Oysters do not feel pain. They do not have a basic nervous system and have no brain. With that being said it is believed they do not and can not process pain like other animals.
So, the simple answer of whether pearl farms kill the oyster is.. yes. The end goal of a pearl farm is to breed the mollusks, produce the pearl and ultimately kill the oyster. The mussel meat is then eaten and the shell is repurposed into mother of pearl inlay and other decorative accessories.
Oysters use their gills and cilia to process water and feed. Oysters have a small heart and internal organs, but no central nervous system. Lack of a central nervous system makes it unlikely oysters feel pain, one reason some people who otherwise are vegetarians comfortable eating oysters.
Using a pair of surgical tongs to carefully hold an oyster's valves open, a few incisions are made in the soft body of the oyster into which a bit of shell from a freshly sacrificed oyster is grafted. The pain on getting a splinter under our skin is very a mild form of what the pearl oyster is made to suffer.
So to once again answer the question, yes, oysters are alive when eaten immediately after being shucked.
Vegans would argue that pearls aren't exactly cruelty free. According to PETA, culturing pearls involves surgically opening each oyster shell and inserting an irritant in the oyster, which is stressful to the animal.
Pearls are produced by a variety of different mollusks. Some of these mollusks only produce a single batch of pearls, and are killed for the pearls (and for their meat and shells, which are also used). Other mollusks, however, are capable of producing multiple rounds of pearls.
The typical price range for oyster pearls can range anywhere from $20 to $5,000 or more per pearl, based on various factors. Natural pearls will fetch a higher price range, as will those of exceptional quality or ulterior significance.
The only ethical pearls on the market are those made from glass, alabaster, plastic, or other human-made materials. However, some of these options are also coated in animal-derived materials, including isinglass, fish scales, oyster scales, and mother-of-pearl powder.
Saltwater oysters will only produce 1 to 2 pearls per typical nucleation. Akoya oysters can be nucleated with up to 5 beads but the use of only 2 is most common.
"When you slurp back oysters raw, they are still alive or just freshly killed or shucked prior to serving, which is why you oftentimes see them on ice," says Alex Lewis, RD, LDN, a dietitian for Baze. This ensures they are fresh when eating, so they maintain the right flavor profile, texture and nutrient density.
Eating raw or undercooked oysters that contain Vibrio bacteria can make you ill. Some kinds of Vibrio bacteria cause the illness vibriosis. An oyster that contains Vibrio doesn't look, smell, or taste different from any other oyster. Cooking oysters properly can kill Vibrio and other harmful germs they might contain.
“For me, a vegan diet is fundamentally about compassion,” he explains, “and, as current research confirms, oysters are non-sentient beings with no brain or advanced central nervous system, so they're unable to feel pain.
Some pearls can develop in a period of six months. Larger pearls can take up to four years to develop. This is one of several reasons why larger pearls can yield higher values. Pearl farmers must have immense patience to wait for a pearl inside an oyster shell to develop.
Oysters are a versatile food that can be eaten raw or cooked. Some people like to swallow the oyster whole, but the majority of people prefer to chew them, as that is how you get the full flavor.
These are usually made of glass and coated in a solution to give the shimmering, iridescent effect of pearls. Unfortunately, these usually aren't suitable for anyone on a plant-powered diet either, as the solution is most often made from fish scales.
However, as oysters do not have a central nervous system, they are not believed to be sentient and so don't feel pain. As a result, some vegans who turn to the diet for reasons of animal cruelty may make an exception knowing that ultimately oysters don't feel anything.
Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body.
Sea of Cortez pearls are the only other naturally-colored "black" pearls in the world. Cultured in Guyamas, Mexico, they're also the most rare cultured pearl type today. Sea of Cortez pearls are cultired in the Ptera sterna, the Rainbow-lipped saltwater oyster.
While the white pearls are also priced by jewelers, the gold pearl variety is the most coveted color. The gold South sea pearl's color can range from creamy white to deep gold, and the darker the color, the more expensive it becomes.
While any oyster — and clams and mussels — can produce pearls, some species of oysters are more likely to produce pearls, while others may be harvested primarily to serve as food.
Pearls Are Made By Living Animals
Unlike gemstones produced deep inside the Earth, pearls are created by living creatures called mollusks. Mollusks commonly have a soft, unsegmented body and a hard exterior shell, such as a clam or snail has. These animals live in marine and freshwater habitats as well as on land.
Generally speaking, humans cannot “force” an oyster to make a pearl. But one process that we can control is the irritant which gets into the oyster's shell and sparks the pearl-creation process.
Harvesters open the oyster shell slightly and cut a small slit in the mantle tissue with a surgical instrument to take out the pearl.