Is lobster vegan-compatible?

Watch for

• Crustacean allergy usually covers the whole group at once.The major lobster allergen is tropomyosin, and the lobster version is almost identical to the shrimp version at the sites that IgE antibodies bind, which is why people allergic to prawns very often react to lobster, crab and crayfish too. Tropomyosin is heat stable and water soluble, so cooked lobster, the boiling water and the steam coming off the pot can all carry it.
• Skip the tomalley.The soft green paste in the body cavity is the hepatopancreas, the organ that does the work of a liver and a pancreas, and it concentrates what the animal filters. The FDA has advised against eating American lobster tomalley because it can carry paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins at levels the tail and claw meat do not, and cooking does not destroy them. The muscle meat is a separate question from the tomalley.
• Moderate histamine, and the reason lobster is sold live is exactly this.Crustacean flesh builds biogenic amines quickly once the animal dies, so a lobster cooked live is the low histamine version. Pre-cooked frozen meat, a lobster roll that sat on a counter and a bisque built from yesterday shells are where the amines are.
• Moderate nickel.Shellfish is one of the higher nickel protein groups, which is a real consideration if you are working through a systemic nickel allergy protocol and not something the average eater needs to think about.
• The trimmings usually outweigh the lobster.Drawn butter brings dairy, a lobster roll brings a wheat bun and mayonnaise, and a bisque brings cream plus sherry or brandy, which carry their own histamine and sulfite load. If a lobster meal caused symptoms, work through those before blaming the meat.