to think that if you eat fish or chicken you are not a vegetarian?

[knowitallstrikesagain]

So vegetarian seems to mean different things to different people. But the common definition is flesh from an animan, including fish and birds, used as food.

If you don't eat meat, you are a vegetarian. If you eat meat, you are not a vegetarian. If poultry and fish are types of meat and you eat them, then you do eat meat and are therefore not a vegetarian.

Didn't the powers that be come up with a new word to describe people who eat fish but no other type of meat? (I know what it is but can't spell it )

I understand saying you are veggie to make life easier, eg when RSVPing a wedding for food, or a staff meal out, but if you are having dinner with a friend, surely you could specify that you like some meats more than others?

AIBU to think that if you eat ANY animals, you are not a vegetarian?

I'll admit I often refer to myself as veggie, purely for ease if someone's cooking for me. I've never actually encountered ANYONE, or any restaurant that has assumed vegetarians eat fish. I'm not saying it doesn't happen (anecdotal experience here is enough for me), I've just never encountered it so never considered I was possibly making things difficult for people. I will often say "I'm not a proper veggie really", I do know the difference.

Most people haven't heard of pescatarian (HA! Google Chrome spellcheck doesn't even recognise the word...did I spell it correctly), so I just tend to say "I'm veggie, but I eat prawns and tuna sometimes."

The issue in this country is usually that people don't know about gelatine and rennet. So you ask, even at quite a good restaurant, if the cheese or the dessert is vegetarian and the waiting staff look at you like you are a complete idiot.

In many other countries like France they just culturally don't get vegetarianism. Not going to France again because its too much hassle if you want to eat something other than pizza. I went to a restaurant in Belgium, and someone told the staff in French (native French speaker) that I was vegetarian. So instead of serving me the fish soup that the other adults were having, they gave me some kind of meat stew thing! To be fair, I think it was run by Flemish speaking not French speaking Belgians, so something may have gone wrong in translation.

vj32, I think it's more likely they just don't get vegetarianism. My family is Chinese and culturally we don't get why a normal person won't eat meat either. Like the french, we pretty much are supposed to eat everything and anything. It's extremely impolite to say you have a dietary restriction (or being a fuzzy eater). This is not just when people cook for you. It also applies to going out to eat at restaurants. Unlike here in the UK, you share dishes with everyone. So you being picky at what you can or can't eat (like being vegetarian, or not liking fish or pork) affects all the others at the table.

The only people who can be vegetarians are buddhists monks or very devout believers. Most believers are still meat eaters but fast before worship etc.

YANBU

YANBU. I have friends who call themselves vegetarian but eat fish. I also know a 'vegetarian' who eats fish, chicken and the crackling off roast pork

YANBU, and speaking as a (lacto-ovo) vegetarian, vegetarian food is food for everyone (unless you have allergies or you are vegan :).

I had a friend that was a veggie because of animal rights. I pointed out to him that he was being quite hypocritical about it.

An animal is basically stripped for meat, for animal fat and for its skin. I pointed out that if everyone, including him, boycotted all animal based products like leather instead of just meat then it would make it uneconomical for farms to raise and kill cows for example. My argument failed to penetrate :(

YANBU

I had this in hospital.

Awake for 24 hours solid - high doses of steroids inducing insomnia On oxygen and nebulizer. Wheezing and struggling to breathe. And trying to argue with nurse, hca and interfering other patients that no I couldn't eat the chicken pie because I am VEGETARIAN. And no I didn't want her to get me a tuna sandwich because I AM FUCKING VEGITARIAN. And no interfering patient in bed opposite I am not "ONE OF THEM VEGANS" because I will eat eggs and had milk in my tea. And hearing the hca bitching to a nurse because I am a "vegetarian who won't eat the fish ffs"

I ended up in the visitors room sobbing down the phone to nettosuperstar (fellow MNer) as I was so fucking fed up. And they wonder why I have a home nebulizer and try at all costs to stay out of hospital.

Sorry that was a bit of a rant wasn't it? I am clearly not over it

to me it is simple you either eat animals or you don't.

i only eat chicken or fish, so because i eat them i am not a vegetarian. (sometime i have a bacon sandwich aswell)

giraffesCantFitInThePalace if you was on my ward i would of got the staff to make some toast or get some cereals.

i have worked for the nhs for 9 years and anyone who is a vegetarian or got special dietiary problem are treated like aliens when it comes to meal times

YANBU. I hate the stupid question "do you eat fish then"?

YANBU.

I was veggie for 10 years and it was quite difficult at times, especially when travelling, but the thing that made me feel most stabby was when people would roll their eyes at me for not wanting a fish option or would exclaim, 'But it's fish! You can eat that, surely!'

Erm no, actually, I bloody can't, what part of 'no animal flesh' is so hard to understand?!

That's why people who eat fish should be roundly chastised for referring to themselves as vegetarians, because it makes life so difficult for real vegetarians.

People who are on the way to being veggie with an occassional lapse are a different kettle of fish , I think.

