This New Plant-Based Octopus Tentacle Could Help Keep Octopus in the Ocean
An innovative company has unveiled the first-of-its-kind plant-based tentacle in a move that could help solve the world’s unsustainable demand for octopus meat.
Credit: Revo Foods
The world’s first plant-based alternative to octopus tentacles is now being sold in Europe.
At least 400,000 tonnes of octopus are caught each year, and that number has been rapidly growing. Experts say the demand is unsustainable and many of the world’s biggest octopus fisheries are already over-exploited.
Now, Austria-based start-up Revo Foods is hoping to lower the demand for wild-caught octopus and show that octopus tentacles can be enjoyed without harming a single animal.
The plant-based tentacles, dubbed ‘The Kraken - Inspired by Octopus’, are made from fungi-protein (mycoprotein) that’s then transformed using Revo Foods’ 3D food printing technology.
Credit: Revo Foods
The finished product captures the intense color and distinct suckers of octopus tentacles, and is said to mimic the smell, taste, and texture too. It also carries a good nutritional profile, providing high protein content, high omega-3 fatty acid content, and a high amount of fiber.
Crucially, The Kraken is ready-to-eat but can also be prepared in different ways including grilled, fried, or baked, so that it can be used in traditional Mediterranean cuisine such as Spanish “Pulpo a la Gallega” or a Greek “Octopus Salad”.
The product’s launch coincides with the success of Revo Foods’ first crowd investment campaign, which has so far raised more than 1.1 million euros to expand the start-up’s production capacities.
Revo Foods’ 3D printing production line. Credit: Revo Foods
With the investment, Revo Foods is set to begin large-scale production of its 3D-printed plant-based salmon fillet in the fall of 2024.
Helping to Solve the Unsustainable Demand for Octopus
Revo Foods points out that popular documentaries like Netflix’s My Octopus Teacher have created more understanding, interest, and empathy for octopus. However, these unique and social animals, with their three hearts and nine brains, are facing increased pressure from the seafood industry.
With wild stocks of octopus already over-exploited, solutions like Revo Foods’ plant-based tentacles could offer consumers the same taste without harming fish.
However, one company is capitalizing on the demand for octopus meat by pushing ahead with alarming plans to build the world’s first octopus factory farm.
The multi-million-dollar Spanish corporation Nueva Pescanova aims to slaughter up to one million captive octopus every year at the planned facility, which is set to open in the Canary Islands.
The factory farm has caused international outrage from animal welfare groups and conservationists, who have labeled it an ethical disaster.
A petition calling for the European Union and Spanish government to ban octopus farming and therefore stop the new facility from going ahead, has already been signed by over 50,000 Species Unite supporters.
"Octopus factory farming is a grave threat to these intelligent, sentient creatures and Nueva Pescanova's plans are a recipe for cruelty, stress, and an agonizing death,” said Elizabeth Novogratz, founder of Species Unite. “This overwhelming response reflects the international movement against these farms. If the European Union and Spanish Government care about their reputation for animal welfare, they will protect these remarkable animals, and not allow corporations to exploit them for profit.”
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