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.

70s [gein] at the people who feel sorry for us!/try and be smug about their meat eating shenanigans. And, what?

I'm not kissing your carnivore arse unless you're actually a ninja fish.

It's not interesting unless your life seriously lacks interest! Just tiresome if you can't eat food served to you in good faith because the person dishing it up thinks vegetarians eat fish/chicken/wafer thin ham/ rennet, & equally an embarrassment/PITA for them if they've cooked for you.

I must admit I generally assume that if I invite people to eat I'll say 'it'll be vegetarian, anything you can't eat or don't like?' & it's up to them to let me know if they happen to be a coeliac vegan with a severe nut allergy, at which point I'll do my best...

Equally if someone invites us I'd always let them know we don't eat meat. I really don't want someone slaving over their speciality boeuf whatever & then have us turn up & not eat it.

Just basic manners rather than trying to be interesting IMO.

My MIL (who doesn't really embrace my DH vegetarian ways- and blames me for corrupting her little boy)
gave him soup with great big lumps of chicken in it (and chicken stock) and said he could "just leave the chicken"
and gave us Pepperoni pizza "Oh I thought Pepperoni was like peppers"

Errrrm, no it's not

Oh I see the Parmesan issue is covered already.

Does not bring up the wafer thin ham joke.

I'm a pescetarian, but I will sometimes refer to myself as a vegetarian. It's almost always in catering contexts, where saying that you are a pescetarian will

• meet with looks of confusion
• require an explanation of what being a pescetarian is
• result in being given the veggie option anyway

I'm quite well aware that I am not a vegetarian, but sometimes explaining is just more hassle than it's worth.

I like vegetarians who eat fish. They are easier to cater for whatever they choose to call themselves.

My SIL claims to be vegetarian but will eat bacon on Sundays. I prefer to save my ire for her.

I'm quite well aware that I am not a vegetarian, but sometimes explaining is just more hassle than it's worth.

Absolutely. You carry on as you are, and take no heed of the self important drivel on this thread.

I used to call myself a veggie as I used to be one. I now eat fish and some chicken so I now simply say that I don't eat red meat as this is more honest as my reasons now are more to do with a dislike of these foods than a total animal welfare stance. I thi k people use the term vegetarian as one of convenience in some cases so they don't have to explain the ins and puts of what they do and don't eat. I can see though that it could be irritating to those who have firmly held beliefs about being a vegan or vegetarian.

Gordon Ramsey doesn't like vegetarians.

he thinks we're lacking something mentally.

he once gave vegetarians meat pizza wile pretending it was veggie and then went around laughing at them because he'd forced them to eat meat and they hadn't complained.
if he'd done that to me, i would have ripped him a new one.

I also know people who are veggie because meat makes them physically ill - their systems can't take it, and he could have hospitalized one of them.

he once gave vegetarians meat pizza wile pretending it was veggie and then went around laughing at them because he'd forced them to eat meat and they hadn't complained.
if he'd done that to me, i would have ripped him a new one

As much as I think this thread is daft and inneccessary - I think THAT is absolutely BANG out of order.

Gordon Ramsay is a psychopathic dickhead. What a wanker. Chefs are notorious for not liking vegetarians, but IMO a chef who cannot cater for a vegetarian has a real lack of imagination and actually ime some of the more truly talented chefs I have worked with have had no problem at all catering for vegetarians and actually quite enjoy the challenge of catering for different dietary requirements. Hfw recently did some progs on veggie food for instance.

Beings chef who can't/won't make veggie food is like being an interior designer who decorates everyone's house the same regardless of it's age/size, or like a fashion designer who only designs clothes for skinny models. Lacking in imagination.

he's always going on about hating them.
he pulls faces ans swears about it.
and he said on bbc breakfast at christmas that vegetarians are banned from his house.

You're right OP but I don't get annoyed about it.

On Come Dine With Me this week they fed a veggie "jellied tomato soup" with gelatine in it- I just think, people don't know when they're eating meat and when they're not. I had to push for veggie-friendly ADs and we did find them, but my veggie friend who was taking the same still had to take the gelatine pill version. Not brilliant.

Lol at people being annoyed at "veggie" guess it's just one of those things you get irrationally ticked off at....like some people don't like "uni" etc/...

