Do mussels feel pain?

[Anonymous]

In considering my Valentine’s menu options, I was struck by this question today, but am seeing conflicting answers online. What say you, DCUM?

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

If you're cooking for a vegan/vegetarian I would err on the side of caution and not serve mussels.
I've heard arguments on both sides about the sentience of bivalves. Personally, as a vegetarian of 20 years, I believe they are sentient beings. They may not have a central nervous system like a mammal, but they are able to react to their environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're cooking for a vegan/vegetarian I would err on the side of caution and not serve mussels.
I've heard arguments on both sides about the sentience of bivalves. Personally, as a vegetarian of 20 years, I believe they are sentient beings. They may not have a central nervous system like a mammal, but they are able to react to their environment.

OP here. One of the more confusing things I saw online is that some vegans will eat mussels, which just does not compute for me. I would never ever serve seafood to a vegetarian or vegan!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're cooking for a vegan/vegetarian I would err on the side of caution and not serve mussels.
I've heard arguments on both sides about the sentience of bivalves. Personally, as a vegetarian of 20 years, I believe they are sentient beings. They may not have a central nervous system like a mammal, but they are able to react to their environment.

OP here. One of the more confusing things I saw online is that some vegans will eat mussels, which just does not compute for me. I would never ever serve seafood to a vegetarian or vegan!

They are not vegans if they eat mussels.

[Anonymous]

I thought bivalves didn’t feel pain?

[Anonymous]

It's not pain in the sense that mammals with brains and nervous systems feel pain. Many things in nature can sense disturbances or physical damage and react to them. Plants can, too. Does that mean they feel pain?

Humans will never know for sure what something like a mussel is "feeling" because we simply can't emulate their senses. We can say that something is causing a reaction, maybe even that responses are strong or weak, but no one can know if it would fall into YOUR definition of "pain."