To be annoyed with "vegetarians" that eat fish

[exBrightonBell]

If you eat fish then you aren't a vegetarian - it's as simple as that! I'm a vegetarian and it pisses me off when I say so, and the next question is "do you eat fish?" Er, no, because I already said that I'm VEGETARIAN. It's just lazy and it causes confusion for actual vegetarians.

Now I appreciate that the term pescetarian is a bit of a clunky term that is unlikely to be used. But it IS the correct name for the fish eating brigade.

Yes, if you say you are vegetarian and someone offers you fish surely you can either accept or decline depending on your actual dietary preferences - if you like on whether you are actually a vegetarian or a pescatarian ?

IME You cannot really blame pescatarian's for muddying the waters - they have as much right to their dietary preference as you do as a vegetarian even if true veggies understandably see their dietary choice as a purer, more philosophically rigorous one.
Better understanding would see fish no longer offered as a vegetarian option by restaurants and other catering establishments.

If you are a vegetarian because of animal cruelty you shouldn't eat any dairy products. Because producing them necessitates pointless slaughter of newborn calves. We have quite a few vegetarians among our friends but most of the times it's more about status than anything else.

I don't mind what people call themselves. I do mind fish being included as a vegetarian option in restaurants. I have been to a wedding where the vegetarian option was salmon.

That isn't the consumers fault. It is the fault of the caterer or the restaurant involved.

I don't eat red meat or chicken, I love fish and sometimes have to eat meat when at, for example, at my bosses house. What am I? A fussy eater and a bit lazy.

I'm not a vegetarian for ethical or moral reasons. It's all about the disgusting taste and texture

Why should a vegetarian, after asking what the veggie options are, be offered fish The fact that this happens, in my opinion, highlights a persons lack of general knowledge...

I've also sent a meal back after being given fish - I'm not eating the fish or anything else that is on the plate nor am I willing to pay for the food just because the chef/waiter doesn't know what a vegetarian is...

Why do I bother specifying that I'm a vegetarian when no one seems to know what it is. Think I'll just say I don't eat meat but then I'll still get asked 'but do you eat fish'? Erm... No because fish is meat are you thick?

It annoys me far more than it should, but I don't see why I have to correct people when it should be bloody obvious

Why on earth would somebody be a vegetarian for status?! I have received more ridicule than reverence for being a vegetarian.

Chipping - I just noticed you have made a point of telling me I'm rude there, while completely ignoring the poster who refers to pescetarians as selfish cunts who are lazy and entitled, before going on to whine about them being the reason vegetarians are thought of as fussy and awkward.

1. They're not the reason.

1. That's pretty rude.

Pescetarians saying they are vegetarian for their own ease is neither here nor there. It affects nothing and no-one in any real, tangible sense. I was a veggie for a long time, and I know that to be true. Very few people assume vegetarians eat fish. Very few.

To me, it's like saying you couldn't be a proper Bros fan if you liked Brother Beyond as well.

If you are a vegetarian because of animal cruelty you shouldn't eat any dairy products. Because producing them necessitates pointless slaughter of newborn calves. We have quite a few vegetarians among our friends but most of the times it's more about status than anything else.

Newborn calves are killed to make dairy products?!

I doubt that there are any sort of status benefits from pretending to be vegetarian!

I used to get asked many years ago if i didn't eat meat because it "was trendy" but only ever by people who thought my not eating meat was some sort of personal attack on them and would set them on the attack. Very strange. Some people have a real chip about it.

pictish, I think Bros fans were far more territorial of their label than vegetarians!

fuckadoodlepoopoo some people have a real chip about what other people eat regardless of the reason. Have you ever been on any thread where people are whining about how you should clear your plate because 'it's ruuuuude' not to?

YANBU.

Vegetarians don't eat fish. Or animal rennet, gelatine etc.

Dh's aunt is a pescetarian. She eats fish and a vegetarian diet.
She says she's vegetarian for the sake of ease.

30 or so years ago she got food poisoning from a piece of meat. Very very bad food poisoning, which required a 999 dash to hospital. She was very ill.