I'm a pescatarian who was 100% vegetarian from birth- age 26, then decided to try fish. I only really like it if it's extremely fresh ie when I'm at the seaside or in a v good restaurant. I tend to save my fish eating for occasions when I'm in a stupid French restaurant that doesn't have a veggie menu or when the veggie option is cheese on cheese with melted cheese... So mostly I tell people I'm veggie. Oh and I have cod liver oil capsules every day. I can't say pescatarian because there are many fish I would hate to eat. Just very occasional wild salmon or white fish for me

I stayed at a Hotel du Vin in December. I had indicated when booking that I was a vegetarian and was disapointed when the vegetarian starter was "off" and complained that the egg salad replacement was not exactly suitable for a special meal out. I was met with the riposte that there was plenty of fish on the menu I could have chosen from. We stayed in a lovely hotel for my birthday a few years back that advertise they no longer cater for vegetarians as apparently they used to go to extrememe lengths to mmake lovely food for them only to have them turn up and chose fish or chicken instead.

Well that hotel advertising that it no longer caters for vegetarians since they had presumably a few incidents of vegetarians turning up and then choosing fish or chicken dishes sounds rather haughty and unhelpful to me higgle
Do they not get other diners changing their minds from one dish to another upon perusal of the menu ?!

This irritates me quite a lot too. I am a vegetarian, so naturally I don't eat meat or fish, and happen to be highly allergic to fish. It worries me sometimes that so called vegetarian meals can contain fish or a fish sauce.

I am equally annoyed by people whose response to me being vegetarian is 'ooh yes, I don't eat much meat either, only a bit of chicken, steak sometimes if I'm out, and of course bacon sandwiches don't count, do they?!'

Another thought ... society in general and the catering industry in particular should be able to handle the fact that many vegetarians are strict vegetarians, and some people are vegan. They should understand these terms (especially the restaurants etc) In a similar way they should know and understand the dietary requirements and preferences of different religious and cultural groups.

Then there is a spectrum of other dietary preferences/ requirements ranging from pescatarians to people who are mainly veggie but not strictly so, those that don't eat red meat etc. etc.

In other words people generally need to get their heads round the fact that some people have strict dietary requirements and other people are more flexible.
Neither is "right" or "wrong" BTW (IMHO) !

The catering industry should be experts on all of this, that's where the problem lies IME

From the vegetarian society website:
"There are different types of vegetarian:
Lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat both dairy products and eggs; this is the most common type of vegetarian diet.

Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products but avoid eggs.

Vegans do not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other products which are derived from animals."

So does that mean that all vegetarians always identify their ovo/lacto status? So long as people can eat what they choose and avoid foods that they feel strongly about not eating, then does it really matter what terminology is used? So long as everyone can convey their preferences even if they are variations on a theme of the foods they eat/avoid then all is well with the world?

Unfortunately this does have real ramifications for vegetarians.

I was just in hospital for nearly 3 weeks. My doctor told me I was malnourished and needed to eat more (had pneumonia, was dreadfully ill) but on several occasions I was offered fish as the vegetarian option. The lady serving said to me 'most vegetarians we have here eat fish, why don't you?' and then laughed at me when I said I ate dairy 'well you can't be a real vegetarian then'

I did try and educate her and she was fairly nice about it in the end (the dietician ordered some special meals for me) but it was the whole thing of having to go through this when I was so very ill, and so tired, and just couldn't be arsed. Several times in my recovery I didn't have a meal. And yes, I do put this down to people who eat fish calling themselves vegetarians.

Most restaurants are OK. I've had one instance of being served fish soup in a super posh hotel but mostly veggie options are suitable. I always get that same question though when I tell people - 'do you eat fish' and answer the same as nickel - 'no, I am a vegetarian.'

It can be very wearing.

higgle I stayed at a Hotel du Vin in December. I had indicated when booking that I was a vegetarian and was disapointed when the vegetarian starter was "off" and complained that the egg salad replacement was not exactly suitable for a special meal out. I was met with the riposte that there was plenty of fish on the menu I could have chosen from.

I believe Hotel du Vin is in receivership so it may not be up to scratch.

I'm with the "veggie" is akin to "uni" gang. Cringe.... And I'll also add "roasties" - double cringe.

I'm afraid I'm going to make the sweeping generalisation that I can find pseudo-vegetarians quite rude. I think the issue is often that they are just fussy or have small appetites, and try to cover it up by sounding worthy. I had some people round and the wife and dds were "vegetarians". I produced a Delia Smith vegetarian moussaka which if I say so myself turns out very well and a fish pie. After much teenage eye-rolling and general miserable faces they settled for chicken nuggets. Grrrrr.