Eating live seafood - CNN Video

[bbdqsony]

WTF going on with CNN reporters!!!!!!!!! How can they destroy an octopus like that!!!!!!!!!! - They are giving people WRONG idea! After seeing this video many will want to try and possible store will try to sell it.

Time to slap CNN to wake them up!

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com - Eating live seafood

 

[PfcAJ]

People from different cultures and different parts of the world do things differently. Props to them for moving out of their comfort zone and trying something new.

 

[elmer fudd]

Much of the world eats octopus on a regular basis. I eat it myself from time to time. The only big difference is that when I eat it, it's already dead. My guess is that the octopus doesn't want to die either way.

Not too kosher though. Live octopus is probably about as tref as it gets.

 

[Leejnd]

Um...sorry, but I don't see the problem?

I'm not a vegetarian. And I love seafood. I also happen to be a sushi lover. I also love to catch and eat my own seafood - fish, lobsters (in season), scallops. I even been known to shuck and eat scallops when I'm underwater! (That little bit of seawater that gets in there is almost like soy sauce...)

While eating a live baby octopus doesn't look particularly appetizing to me (I honestly just don't want to have to chew that much!), I don't see much difference between eating that, and eating a freshly-shucked clam, oyster or scallop. I've had oysters that were so freshly shucked, they seemed to still be wiggling in my mouth. A touch of cocktail sauce, horseradish, a squeeze of lemon - yum!

You might want to express your horror on some kind of vegetarian-leaning message board. I doubt you'll get a whole lot of support here.

 

[vladimir]

I don't see much difference between eating that, and eating a freshly-shucked clam, oyster or scallop. I've had oysters that were so freshly shucked, they seemed to still be wiggling in my mouth.

If the sentience of your food enters into your ethical calculation, then there is a huge difference between oysters--almost plant-like, and octopuses, which are highly intelligent.

Oyster farming has a minimal effect on the environment, and oysters gathered from the wild are pretty eco-friendly too. Octopus fisheries in the Gulf of California and Hawaii are also considered to be sustainable, but in general, octopus is caught by bottom-trawling, which disrupts the seafloor habitat and has substantial bycatch.

 

[tyesai]

The horror!

 

[Leejnd]

If the sentience of your food enters into your ethical calculation, then there is a huge difference between oysters--almost plant-like, and octopuses, which are highly intelligent. Oyster farming has a minimal effect on the environment, and oysters gathered from the wild are pretty eco-friendly too. Octopus "fisheries" in California and Hawaii are also considered to be well-managed, so from a sustainability perspective, they are both good choices.

Well, you hit on two issues here:

1. If the sentience of a creature (it's state of conciousness or sensory awareness) should determine whether or not you'll eat it
2. The sustainability of octopus fisheries, and the impact using them as food has on the environment

My response to #1 is: I suppose spending summers on my grandparents' farm in Tennessee innoculated me to feeling squeamish about eating animals - even those that display some degree of sentience. When you've spent half the summar lovingly caring for an adorable calf with big brown eyes, and then you bring him to market with your grandfather and come home with sausage, and later help your grandma cut the heads off chickens and pluck them for dinner, that kind of takes the mystery out of where your food comes from. Unlike so many others in our restaurant-and-supermarket-fed society, I don't suffer from the illusion that all meat originates in cellophane wrappers. I'm well aware that much of the protein I eat used to be quite alive, and might even have had feelings. That's just the way it is on this planet - some creatures eat others. And I have no problem being at the top of the food chain.

However, I also recognize the importance of ecological balance, and strongly believe in choosing what creatures I will eat based on whether or not eating them will cause an imbalance. I support avoiding seafood that has been reported as being at-risk for overfishing, and I make a point of keeping up with seafood sustainabiilty lists. I know to avoid chilean seabass and bluefin tuna (severely overfished), and to choose salmon that is Alaskan wild-caught, not farmed (not only is it not overfished, but it's better for you anyway!).

Hence my response for #2: fortunately, as you point out, octopus as a species are not considered endangered. Octopus are used for food in many parts of the world, and while there are some concerns about overfishing in some areas, these concerns are no more or less than they are about almost any other species of fish that are consumed by humans. So as an eco-friendly type of seafood, they pass the test.

That still doesn't make me want to eat a live baby octopus! But I have no problem with those who do.

 

[Mr.X]

I've kept octopus of all sizes as display and non-invasive research subjects. They're intelligent, fun and easily rank as some of my favorite animals. Sepia (cuttlefish) are much like that too.

I could never eat an octopus with my background in these fellas. It would be like having dog, or cat for dinner. I just couldn't stomach it. That being said other cultures probably have not had much of an introduction in the care of octopus/sepia and don't see it in any other light other than a food item. Some cultures could don't care whether or not you eat a dog, or cat too.

X

 

[tyesai]

Unlike so many others in our restaurant-and-supermarket-fed society, I don't suffer from the illusion that all meat originates in cellophane wrappers. I'm well aware that much of the protein I eat used to be quite alive, and might even have had feelings. That's just the way it is on this planet - some creatures eat others. And I have no problem being at the top of the food chain.
QUOTE]

+1

I wonder how many random people of say a hundred at a Starbucks or McDonalds could help slaughter an animal and then eat dinner in an hour or two.

 

[Saltwater Junky]

Why is eating a live octopus such a sore subject. Over fishing, deforestation, over population, humans dying of starvation or curable diseases are more prevalent issues. 3,000,000-5,000,000 people die from malaria each year. $10-20 worth of drugs can prevent someone from dying from this disease. We have organizations in Southeast Asia that are producing and selling counterfeit anti-malarial drugs.

Let's put our minds together to solve more pressing issues than "is eating live octopus is ethical or not." Just remember we humans are not the only creatures that eat live octopus!

The soapbox is now yours. I'm done.