Around 420,000 metric tons of this mollusk are captured annually globally
because it is a common component in many different cuisines.
Octopus is
becoming more and more famous
all over the world, which has been ascribed to the more adventurous eating
habits of young people, the meat's nutritional value, and the depletion of
conventional seafood
stocks like cod.
This explains why Nueva Pescanova, a food manufacturing company, plans to
construct the world's first indoor octopus farm in Gran Canaria, a
1,000-tank facility capable of creating
3,000 tons of octopus
annually.
Even though they are famously challenging to breed in captivity, octopuses
are an attractive possibility for aquaculture because they can
gain a startling 5% of their body weight in a single day.
But according to Nueva Pescanova, a significant scientific advance has been
achieved that will enable them to produce subsequent generations of Octopus
vulgaris, also known as the Atlantic common octopus.
According to the company, growing octopus will lessen the use of fishing
techniques like sea-bed trawling and guarantee a supply of "marine-based
food" while also "relieving
pressure on wild fishing grounds."
But for customers, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of consuming
farmed fish and marine creatures is not an easy task. Although it is
alluring to think that structured systems lower the
likelihood of overfishing, it is also well known that fish farms and other forms of farming
contaminate shoreline
waterways with feces
and drugs.
The grave moral problem of restricting sentient beings to
corporate feeding systems
is added to this.
Octopuses are thought to be especially
clever
and playful animals, making them unfit for confinement and bulk production.
Based on this data, animal rights advocates claim that farming octopuses
will result in
unprecedented levels
of unnecessary suffering.
Captured intelligent creatures on industrial plantations
In a specialized facility, researchers at
Dartmouth College
in the US have examined how octopuses perceive reality. Their findings raise
questions about the Nueva Pescanova-proposed ways of octopus killing, which
involve submerging them in an ice slurry until they die.
They query whether this is suitable for a species that has advanced
information processing abilities, primitive tool use, complicated visual
circuits, and last but not least, the ability to
experience pain.
While gas tanks or electrical stunning are typically used to slaughter land
animals, similar critiques have been leveled against large-brained and
sentient species
like cows and pigs.
A controversial topic that was discussed in the UK government led to the
2022
Animal Welfare (consciousness) Act's official
acknowledgment of the consciousness of many species, including crabs,
lobsters, and octopuses.
According to some study, octopuses are
equally intelligent as cats, a species that few choose to ingest and that most people view as lovable
pets. So why do we consume calamari but not cats?
One explanation is that we have a hard time understanding octopuses because
their personalities are elusive and their aquatic bodies mimic small marine
monsters with numerous tentacles and bulging eyes.
The octopus, like many other marine creatures, has an aura of
otherworldliness
that has inspired ages of
folklore and songs
about these enigmatic others.
Despite the vast empirical proof of the diversity of molluscs' behavioral
repertoires, we do not typically view molluscs as cute, and it is
challenging to think of them as friendly or companionable.
Is it now simpler to consume octopus and other aquatic animals like
calamari and crustaceans? In my opinion.
It is a concept known as
speciesism, which refers to the reasoning that somewhat arbitrarily explains why some
animals are viewed as beloved companions or esteemed coworkers and others
are merely seen as
ready-made
sustenance.
The ethical rationale needed to make eating these enigmatic others
permissible may be the source of our difficulty connecting to them,
according to my study on
farmed mammals.
There are no easy answers or concessions to the food and agricultural
issues, as there are to other issues. The gap between customer desire and
market supply continues to cause friction. It is unlikely that anyone needs
to consume cephalopod given the abundance of protein sources
available.
But there are additional connections between food and societal norms,
cultural ideals, and excellent taste. We can at least learn more about the
effects of our diets thanks to research.
One of the most important moral issues facing humankind in the twenty-first
century is food supply.
Even though organizations like Nueva Pescanova vow to address issues like
overfishing, the innumerable sentient beings trapped in intricate industrial
food systems will always pay a price.
Lindsay Hamilton, Professor of Animal Organization Studies,
University of York
