Consider The Lobster

Before reading “Consider the Lobster,” what did you think of when you thought about lobster? Since reading it, what do you think of on the subject? Did the essay inform your thoughts, and how?

In the years since “Consider the Lobster” was first published, climate change has only worsened in severity and scope. Consuming animals influences climate change by causing an increase in methane gas, deforestation, and drought, among other issues, while the food chain itself is threatened by climate change. How and why do those issues impact your food decisions? And does climate change matter more or less than the ethical issues Wallace raises?

Gourmet is no longer published, so any reader of “Consider the Lobster” today is not a reader of Gourmet, Wallace’s intended audience. Does that impact how you read the essay? Does the essay change meanings with the change in venue or audience?