She hasn't touched red meat, game or poultry or any foodstuffs pertaining to, since. She does however, eat fish.
If she goes to dinner, she tells people she is a vegetarian, as she eats a mainly vegetarian diet. She doesn't expect anyone to go to the bother of giving her fish.
If she eats out she can choose the fish if she likes.

She is a bloody lovely woman, and not at all lazy or entitled.

It takes all sorts. This thread is very juvenile.

It doesn't take a lot of explaining to say you're a pescetarian:

"I'm a pescetarian, not a vegetarian."

"Oh, what's that?"

"A vegetarian who eats fish."

Simple.

Newborn male calves are killed because there are dairy and meat breeds of cows. They are no use for meat and can't give milk later on so they are taken away from their mothers straight after birth and taken to a slaughterhouse the next day. Population needs more milk than meat anyway so more milk equals more killed calves. I would say that the majority of vegetarians are far removed from farming so have quite approximate understanding of how dairy products, eggs etc are produced and what is used for fertilising vegetables.

I don't label myself. Other people want to label me.

I ordered the veggie option at the works xmas dinner - to lots of calls of 'oh, I didn't know you were a veggie!' and 'are you a vegetarian?'

Like it even matters.

I don't get this obsession with labelling an individual's diet. I understand that it can come in useful when someone else is catering for you or when choosing a restaurant, but other than that - who cares!

I am a vegetarian, and i dont eat fish. If i had to chose between eating meat or fish it would be meat as i detest fish.

I had a friend years ago that was vegetarian but ate meat on special occasions - so not a vegetarian.

If people who eat fish stopped claiming to be vegetarian you wouldn't get stupid adverts like the Morrisons one

Why do people feel the need to label themselves and then shout about it? I don't eat meat. This means that in a restaurant I choose either a veggie or a fish dish. Most of my friends actually serve veggie dishes if they're entertaining, but if they don't I just don't eat the meat. It's a spectacular non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

Crikey - fancy an advert making a ham fisted and inaccurate generalisation!
That has never happened before.

None of us are exempt from it, Mrs Super Special.

I don't eat meat. This means that in a restaurant I choose either a veggie or a fish dish.

You do realise that since fish is the flesh of an animal it is technically meat... right?

Jins Fri 04-Jan-13 10:31:00 fuckadoodlepoopoo some people have a real chip about what other people eat regardless of the reason. Have you ever been on any thread where people are whining about how you should clear your plate because 'it's ruuuuude' not to?

I know! Its so weird!

But why did they make that inaccurate generalisation and why do restaurants make the same generalisation if not for non vegetarians claiming to be something they are quite clearly not... I'm sick of people asking 'so you eat fish then' or worse still just assuming I do because so and so is a veggie and they eat fish

I don't see the point of the labelling debate. There is such a great diversity of diets that to make a label for each would take a dictionary. I can sort of see the plight of "pure" vegetarians or "pure" vegans, but I don't believe that it is best addressed through telling other people how they should call themselves. A more effective strategy would be to campaign for more purely vegan meals at restaurants that would satisfy the most fussy vegan and all others so inclined by default.

Calls for a pure vegetarian race are reductive, unrealistic and patronising. I have a vegan friend who is very vegan, but will eat things with milk and eggs in them like cakes in other people's houses. I myself have been a "pseudo-vegetarian", as I like to call myself, for a number of years. I don't eat meat, but will sometimes eat fish and seafood. I don't label myself as "pescatarian" because it just sounds incredibly wanky and implies that I eat loads of fish when I don't. I mainly eat wild fish that my relatives catch during the fishing season. I also avoid (but not always) eggs and milk. So is there a label for me? What would be the point? I always order vegetarian options at restaurants and events. This causes many people to assume that I am a vegetarian and I often have to dispel their notions.

We were on holiday a couple of years ago and got chatting to a lady who is the aunt of some friends, she is a vegetarian but ordered fish in a restaurant which came whole! It had the head on and everything and she proceeded to eat it as it was all the while saying who lovely it was!
Surely if you don't eat animals for ethical reasons, eating a whole dead fish is a bit odd. Other than the fact they aren't cute and fluffy of course!!

gallifrey, why is eating a whole fish any more disturbing that eating a piece of fillet or a fish finger? Although I agree that the lady was misguided on the mainstream meaning of "vegetarian."