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Is an Octopus Too Smart For Us To Eat?

Posted by Soulskill on from the no-use-crying-over-spilled-ink dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The New Yorker is running a piece on the ethical dilemma we face when considering octopus intelligence alongside our willingness to eat them. "Octopus intelligence is well documented: they have been known to open jars, guard their unhatched eggs for months or even years, and demonstrate personalities. Most famously, they can blast a cloud of ink to throw off predators, but even more impressive is the masterfully complex camouflage employed by several members of Cephalopoda (a class that also includes squid and cuttlefish)." While humans eat animals ranging widely in mental faculties, the octopus remains one of the smartest ones we do consume. And unlike pigs, for example, their population is not dependent on humanity to survive. As our scientific understanding of intelligence grows, these ethical debates will only come into sharper focus. Where do we draw the line?

13 of 481 comments (clear)

  1. People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is where I draw the line..

    1. Re:People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't be so quick dismissing tasty humans!
      They breed like rabbits and many are about as intelligent as an octopus.

    2. Re:People by RJFerret · · Score: 5, Funny

      Although some aren't capable of opening jars.

  2. Its not about intelligence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    its about cuteness.

    Dog & cats = too cute to eat

    cows & chickens = not so much

    rabbits & horses = somewhere in between

    Octopuses arent cute... so its okay to eat them.

    1. Re:Its not about intelligence by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually octopuses are cute, squids not so much, but still.
      You can play with them like with a young cat. And yes, they are smart enough to leave an aquarium, cause random trouble and climb back in.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  3. Where do we put the line? by NReitzel · · Score: 5, Funny

    In front of the sushi bar, of course.

    --

    Don't take life too seriously; it isn't permanent.

  4. Vegetarian by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a vegetarian I find the whole debate about which animals people should eat and why both amusing and slightly disturbing.

    1. Re: Vegetarian by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey guys I found the vegetarian.

  5. evens out by will_die · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just eat with a marinara sauce and the stupidity of the tomato will even it out.

  6. Re:Should lions stop eating us by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Funny

    After all were smart, were hot and where the party of the planet.

    Oh the irony

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  7. Re:Yes by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Actually, they have changed their breeding habits in response to human intervention in the environment. They used to just breed, then die. Now some females live long enough to shepherd their young, passing on information to the next generation. Speculation is that humans have altered their environment sufficiently that this is now an evolutionary advantage, rather than putting all their energy into breeding tons of the next generation, which was the previous optimal survival strategy.

    Lab experiments have shown that they can measure things, and that they can learn by watching another octopus do something ONCE (gee, wish we were as good).

    Does this mean that they're too intelligent to eat? Perhaps the solution is to cross them with chickens - then everyone gets a drumstick.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  8. Re:The rest of the conversation ... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... what about bush meat?

    If it's trimmed nicely, I don't mind.

    Wait, are we talking about the same thing?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  9. Re:Yes by TomGreenhaw · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I totally agree - crows blow my mind. They have complex language, tool use and family units similar to ours.

    My opinion about whales was based upon an experience I had several years ago in Maui. A baby whale and then mother slowly came out of the water 6 feet away from our boat and I looked those whales in the eye. There was obvious curiosity and intelligence there.

    Its hard to imagine eating something like that. It for me borders on cannibalism.

    --
    Greed is the root of all evil.