster and the like. Some people say they won't eat them because these things feed on stuff like rotting flesh and feces. I was searching around some websites once and came across differing ideas. So two questions:

1. Are they actually bottom feeders? A couple of websites said crab and lobster actually hunt (and hunt and eat each other, too).

2. If they do feed on rotting carcasses full time or part time, does it matter to a human eating them? Seems if there are nutrients in the corpse that the eater can use it will use those, and unusable material will "pass through" the eater anyway?

I like all that stuff, but I've heard people say for instance, "shrimp are the cockroaches of the sea". It's kind of unpleasant to think of if that's true.

It's cultural and a matter of taste. We humans eat carcasses in different state of decomposition all the time and other products of fermentation like wine, beer, cheese, yogurt, etc.

 

[MacNeil, D.]

It's cultural and a matter of taste. We humans eat carcasses in different state of decomposition all the time and other products of fermentation like wine, beer, cheese, yogurt, etc.

yes. we certainly don't want to eat the animals while they're still alive.

 

[sandwiches]

yes. we certainly don't want to eat the animals while they're still alive.

Some people like that. Ever heard of cooking and eating fish while they're still alive? Also, some insects are eaten alive. Yum!

 

[Blayz]

The main problem is with filter feeders like shellfish (maybe lobster too, I don't actually know) and then when you eat them raw. Shellfish can concentrate human pathogens by accident, especially if they are grown near humans and exposed to human effluent.

Best example is catching hepatitis A from raw oysters, mussels or clams.

 

[badtim]

live food is the best food

seafood in general is problematic due to the massive amounts of lovely stuff (like methyl mercury) that ends up in the oceans. and shellfish from asian fish farms is more and more being discovered to contain large amounts of contaminants and toxins. here's a good resource:

Seafood Watch Program | A Consumer's Guide to Sustainable Seafood | Monterey Bay Aquarium

 

[sandwiches]

live food is the best food

It's a lot harder to eat. Also, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who eats live food, save for the rare oyster.

 

[badtim]

It's a lot harder to eat. Also, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who eats live food, save for the rare oyster.

you just gotta keep a firm grip on 'em!

 

[JustMeSee]

It's a lot harder to eat. Also, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who eats live food, save for the rare oyster.

My vegetables give a silent scream when I bite into them.