Slightly different, but I know a vegetarian who would convert the world on moral grounds. So far so good. She take cod liver oil capsules daily. I'm not allowed to ask how the cod donate the oil from their livers, how much, how frequently, how long they rest after donating, do they get tea and biscuits after donating? So many questions that need answering!

I also know a very nice vegearian who eats fish, doesn't judge what others eat and runs a sausage making business. Not vege sausages, old fashioned pork, beef, turkey etc.

AdoraBell it's lovely for your friend to be nice and make sausages and eat fish, but she's NOT a vegetarian!

Nothing to do with the sausage making, but if you eat fish, you are not vegetarian, no matter how much you call yourself a veggie.

I completely agree, used to eat fish until I saw fishing boats in Thailand come in and leave the most enormous and beautiful creatures gasping for breath on the beach. A bit like cute furry foxes make people emotional, so do little lambs. I don't eat any meat or fish now and it is entirely up to others what they do but I just dont get why scaly creatures don't get the same respect. And don't even get me started on lobsters, sicko twatty pretentious people who pick their live one and enjoy watching it boiled alive.

I cook meat and allow it in the house because it is only my opinion and I am the only one in the house.

Talking of annoying stories...twice now I've ordered take-away food and they've got it wrong. I ordered a veggie deluxe pizza and they gave me a meat deluxe. Luckily I checked outside the pizza place and I went back in to point out their mistake. Their response "You ordered a meat deluxe!!" Erm...I doubt that somehow...I've NEVER eaten meat (apart from the odd bit of fish) IN MY ENTIRE LIFE...I somehow don't think I'd forget that when ordering food for myself. They gave me a new pizza but you could just tell they thought I was some annoying crazy person. Same thing happened in a Chinese when they gave me chicken chow mein instead of veggie...."Oh but you ordered chicken!!"

[grumble grumble]

On the day my sister announced she had decided to become a Vegetarian, me and my brother tricked her into eating a pepperoni pizza!

Oh how we laughed..

I was in hospital for a week when I had DS1. On the second day they twigged that I didn't eat meat and I got a lovely menu to choose from for the rest of my stay. When I was moved onto the postnatal ward, the dinnerlady came looking for me to make sure my choices had been transferred over with me.

I do feel bad sometimes when I have asked for vegetarian options and then choose fish - but seriously, there is only so much lasagne and goat's cheese you can eat....

I don't eat meat or fish but don't tend to call myself vegetarian as occasionally I'll eat cheese and drink wine without checking it's vegetarian. And the other day someone gave me an activia yoghurt - turns out that's got hooves in too.

So for someone who actually makes a point of eating an animal to call themselves one seems ridiculous to me. YANBU

Pooshtun I still wear leather and think it would be strange not to (admittedly don't think I've bought any since going meat free, maybe 2nd hand I have) but then I don't like wastefulness.

unless your friend buys a lot of leather (!) I guess you could argue that meat = everyday whereas leather = once in a blue moon so isn't as bad...?

YANBU. It also makes being a veggie very annoying, as I constantly get "Well, we have fish, that's veggie! And Ceaser salad..."
My sister is a 'veggie' who eats fish. Almost chose a fish dish for her veggie option at her wedding (not sure if it would be for her only or all veggies though), I did tell her I wouldn't eat it! The same sister also only refrains from eating obvious meat, so jelly, sweets, cheese, yoghurts/mousses, etc are all fine for her, whereas I'm a lot more careful. This makes me 'fussy' apparently

What annoys me more for some weird reason though is meat eaters who refuse to eat types of meat (usually lamb) because the animal is 'too cute', I've heard so many people come out with that one.

nickle The oyster sauce thing gets me every time, I usually end up with a dodgy tummy for a couple of days after a chinese :(

I worked as a waitress for a 'bistro chain' type restaurant a while back and when we had a menu change I had to explain why it was written on the briefing notes that we should ask whether people were veggies when asking for the minestrone so we could inform the chef not to add the parmesan. Even the chefs couldn't understand why the cheese may not be vegetarian.
I've also asked if the cheese was veggie as a little restaurant and was told "It's cheese." With a blank look. I had to explain then too and they were still blank faced.

I couldn't care less about if others eat meat/fish.etc at the end of the day, but it bugs me when they claim to be veggie when doing so!

AdoraBell I think running a sausage factory would be enough to turn the most fervent meat eater veggie tbh!

confusedpixie, I agree it's annoying when meat eaters refuse to eat some types of meat because the animal is cute.

It's also annoying when they stick fingers in ears and go 'la la la' at any mention of farmyard animals being killed so they can eat steak. DH has a terrible habit of doing this. If people want to eat meat, then they really need to accept that it means animals die.

god, the NHS and their vegetarian diet!

when i was there, on post natal with severe anaemia, there were no iron-rich veggie options - yes, not even leafy green vegetables!!
(or pulses or anything like it - the options on the first day were mashed potato, cheese omelette and carrots/tinned tomatoes)

and i believed that James Martin show where the dietician in the PCT he was in being really fussy that each menu had to be nutritionally balanced!!