Why are lobsters cooked alive and do they feel pain?

They are cooked alive because the meat goes bad very quickly once they are dead. It's not practical for them to be butchered ahead of time, even at the grocery store, as they would just have to be thrown out. Researchers have found the most humane way of cooking them is to put them in the freezer and then straight in pot of water at a rolling boil. The knife in the head can be done, but the freezer & rolling boil is better for the lobster.