Vegetarians... who eat fish.

[ThatGhastlyWoman]

I suspect this has been done before but, here goes...

We probably all know people who are 'strict vegetarians' apart from the fact that they eat fish. And chicken. And the odd cat, if they're especially peckish and it doesn't move fast enough.

Personally, I don't especially lose any sleep over what other people eat or don't eat. I'm a vegetarian, and like most that I know, consider it my personal preference not to eat meat, just as it is that of others to eat the stuff.

It does, however, rankle slightly when people think you are unreasonable or unusual to not eat fish when you are vegetarian: I've seen more my fair share of eye-rolling and 'well, my strict vegetarian friend eats fish, so it must be okay, you utter loon' - type attitude. A lot of people just don't 'get' it.

Anyway, what has made me start a thread on this topic, even though I doubt it's the first time it'll have been aired on here?

Today, my childminder (otherwise a lovely, lovely woman who I trust absolutely with my child's care) gave my daughter fish fingers because they were out at a fast food place, and she thought they were ok for vegetarians. Now, she thought she was doing a nice thing, but not only has my daughter now been given meat when I really wanted to avoid that happening for as long as possible, I am upset because we have a seafood allergy in my family- so there's potential for serious consequences.

PS: before anyone asks, yes- I did fill in a form listing dietary requirements, and mentioned not only that we were ovo-lacto vegetarians, but that it was really important to avoid any nuts as we have serious allergies in my family. I don't expect her to carry this around with her: the fact is, this prevailing attitude that fish is fine for veggies led to her making an assumption.

Really more of a rant/pointing out of an 'ishoo' than an AIBU, I guess..!

I just tell people who ask..... I don't eat 'food with a face!'. It's that simple

If it ever had a face, then it's not for my dinner.

Remus - I think you may- have some Green & Black's on me. For what it's worth, most folk I know probably don't know I'm veggie- I have been for nearly 30 years, I don't really labour it in normal circs- but I do have a preference for how my daughter is raised around the issue until she's old enough to understand. You know- like most moral/health issues we have to make decisions about on our children's behalf in those first few years.

My main reason, actually, in raising this hoary old issue, was just to remind people that there is a wider impact in perpetuating the 'fish is a vegetable' idea. And, for the love of all that is sacred- I did, originally, describe what I meant by vegetarian when discussing with the childminder. And I'm actually not that pissed at her (as I said, she's lovely, and she was just being kind): it's just that I wish we could avoid the confusion.

Wintry - thank you. Prissy? Jaysus.

Thank you. Is it the almond one? :)

You have been v rational on this thread btw - am impressed!

I don't eat anything with legs.

Shrimps, prawns, cows, sheep, octopi, mussels, snails, frogs, chicken etc.

There isn't a word for my food preferences (other than Blood Fussy Eater!)

Fish-eating-vegetarian-who-doesn't-eat-seafood just about covers it...

BinarySolo the issue with no food with a face is that I can't eat clocks or dice. And that really limits my mathematical food intake.

Technically all 3D shapes have faces

I agree regarding fish. My work provide sandwiches if we're having a late night, and the vegetarian platter consists of prawn and mayonnaise, tuna and maybe an egg sandwich or two. It has raised a few vegetarian eyebrows (but, as we are so malnourished due to lack of protein, our eyebrows don't move much)

I have a strange sense of deja vu...

Now, you see, I don't think prawns really have a face...

But anyway, maybe I missed it earlier in the thread, but isn't there a word for people who eat fish but not meat, other than "fish veggie"?

OP, YANBU top be annoyed with your CM.

DoJo, me too, but I only get deja vu with the fist half of the OP.

A "vegetarian" who eats eggs and dairy is in no position to pour scorn on the ethical intentions of someone who eats fish but no other meat. What do you think happens to every male chick born for every female chick that is bred to be an egg laying hen? What about all the calves that are born to dairy cattle?

Agree with some posters being prissy and especially agree with PandaWatch.

