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!

Personal attack? Get a grip will you!

I'm going to leave you to it, you appear to be having a completely different argument to everyone else.

Why don't you chill out with a bacon tofu sandwich?

Milady, you are coming across as very ignorant.

As has already been stated, "vegetarians" do not eat fish. Fish has not been reclassified as a vegetable!

The majority of people understand that vegetarian means no dead animals on your plate, be they walking animals, flying or swimming.

Those who are pescetarians but call themselves vegetarian as it's easier, please consider this. What's 'convenient' for you is inconveniencing a whole heap of real vegetarians!
You are a PESTatarian!!! :)
You are perpetuating the ignorance.
Pesceratian, as a term, is not yet as widely known as vegetarian. But let's not dumb down and just accept that - let's educate those who don't know, rather than continue to confuse the issue.

Else, just don't label yourselves as anything! Simply say you'd like the vegetarian option.

I pick this issue up every time I see it, as otherwise it just gets perpetuated and the ignorance continues.
I seriously think it does the proper vegetarian movement a HUGE disservice. Being a proper vegetarian and getting told: "Oh, but you eat fish" is a massive bugbear for those committed to reducing the amount of animal suffering and death on this planet.

milady, I really don't understand why you bother to eat any meat at all - I've managed to do without for well over 15 years - I've never gone hungry!

Aha! Thought I recognised you. It's the handstand that gave it away.

OK, I'll let you off if you promise that you are never ever going to cause any confusion in the minds of caterers, retailers or dinner party hosts that rebounds on us actual vegetarians.

"But because I can now stomach a bit of fish or white chicken people are saying that I shouldn't describe myself as a veggie!
...I didn't eat a mouthful of flesh for thirty five years. Come back to me when you've done thirty and then you can say I'm a crap vegetarian."

Milady, you are a crap vegetarian!

Val, a vegetarian for over 30 years. :o

PESTatarian!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

+1 @ Vallhalla! :) (Though actually, she isn't a vegetarian at all, cr*p or otherwise!)

And thanks, millimoosmum!

You are not a vegetarian if you eat fish, you are pescatarian. That is the simple language. If you eat chicken as well as fish, then you are obviously a little confused. OP just needs to clarify with friends and work collegues if she is that concerned over their eating habits and how they label themselves.

Thank-you MillyR. :)
There are enough definitions that everyone can properly choose what they are.

It is not plain and simple, if you eat animal products, you are not a vegetarian, period.

www.ivu.org/faq/definitions.html

(Was supposed to say It is plain and simple" ignore the "not". I noticed right as I hit post message. [blush}

I'm a lifelong vegetarian who doesn't eat meat, fish or eggs but I do eat dairy. I think the proper name is lacto-vegetarian or summat, but I don't really bother with all that. I just don't like meat, fish and eggs.

However, more than once when I've gone for dinner with people they've served up fish just for me - highly embarrassing, as they'd obviously gone to a lot of trouble. Once I went for lunch with someone and there were these little breadcrumbed triangles on the plate which I thought were like deep fried brie/cheesy something or other until I stuck the fork in and realised it was fish. When I said I couldn't eat it the woman was highly offended (and I mean really put out and in a hump for the rest of the meal) saying she'd gone to a lot of trouble on my behalf 'because all the vegetarians I know eat fish!'

Come back to me in another 15 years. In fact, go back in time to the 1970's when you had to survive on the potatoes and veg if you had free school dinners, then potatoes and veg for dinner at home and then tell me I'm being ignorant.

It is much easier now for people to exercise dietary choices. And yes I am jealous of people who are able to eat anything, but I am not attacking them.

And I do not bother to eat meat other than a festive slice of chicken for Christmas dinner at home and white fish on the very rare occasion when the veggie option is rank.

I do see your point about dumbing-down and educating, but given my paltry flesh-consumption, I'm hardly responsible for that. There are people who eat any type of fish or chicken any way and anywhere but I am not among them.

This thread is hilarious - I am a veggie of 21 years standing and no falling off the wagon - I hate the misuse of the term as it is lazy - if you eat fish then you are not veggie, end of. It is not subjective ffs! It is an adjective, simples!

A PP mention meat substitutes. I eat a lot of qourn but havnt eaten meat or fish for 24 years.

I became a veggie because I objected to the way animals are kept/treated. I do not have a moral objection to eating meat other than that.

Do people really think that meaty shaped fungi products are the same as meat?

I do know some people who object to fake fur but I dont share those objections.

I love qourn. So much better than mixing up all that sawdusty stuff the way we had to in the 80s.

Oh hello Vallhala! We had a nice convo about people being awful about Staffs once under my old name.

You were very pleasant.

