Octopus: the Intelligent “Meze”
Octopuses are complex beings with emotions and behaviors reminiscent of mammals. They learn, remember, recognize faces, and solve problems. With three hearts, blue blood, and a decentralized nervous system allowing each arm to “think” independently, they are perhaps the most stunning example of evolutionary intelligence in the ocean.
Female octopuses are among the most devoted parents in the animal kingdom—their behavior shockingly altruistic. They reproduce only once, then stop eating and dedicate their lives to caring for their eggs: cleaning, oxygenating, and protecting them for weeks or months. Some even consume parts of their own bodies to survive. Once the eggs hatch, the mother dies—exhausted from her selfless care. It’s one of nature’s most extraordinary acts of parental sacrifice.
A New Industry of Torture in the Making
The upcoming industrial-scale farming of octopus is alarming, with profound ethical, environmental, and scientific implications. The EU must decide: will it pave the way for a new torture industry, or will it block another brutal chapter against intelligent, feeling beings?
Unlike domesticated animals, octopuses have no history of domestication and, as solitary creatures, cannot live in crowded conditions. In confinement, they attack each other, self-injure, and may even resort to cannibalism—a tragic sign of psychological collapse.
There is no documented or approved “humane” method for killing octopuses. Methods range from drowning in ice to slaughter without anesthesia—practices that constitute torture in every sense. Even if new “techniques” were developed, the lack of welfare safeguards leaves all marine invertebrates completely unprotected against any farming abuse.
An Environmental Wound
Farming octopus is not only ethically indefensible—it’s ecologically unsustainable. In nature, octopuses regulate marine ecosystems by controlling populations of crabs, fish, and mollusks. Farming them, however, requires more fish input than the output weight. Essentially, we are removing food from wild species to produce “product.”
Moreover, with overfishing, rising water temperatures, and no population monitoring in Greece, local extinction is only a matter of time. It’s utterly irrational to annihilate a “guardian of balance” just to end up serving it on a plate, oblivious to the hidden cost.
With No Regulatory Framework, Responsibility Rests with Us
There is a severe institutional gap—no humane standards for marine invertebrate welfare exist: no protocols for pain-free killing, no oversight mechanisms, no accountability. The state avoids regulating a legally uncharted domain—and that inertia is interpreted as consent.
But public awareness can change the course. Global animal protection organizations demand a ban on octopus farming before it becomes legally and commercially entrenched. We support awareness campaigns, exert political pressure, collaborate with scientists, and shout from the rooftops: Octopuses belong in the ocean. Not cages. Not plates. Not industry.
In Greece, octopus is more than just a traditional dish—it’s a symbol of summer, tourism, and the “authenticity” of Greek cuisine. But behind the image of a tentacle hanging in seaside tavernas lies a harsh truth: we torture one of the planet’s smartest creatures without hesitation.
Female octopuses are among the most devoted parents in the animal kingdom—their behavior shockingly altruistic. They reproduce only once, then stop eating and dedicate their lives to caring for their eggs: cleaning, oxygenating, and protecting them for weeks or months. Some even consume parts of their own bodies to survive. Once the eggs hatch, the mother dies—exhausted from her selfless care. It’s one of nature’s most extraordinary acts of parental sacrifice.
Octopuses feel!
Science clearly shows that octopuses experience pain, stress, and fear. In fact, the UK legally recognized them as “sentient beings” in November 2021. Yet in Greece, practices like smashing an octopus against rocks for “flavor” are justified as tradition—an unrepeatable act of barbarity we accept because we refuse to admit octopuses feel pain. Their abuse isn’t protected by any legal framework—it’s dismissed as “traditional.”A New Industry of Torture in the Making
The upcoming industrial-scale farming of octopus is alarming, with profound ethical, environmental, and scientific implications. The EU must decide: will it pave the way for a new torture industry, or will it block another brutal chapter against intelligent, feeling beings?
Unlike domesticated animals, octopuses have no history of domestication and, as solitary creatures, cannot live in crowded conditions. In confinement, they attack each other, self-injure, and may even resort to cannibalism—a tragic sign of psychological collapse.
There is no documented or approved “humane” method for killing octopuses. Methods range from drowning in ice to slaughter without anesthesia—practices that constitute torture in every sense. Even if new “techniques” were developed, the lack of welfare safeguards leaves all marine invertebrates completely unprotected against any farming abuse.
An Environmental Wound
Farming octopus is not only ethically indefensible—it’s ecologically unsustainable. In nature, octopuses regulate marine ecosystems by controlling populations of crabs, fish, and mollusks. Farming them, however, requires more fish input than the output weight. Essentially, we are removing food from wild species to produce “product.”
Moreover, with overfishing, rising water temperatures, and no population monitoring in Greece, local extinction is only a matter of time. It’s utterly irrational to annihilate a “guardian of balance” just to end up serving it on a plate, oblivious to the hidden cost.
With No Regulatory Framework, Responsibility Rests with Us
There is a severe institutional gap—no humane standards for marine invertebrate welfare exist: no protocols for pain-free killing, no oversight mechanisms, no accountability. The state avoids regulating a legally uncharted domain—and that inertia is interpreted as consent.
But public awareness can change the course. Global animal protection organizations demand a ban on octopus farming before it becomes legally and commercially entrenched. We support awareness campaigns, exert political pressure, collaborate with scientists, and shout from the rooftops: Octopuses belong in the ocean. Not cages. Not plates. Not industry.