There’s a new guy in town selling lobsters — Whole Foods, which just opened Feb. 14 in Portland. At 45,350-square-feet, this supermarket is my town’s new epicenter for the animal-compassionate consumer who strongly believes in the humane killing of naturally fed animals who’ve lived a stress-free life. I, however, am feeling a tad overwhelmed — I see the champagne and flowers dead ahead, but where are the lobsters? This feels like dropping by Bloomingdale’s (minus the perfume); all I want to find is the free-range fish. Upon making a left, past the Thai, Indian and Latin food aisle, I’m stumped. While gathering my bearings in front of the Splish Splash case, which is full of a dizzying array of water bottles all promising “strapping good looks,” I reflect on the publicity generated by the fact this grocery mega-store decided to even sell the lobster I am seeking.
The Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market decided to stop selling live lobsters altogether last June after determining that its policy fell short of its commitment to the humane treatment and quality of life for animals, according to Margaret Wittenberg, vice president of quality standards for the 190-plus-store nationwide chain (WWF Aug. 2006).
Yet in recent months, along with buying the 110-plus-store Wild Oats chain, which currently has a much smaller, yet equally philosophically correct supermarket just around the corner in Portland, this juggernaut experienced a change of heart, deciding that the new Portland store would be its only store to sell live lobsters, but with the caveat of offering customers the option of an ethical quick kill. What touched the corporate conscience perhaps? The CrustaStun machine, one of Time magazine’s Innovations of the Year for 2006, a machine resembling a stainless steel photocopier that uses 110 volts to electrocute a lobster in less than five seconds. For the animal compassionate, this hot new technology is a far cry from watching a lobster thrash wildly for two minutes when boiled alive.
“There are a chunk of people who think we’re silly to care so much about how lobsters feel,” acknowledges Chris Snell, regional vice president based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “But we’re long-time New Englanders who wanted to sell live lobsters.”
With the help of employees I finally find the bountiful seafood section, where I learn that my lobster will taste particularly delicious because it’s lived a very good, comfortable life. “Our lobsters experience less stress than those sold out of a pound,” says Brian Gadbois, a team manager in the seafood department who further explains that with stress animals emit increased amino acids.
“Amino acids make meat tough and stress-free animals will be more tender,” sums up Gadbois.
Whole Foods’ marketing strategy entails a concerted effort to sell locally grown food whenever possible. While the company contracted with Little Bay Lobster Group, with corporate headquarters in Newington, New Hampshire, Little Bay’s Maine affiliate on Vinalhaven supplies the Maine store with lobsters. These lobsters spend two days in a high-oxygen waterfall system designed to help reduce their stress and shrinkage. Then, carefully encased in an individualized compartment in a customized tote, they ride in a refrigerated van for the trip to Portland.
Until now, buying local meant something far simpler, like a trip to Harbor Fish Market, a family-owned business in operation on Custom House Wharf since 1971. Their lobsters are stored in tanks with constantly circulating fresh Atlantic seawater. They, too, purchase directly from local lobstermen; as of March 16, their prices ranged from $11.99 to $15.99, and while at this date Whole Foods is currently selling 20-30 lobsters a week, Harbor Fish (which supplies to both restaurants and walk-in customers) is selling 100-to-200 pounds per week, according to Ben Alfiero, co-owner with brothers Nick and Mike.
Alfiero explains that at this time of year, lobster prices are high and size can vary from two to three pounds. The lobsters are so far offshore they’re difficult to haul. “I have five or six guys who fish for me, but from February 28 to March 12, my guys have only gone out twice, so I’ve had to use a middleman, New Meadows Lobster,” explains Alfiero.
When asked if he plans to buy a CrustaStun, which as of last December retailed for $4,740, Alfiero says, “No comment.”
As for the flavor of his product, Alfiero states simply, “I’ll stand by my quality against Whole Foods. We are local and we stand for quality.”
Whole Foods, on the other hand, markets convenience — this place is big because it holds everything from sushi bar to trattoria, from macchiato at the espresso bar to dental floss at up to $4.
Furthermore, if you like your food to look perfect, this system aspires to deliver on that expectation by ordering it delivered in customized totes (WWF Feb. 2007). “Lobsters are spiny critters and they can poke shells — then the lobster bleeds out and dies,” explains Craig Rief, president and CEO of Little Bay, adding that this way the Whole Foods product promises “no blemishes but nice, clean looking — just like they came out of the ocean.”
At a price, of course. “We pay a premium to the lobsterman to handle them this way,” says Rief.
Indeed, lobsterman Jim McDonald, nicknamed “Flea,” on Vinalhaven, has been promised by his boss, Kevin Moore, an extra 10 cents per pound to fill a tote with a 48-lobster, 60-pound capability. McDonald explains the incentive: This method of transport preparation is time consuming. However, after 34 years in this business, he has a rather blunt take on what the typical Whole Foods consumer considers sacred. “Come on, it’s a bug,” laughs McDonald. “I personally wouldn’t buy a dead lobster — cooked live, they taste better.”
As of March 16, a pound of lobster at Whole Foods was selling for $9.99, and after seven days of life in a cushy tote, leftovers were being turned into delicacies such as lobster pizza, ravioli, salad rolls and, when I visited, lobster-stuffed sole with asparagus, selling for $9.99 per eight-ounce portion.
Final note: at Portland’s Hannaford’s, as of March 18, the multiple lobsters crowded in a tank, were selling for $10.99 a pound, steamed upon request.