AIBU to be irritated by people who describe themselves as Vegetarian yet who happily eat fish!

[Housewife2010]

I know several friends & work colleagues who describe themselves as Vegetarian, but they eat fish. Why not just say that they don't eat meat? I didn't think that a fish was a plant!

yanbu. I feel your annoyance.

but fish aren't cute.

Yes I suppose but if they start going into the technical term (which I can't even remember) then it gets complicated. Different story if you are doing a dinner party though, they should mention it then.

I find more annoying meat eaters who wont eat fish - and often at least one type of meat as well - so get a group of them round a table to cook for and Spaghetti Bolognaise is about all you can think if they'll all like. Grrr.

I know someone who describes themselves as a vegetarian and eats chicken. Chicken doesn't count as meat as it's white meat. But turkey does count as meat apparently

(says the vegetarian who will happily scoff a kebab when drunk )

YANBU, but as a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish or animal products such as gelatine in sweets, I may be a bit biased.

YANBU, I'm a proper vegetarian, I don't eat any meat, or animal products; same as Vallhala.

YANBU. I never describe myself as a vegetarian, but for reasons best left for other threads, don't eat "land meat".

So I order veggie meals often when out, always on a flight, etc. Then someone who sees me eating a veggie meal will later see me ordering salmon and will then argue with me, "You said you were a vegetarian, LIAR! FISH ARE MEAT TOO!"

Etc...

Yawn.

Many female fish lay eggs, then bugger off and leave them to be fertilised (or not) and then to survive (or not).

Sheep, cows, pigs become pregnant and give birth to live young, and suckle them.

That was my dd's explanation when she became vegetarian yet still ate fish.

YANBU as far as I'm concerned, fish is a form of meat

Hmmmm. Not sure. I was a proper vegetarian (no meat, no fish, no animal products) from the age of 11 to 22. I then moved in with my (now) DH and conceded to eating fish on occasion as a compromise as he is a rampant carnivore. I still say I'm a vegetarian for ease of explanation but if I'm going to someone's for dinner I'll always tell them that I do eat fish to make it easier for them. Rambling. Sorry. Can't decide if YABU or NBU.

YABU. Get a life.

Oh, and my explanation to myself for eating fish is that they have a chance to get away

I hate that too as it makes it so awkward when you go out and are offered fish as the Veggie option.

I'm veggie by fussiness rather than any morals and I eat gelatine and dairy products etc although quite often eat vegan.

I don't eat quorn/fake meat and that confuses people too.

Though even more confusingly since I've been pregnant this time I'm craving ham and salmon

YANBU . I have known people who describe themselves as 'vegetarians' because they somehow think it's a badge of honour but will quite happily eat a McDonalds or a Sunday Roast Beef if they feel like it. I also knew one guy who proudly proclaimed he was a vegetarian but ate meat at a business dinner 'to be polite' .
The ones who should have a special section of hell reserved for them are the dicks who decide they are vegetarians at a works Christmas Meal and take the Vegetarian option which some poor 'real' vegetarian has ordered.It's happened to me a few times! Bastards!!

YANBU. It is confusing when the vegetarian's reason is because of the suffering of animals both in rearing and killing. Can't water bearing creatures suffer too? Being effectively suffocated to death, sometimes after being hooked in the mouth? Or lobsters being thrown into boiling water (which I think particularly appaling).

If someone is trying to make a contribution by just not eating meat but still eats fish, it's their personal choice, fair enough. But if same person is happy to offload about animals who suffer for our plates eg battery farming, then I think eating fish in that case is totally hypocritical.

nymph i stopped being veggie in my second pregnancy as I craved ham and tomato sarnies so much I HAD to eat it. for the first time in 16 years.

Nymph: What a helpful post.

YANBU Vegetarians don't eat fish. Winds me up because people tend to assume you eat fish and in south of the USA.. that is the vegetarian option. Sigh...

YANBU - if they eat fish they are not vegetarian, surely they are pescatarian? (can't remember exact name )

If they try to stick to a mostly veggie diet but eat a bit of fish too then it's a long winded but reasonable explanation as it doesn't claim to be veggie when not.

If I come across people like this then I usually respond with 'oh in that case I'm a meat-eating vegetarian, because I don't eat fish '. Usually shuts them up because the logic follows their logic but when they hear the words they realise how silly it is to have a meat eating vegetarian! Or they try to get into arguments about how 'it's not the same' - er yes it is, fish are most definitely animals and most definitely not plants!

And sloany pony - yes, I'm one of those annoying people that will eat meat but hates fish. these days I will tolerate salmon just to be healthy of if i get stuck somewhere and that's the only option. but in an ideal world fish would be really unhealthy and I'd never have to eat another one again

YABU

Anyone who says they're a pescetarian in public is going to sound like a bit of a twat, I would just say I am a vegetarian in that situation too.

I describe myself as a vegetarian and I am a natural one. I was born that way and have not been able to eat meat since I was weaned from milk as a baby.

Over time I have learned to eat bits of white fish and chicken breast, flakes of salmon, but if you were like me growing up in the '70's not being able to stomach flesh, well it was a very unpleasant way to be.

Attitudes weren't as liberal as they are these days and when I was little other people assumed that I was the child of controlling hippie parents and would load my plate with grim meat.

It is worth using the term to mean non-fish-eaters though. While I can handle flakes of it, I am often given whole fish at BBQs with bones (boak) and skin (boak) Cats love me

I don't know why you're angry at people who say they're Veggie but eat fish of any kind though. I wish I could, in fact I wish I could eat meat full stop. It doesn't bother me much these days but when I read a post like yours I do feel a bit sad because I can't help the way I am.

No disrespect to people who choose not to of course, that's your prerogative, I'm just putting forward the opinion of someone who has no choice and had a bit of a shite time with regards to food when I was a child thirty years ago.

And wonders why it riles someone who (presumably) can easily eat any type of food without feeling like a social outcast.

YANBU - it's one of my bugbears too.

Pescatarians, I believe, would be the appropriate term.

I knew a vegeatarian who ate chickens 'because they are stupid'

I was such a person for over 10 years. I stopped eating meat at 12 but my mum insisted I carry on eating fish and it stuck. I didn't eat gelatine or any other animal products. I also knew that I wasn't a true vegetarian.

The technical word is pescetarian but people tend to look at you funny when you tell them that you are a pescetarian. I found it a lot easier to tell people that I was a vegetarian that ate fish when I went to peoples houses.

I do get annoyed at 'vegetarians' that eat animal products though. I knew one girl who moaned that my ex ate rabbit in front of her but was ramming down crisps coated in animal products and Haribo only 30 minutes later. She still considered me to be a 'lesser' vegetarian than her even though I was far more strict with my pescetarianism than she was with vegetarianism.

It annoys me only because a lot of people then assume I eat fish. When I say I dont they say 'so you are a vegan then'.

It gets a bit irritating.

I know quite a few people who say they are virtually veggie except they eat chicken, fish and burgers, sasauges etc.

Why on earth would you want to tell people you are a vegetarian if you arent?

I only tell people when I need to.

A person who doesn't eat meat but does eat fish is called a pescetarian. Get them to at least know what they are