Are we scoring points then? Well it depends how many people post who have the same viewpoint. I do realise that my eating habits are unusual but I am at least prepared to accept certain things and generally be polite.

Points and high-fives or whatever are a bit ugh, but well, whatever makes you feel good. It isn't for me to say.

Have fun ganging up while I am alone in my opinion, it really doesn't reflect well on you especially as this isn't my thread and I am not a troll but a member since 2007 not that it matters.

I have tried to deflect some of the vitriol with humour as any reader of this thread will be able to tell.

I'll know better than to join in this sort of thread again and try to give my opinion so there is that.

I became a vegetarian as a very young child because I just didn't like the taste/texture of flesh. I remember being in kindergarden aged about 3 or 4 and gagging on a piece of meat and one of the other kids telling me to wrap it up in the mashed potato and just gulp it down so that's what I did lol, until I was old enough to put me foot down and say I wasn't eating any of that ever again, and never have since!

I went off eggs because (as someone has already said) back in the 70s if you were a vegetarian you might as well have been from planet Pluto. At home I just got the veg that everyone else was having but without the meat and at school I got an egg broken into a cup on top of the mashed potato (again). Only nine times out of ten the egg was all snotty and not cooked properly so I put me foot down again, and said I wasn't eating any eggs ever again and haven't since lol.

I can't say I became a vegetarian out of conscience, but whatever the reason it started I haven't eaten meat, fish or eggs for over forty years. I do love cheese though.

To OP, YABU.

Why do you care?

Unless you're catering for them, which would obviously cause problems, who gives a toss how people label their own eating habits?

Milady, we aren't 'ganging up' on you! You are so defensive! We, in the right, are merely pointing out that you are wrong.

The term vegetarian is a not wishy-washy with regards to the consumption of animal flesh: it simply does not include people who even occasionally eat meat. Such people are merely people who don't eat much meat. They aren't vegetarians. Why label yourself at all? There are so many of us countering your arguments because it really is so very very frustrating for the real vegetarians, and you just aren't getting it!

I do actually consider you responsible for perpetuating the ignorance. By even occasionally eating the flesh of an animal, whilst calling yourself a vegetarian, you are telling those around you that vegetarians will occasionally eat meat. Hey, consider this! Perhaps on these rare occasions that you indulge in animal flesh, you refrain instead - maybe your hosts will make better vegetarian options next time, instead of the 'rank' vegetarian options you seem to be offered. And perhaps the next REAL vegetarian your friends encounter won't get lumbered with a fish option because 'well, it was okay for Milady*!

I am firm in my stance, and would rather miss a meal than eat meat (or dairy) - usually ensures I get a decent meal, actually, as people don't think 'oh, AbFab will eat a small bit of chicken/fish, let's not bother making her something decent'!

Potatoes and other vegetables as a lunch offering at school sounds perfectly reasonable. I take it your parents fed you a nutritionally balanced breakfast and dinner, so actually, I think I'd have been fine on a slightly limited seventies school lunch.

"Milady, you are a crap vegetarian!

Val, a vegetarian for over 30 years.

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milliemoosmum Sat 07-Aug-10 23:24:40
PESTatarian!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
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AbFabT Sat 07-Aug-10 23:26:57
+1 @ Vallhalla! (Though actually, she isn't a vegetarian at all, cr*p or otherwise!)

And thanks, millimoosmum! grin"

Defensive? In the light of these exchanges? People were just posting individual replies were they, not referring to each others' posts?

And no the replies were not merely pointing out that I am wrong.

Do you conduct business meetings using this sort of terminology? I doubt you do AbFab. I wouldn't mind if I had invited it by being shockingly offensive myself...

Tantrum? Er, who is losing the plot with the swearing and the childsihtypos? Calm down.

You started trying to score points by telling me to come back in fifteen years!

You asked for a 30yr+-long vegetarian, Valhalla obliged. As, in your opinion, I am not qualified to comment, as I've only been without meat for 15+ years, I merely appreciated Valhalla having the longevity required to call you on your cr*p 'vegetarianism', as you requested!

I think you were defensive before I came along, anyway!

Was funny, boring now. You have ceased to amuse.

Now, I'm pretty sure I saw a newbie who was called a cunt within 3 replies on her first post earlier, must go and look at that!

I will quite gladly tell people when I think they are wrong, in business, or otherwise, yes!

I do find your continued ignorance and arrogance offensive.
You are wrong!

Oh okay, it really isn't that important, it's late now. Great tactics some of you on this thread, really nice

I have taken on board your points and will never describe myself as a vegetarian again even though I eat flesh twice a year if that. So you win if that matters to you. There was no need for the vitriol.

Cheers AbFabT for being the most reasonable.

I was polite throughout the debate I hope. I've been here for years and I'm trying to be the better MNer these days.