Wiki has some info on vegetarianism, interestingly it does say there's no strict agreement. It doesn't mention competitive vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from consumption of meat ? red meat, poultry and seafood. It may also include abstention from by-products of animal slaughter, such as animal-derived rennet and gelatin.[2][3]
Vegetarianism can be adopted for several reasons. Many object to eating meat out of respect for sentient life. Such ethical motivations have been codified under various religious beliefs, along with the concept of animal rights. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic or economic. There are varieties of the diet as well: an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs, and an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. A vegan, or strict vegetarian, diet excludes all animal products, including eggs, dairy, and honey.
Various packaged or processed foods, including cake, cookies, chocolate and marshmallows, often contain unfamiliar animal ingredients, and may be a special concern for vegetarians due to the likelihood of such additions.[4] Often, products are reviewed by vegetarians for animal-derived ingredients prior to purchase or consumption.[4] Vegetarians vary in their feelings regarding these ingredients, however. For example, while some vegetarians may be unaware of animal-derived rennet's role in the usual production of cheese and may therefore unknowingly consume the product,[5][6] other vegetarians may not be bothered by its consumption.[3] The results of a 2009 International survey suggest the standard definition of vegetarianism is different in different nations. Vegetarians in some nations consume more animal products than those in others.[7]
Semi-vegetarian diets consist largely of vegetarian foods, but may include fish or poultry, or sometimes other meats on an infrequent basis. Those with diets containing fish or poultry may define "meat" only as mammalian flesh and may identify with vegetarianism.[8][9] A pescetarian diet has been described as "fish but no other meat".[10] The common use association between such diets and vegetarianism has led vegetarian groups such as the Vegetarian Society to state that diets containing these ingredients are not vegetarian, due to fish and birds being animals.[11]

The point being- the CM should have realised fish was a no-no but the label "vegetarian" isn't clear and simple.

" I don't eat anything with legs. Shrimps, prawns, cows, sheep, octopi, mussels, snails, frogs, chicken etc."

So, show me where the legs are on mussels and snails!

Vegetarians don't eat fish.

I blame 'Come Dine With Me'. Every vegetarian on that eats fish - one of them even had steak!! Then the odd episode wheels out a vegan to be ridiculed. It's about time there was an all veggie episode to level the playing field, as a lot of meat eaters don't think it's really a meal if there's no meat (my dad is one of those people)

juniper

Is it last week again? Hasn't this been done to death last week? i see there is another crisp thread as well.

Vegetarians who eat fish are not vegetarian, they are pescetarian and should all really stop telling everyone that they are 'vegetarians who eat fish' because vegetarians don't eat fucking fish

I really wish everyone would learn the bloody difference.

And vegetarians who eat chicken arent vegetarian, they are liars.

I had a friend at uni that was a vegetarian that only ate processes meat, "because it's mostly not meat anyway" she made me very stabby.

YANBU to be annoyed at people corrupting your understanding of vegetarianism.

YABU to prevent your children from eating fish & meat - both are very important for their development.

Yawn... Wasn't this done last week?

Vegetarians who eat fish, chicken or steak and lying toads who make it harder for people who are vegetarians to get a meal out without dead animal in it.

My sister doesn't eat red meat because it doesn't aagree with her. She has never said that she's veggie, because she isn't.

I find that non veggies who say they are, tend to be the ones who make a huuuuge fuss in a restaurant about their diet, then choose the chicken or fish.

Ffs are you a namechanged Moldie?

This sort of thread policing a la "We talked about this recently so you're not allowed to" thankfully disappeared with them.

If you don't like the subject clearly spelled out in the thread title, don't click on it. Don't read it. And don't post on it.

Kathy Burke was on tv explaining that she's been veggie since her late teens.

This was on `Hugh Fernly whatsit's program.

Dilemma, what to cook for this vegetarian?

Well in the end Kathy and Hugh took to a boat and caught and cooked a delicious sea bass or some such

Vegetarian my arse.

Fish and meat are important for children's development ?

Never too late to learn these things, Julia.

A well balanced diet is important for a child's development. Flesh doesn't have to be a part of that diet.