live octopus consumption on Food Network 'Chef vs. City'

robyn

Vampyroteuthis
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I am completely sure we've had plenty of discussions about traditional preparations of very-recently-live octopus tentacles. On their otherwise uninteresting program "Chef vs. City: Holllywood" the food network included a competition where two teams of chefs were required to eat a plate of live octopus tentacles after the restaurant proprietor cut them from the body while holding the live octopus on a cutting board. Needless to say, I was appalled at how disrespectful, I guess, the attitude toward the preparation was, simply a means of providing some 'ick-factor' entertainment for a meaningless competition.

Yes, I know it happens all the time, and there's not much we can do about it, but I emailed them anyway. Probably futile, I doubt it will be read by anyone that isn't an auto-reply robot, but if you want to send them an email too, the contact page is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/contact-us/package/index.html

Ugh.
 
I see no reason for this kind of cruelty to octopuses or any other animal.
We removed the Food Network from our channels after that Iron Chef episode.

Nancy
 
I almost watched that, and I am glad that I chose not to. It's one thing to kill the animal then cut the arms off, but to butcher it will it is still alive is barbaric. It bugs me that ppl can be so ignorant when dealing with the 'lesser' life forms.
 
SgS180;156543 said:
It's one thing to kill the animal then cut the arms off, but to butcher it will it is still alive is barbaric.

I agree completely - I eat meat and have no ethical objection to an animal being killed for food, as long as the process of slaughter is humane and rapid. This was anything but. Appalling. I have seen quite a few 'Iron Chef's where live crabs, lobsters and crays are used, and I dislike that too. Unless they plan on handing all proteins to the chefs in their live state (Your secret ingredient is a 400 lb wild boar! Here's a knife, knock yourselves out....), I think the double standard is something that ought to be considered carefully.
 
It's like it's a new trend - there is much more live octopus eating than ever before. There was an extreme Japenese movie (not sure if it was Ichi the Killer or whatever) where the main character eats a live octo in graphic detail. It's a cheap ratings grabber and totally irresponsible.

Thanks for posting the contact info. If we don't express outrage, who will? (Well, maybe these guys.)

I invited the Food Network folks to come over and respond to this thread.
 
tonmo;156580 said:
It's like it's a new trend - there is much more live octopus eating than ever before. There was an extreme Japenese movie (not sure if it was Ichi the Killer or whatever) where the main character eats a live octo in graphic detail. It's a cheap ratings grabber and totally irresponsible. .

"Oldboy" - the second part of a trilogy. It's a South Korean production and the dish is called sannakji hoe, although the animal is not eaten whole from what I know. However, it's still served as "live", after cutting off and serving the arms from a live animal.

For the record, it is said in the bonus features of the movie, it took 4 octos to shoot a good take. The actor is shown to meditate/pray for every one of them, being Buddhist and all.

Traditional dish or not, this is animal cruelty. And to take it one step further, the way to kill a catch should be considered as well.
 
This is not the only ugly abuse of living animals (also cephalopods). PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) are looking at several eateries in New York that put live octopuses on top of steaming hot noodles. The octopuses, of course, try to escape but are repeatedly put back on top of the noodles.
 
I, too, am often appalled at the disgust of the animal cruelty of eating/maiming live animals. If, say, a chicken was so handled on live television, animal rights activists would have the culprit's head. However, I am unsure what we can really do for the cephalopods involved.........are there any petitions for animal rights causes or anything going around?
 
From Jennifer Mather's article: Animal suffering: An invertebrate perspective.

Obviously, there is no simple answer about extending ethical consideration to invertebrate animals. Different vertebrate species have different physiologies and need different considerations. The invertebrates are a vastly more diverse group. Still, at least some invertebrates very likely have the capacity for pain and suffering and, perhaps, mental suffering. Thus, it is appropriate to extend ethical consideration to all animals in our care, fortunately not only because it is good for them but also because it is good for us.


Mather, J. A. (2001). Animal suffering: An invertebrate perspective. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 4, 151–156.
 
It horrified me enough to see a tank full of squid at a local Asian grocery next to a tank full of turtles and frogs where one of them was bitten to the bone and a box full of overpacked shrimp.

I wanted to yell at the staff.
 
edofleini;156947 said:
This is not the only ugly abuse of living animals (also cephalopods). PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) are looking at several eateries in New York that put live octopuses on top of steaming hot noodles. The octopuses, of course, try to escape but are repeatedly put back on top of the noodles.

It makes me ****ing angry to see that.

At the same time, why does it have to be PeTA investigating that? I hate PeTA. Bunch of anti-research, hypocritical (they kill most of the animals that they see) assholes. They don't understand the stringent animal use protocol that we use and the fact that we DO treat animals humanely and use alternatives where available. They also want animals to have practically the same moral standing as humans. Also, they're militant vegans.

One of their executives uses pig-based insulin.
 
... I dont see what the appeal of eating an octopus is? Any animal thats smart enough to preform advanced brain functions should not be eaten. I dont understand, Why would you want to eat a live animal? I someone gave you a live cow, a knife, and a fork, would you eat it? I didnt see the show, but it makes me angry. If someone browsed the forums for one day, they would never eat a ceph again. Now dont get me wrong, Iv enjoyed a plate of calamari here and there, but in that case, the squid is killed quickly and then chopped, an then flown to a restaurant, not torchered and eaten alive...
 

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