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.
At the very least, this sets a precedent, although it’s pretty obvious based on the law’s text that octopodes being the target here instead of or in addition to e.g. pigs which are known to be quite intelligent is a clear example of doublethink. Nonetheless, this is a huge win for just leaving animals the fuck alone.
I had the same discussion with my wife this weekend. She works in the restaurant industry and was offered a taste for the new octopus dish they’re going to sell, but she rejected it because octopus are intelligent and she dosen’t want to eat something intelligent, so I inquire her about how we eat pork at home pretty regularly and pigs arw actually smarter that dogs and she didn’t knew what to say.
That seems like a great opportunity for further discussion. Even small changes like having one night a week that is meatless can be beneficial, i.e. Meatless Mondays. A big moment of progress for my household was when my partner fell in love with a soy taco dish I started making.
