California’s Anti-Octopus Farming Bill Ignores the Big Picture
By: Vanessa Gagne Date: 10/7/2024 Category: |
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed CA AB 3162, making it a crime to farm octopuses for human consumption or import farmed octopuses for human consumption in California. While vegan activists hail this as a victory for animal welfare, it ignores the realities of consumer demand, cultural heritage, the need for sustainable protein sources, and the potential for illicit trade.
The new law makes it illegal to raise and breed octopuses in state waters or in aquaculture tanks based on land within the state. It also prevents business owners and operators from knowingly participating in the sale of an octopus — regardless of its origin — that has been raised to be eaten by people.
An octopus in hand.
The text of the law recognizes that octopuses are “highly intelligent, curious, problem-solving animals” that are conscious, sentient and experience “pain, stress, and fear, as well as pleasure, equanimity, and social bonds.” It goes on to note that in research studies, these eight-legged marine invertebrates have demonstrated long-term memory as well as the ability to recognize individual people.
Proponents of the new law say it positions California as a leader in humane aquaculture. However, in reality it just positions California as anti-aquaculture – and anti-seafood! California is now the second state, after Washington, to prohibit octopus farming. Similar legislation has also been introduced in the U.S. Senate and in Hawaii.
The move to ban octopus farming in California has raised speculation that it may be a first step towards a broader prohibition on the consumption of octopus altogether. Some animal rights activists have begun to draw parallels between the octopus trade and other food practices, such as foie gras production, which has been banned in several jurisdictions due to concerns over the treatment of ducks and geese after activist demand. As with foie gras, the question of whether octopus have the capacity to suffer and feel pain is at the heart of the debate. If public sentiment continues to shift in favor of greater protections for cephalopods, it's possible that we may see a growing push to outlaw the sale and consumption of octopus in restaurants and markets, regardless of whether they are wild-caught or farmed. This would represent a significant shift in food culture, particularly in communities where octopus is a prized ingredient.
There is an overall desire to push the agenda federally since California often paves the way for the rest of America. This is one step closer to getting what many animal extremists want - the removal of animal-based food in the United States and forced change to vegan alternatives.
Preventing farming operations and pushing exclusively for wild caught specimens is diametrically opposed to the work that many of the exact same organizations do to put an end to overfishing. An outright ban on octopus farming also fails to address the underlying demand for octopus, particularly in Japanese, Korean, and Mediterranean cuisines and ignores the need for innovation in sustainable animal protein in the global food supply. Prohibiting the practice will drive the industry underground, fostering a black market for octopuses and potentially leading to overfishing of wild populations to meet consumer needs.
Spicy octopus.
Rather than a blanket ban, the focus should be on implementing best management practices and enforcing rigorous animal welfare standards for octopus aquaculture. Such regulation would allow the industry to meet demand in a sustainable way while also protecting the animals from the potential for inhumane treatment.
In addition, this law destroys any innovation into making the practice more efficient by not allowing it to even be tried in the first place. For example, research into the life cycle of octopuses, especially the critical paralarval stage, might lead to breakthroughs in survival rates during early life stages, which is a bottleneck in octopus aquaculture. Understanding and replicating or improving upon natural conditions for this phase could make farming more viable. We have an opportunity here to pave the way for producing and developing a model for high standards of animal welfare.
As the debate over octopus farming continues to unfold, one thing is clear: the intelligence, adaptability, and unique nature of these marine animals has put them in the center of a complex and contentious conversation about food, nutrition, culture, and our relationship with the natural world, much like other animals that elicit an emotional response. We do know that since people will continue to eat octopus around the world, we must strike a balance with animal welfare concerns, conservation, science, and culture.
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