Mussels are farmed at enormous scale, and the question of whether bivalves can suffer has significant implications for how we assess their welfare.
Mussel farming sits at the uncertain boundary of welfare concern. Most welfare scientists currently regard bivalves as having very low or no probability of sentient experience, given their simple nervous systems lacking the neural substrates associated with subjective states in better-studied animals. This uncertainty does not eliminate moral consideration, but it places bivalves at the low-priority end of welfare intervention. For those seeking to reduce animal product consumption while maintaining some animal-sourced food, bivalves represent one of the lower-welfare-risk options available.