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It's both a matter of taste and a cultural thing. The first time I was in Seoul, a friend of mine took me to a place where they served "live octopus" with raw m

It's both a matter of taste and a cultural thing. The first time I was in Seoul, a friend of mine took me to a place where they served "live octopus" with raw meat + raw egg yolk. It was extremely delicious, the raw octopus legs where still moving and twisting (just like in this example it was just nervous endings activated by chemicals in the food), they even wrapped around the chopsticks. The octoups + the yolk + raw meat provided an incredible mix of flavours and textures. I'm not Asian (actually I'm from South America), but my friend told me I already ate most than what even a typical S.Korean eats. I guess I was just more used to experience "weird" food because my family is from the country side in Chile and I also I really like to eat/try all kinds of sea food. Going back to your comment: it's not just about making the animal "perform", I see it more as a proof of freshness. In the end is all about the textures and flavours. So much talking about food, now I'm hungry :)

armenarmen 8y ago
> I see it more as a proof of freshness seems like the most practical reason, though the practice does make me very uncomfortable
JeremyBanks 8y ago
Can any moral issue be ignored by calling it a "cultural thing"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_intelligence
- driven20 8y ago
  I mean if you eat chickens...You're supporting the practice of throwing male chicks into the blender.
  - JeremyBanks 8y ago
    Yes, and that's not even the tip of the iceberg. I do still eat chicken, but I recognize it as a personal moral failing and point of shame. The fact that I come from a culture where it is normalized explains my behaviour, but doesn't absolve my responsibility. Making a show of torturing the animal in front of the customer is particularly abhorrent.
    - true_religion 8y ago
      I am not sure why this is a show of torture. The squid is quite dead before it reaches the table. It's basically being used as a marionette by chemical signals, but still quite dead---hence calling it a "zombie".

armenarmen 8y ago

> I see it more as a proof of freshness seems like the most practical reason, though the practice does make me very uncomfortable

JeremyBanks 8y ago

Can any moral issue be ignored by calling it a "cultural thing"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_intelligence

driven20 8y ago
I mean if you eat chickens...You're supporting the practice of throwing male chicks into the blender.
- JeremyBanks 8y ago
  Yes, and that's not even the tip of the iceberg. I do still eat chicken, but I recognize it as a personal moral failing and point of shame. The fact that I come from a culture where it is normalized explains my behaviour, but doesn't absolve my responsibility. Making a show of torturing the animal in front of the customer is particularly abhorrent.
  - true_religion 8y ago
    I am not sure why this is a show of torture. The squid is quite dead before it reaches the table. It's basically being used as a marionette by chemical signals, but still quite dead---hence calling it a "zombie".