I had octopus as part of a tapas evening at a Spanish restaurant, I had never had it before, and two of my coworkers were thrilled to find it on the menu. It was really good. So good, that a few months later I ordered octopus on my own, at a restaurant in London.
I probably won’t eat octopus again, for the reasons already listed. I already eat less meat and fish that some years ago, so I don’t need to expand my meat and fish options.
Octopuses are not vegetarians. They are predators. If they were large enough, the would not have any qualms about eating us. So I don’t have any qualms about eating them.
Has anybody mentioned ceviche, yet? My favorite taqueria has a ceviche tostada that they make on Fridays and octopus is the only “fish” in it and it’s very tender prepared that way.
Cats are not vegetarians. They are predators. If they were large enough, the would not have any qualms about eating us. So I don’t have any qualms about eating them.
I imagine they aren’t that tasty (unlike octopus). It appears that almost everywhere that cat meat is eaten it is for famine, medicinal, or superstitious reasons.
I’ve seen videos of conch shells being used as an ancient form of fishing for the same purpose. The octopus goes inside looking for a meal and good place to hide. Since they have no bones, they can squeeze through the tiniest holes. Here’s a video of one escaping through a tiny hole on the side of a boat.
Some say it’s a sign of intelligence. IMO, it’s just natural instinct and trial and error. I once watched a fly on my screen window travel around until it found a hole to escape.
This summarizes my feelings about octopus very well. It’s delicious, but i wonder if they are too intelligent to eat. Perhaps it depends on the species.
Their intelligence doesn’t seem to extend to avoiding predation by humans. Because the entrances to their lairs are littered with the shells and bones of their prey it is easy for divers to locate them. And as noted above, catching them is as simple as leaving a length of pipe on the sea floor.
WRT pigs and octopuses, it just seems there is no shortage of things/beings to eat. I don’t have to make a point of eating ones that are so intelligent. (At least I’ve never heard of producers torturing octopuses, or polluting waters with their feces.)
They do seem able, however, to factor higher-degree polynomials and solve simple differential equations. (See post #32, above.) I suspect they do it by quantum computing methods. That’s gotta count for something!
WRT their intelligence it seems to me worth mentioning their reproductive habits: the females lay lots of eggs on themselves, while hiding on a suitable hole where they feel protected, and move their tentacles just enough to keep the eggs ventilated, i.e., they supply the oxygen the eggs need to breathe. When the eggs hatch at last the female dies so the hatchlings have some food after having eaten the yolk of the eggs they were given by the same mother they now can feast upon. Then they are alone, fighting for survival all by themselves. They get no parenting, no education.
Now imagine what they would be able to achieve if they had evolved some teaching habits. Complex differential equations? Special Relativity?
And they have a short lifespan, if they lived as long as naked apes, I postulate they would be able to demonstrate that Godott exists, has tentacles and is called Cthulhu.
My uncle is a marine biologist. He has told me stories about an octopus at one of the facilities where he worked. It would climb from the tank at night and wander around. This was somewhat annoying, but also somewhat amusing. It wasn’t taken too seriously. Then it figured out how to pull the drainage plug on one of the other tanks. This was NOT fine. Octopus containment measures became more serious after that.