'veggies don't eat fish' friend fall out

[mrsfuzzy]

i'm a veggie i eat dairy produce, but no fish and meat nor have i done since i was a young child, i met a new friend three months ago and she asked about becoming a veggie which she was proud to tell everyone about but she still eats fish, i said that veggies didn't eat fish and that shell fish etc are 'banned' by the veggie society. i like her but she's got a bee in her bonnet and refuses to speak to me, we didn't argue about it about it at the time, i don't understand.

[StuntGirl]

Vegans do not eat any animal flesh or animal derived products. That includes all meat, poultry, fish, dairy, gelatine, rennet, lanolin, and a bunch of other animal derived products. More information from the Vegan Society for those who would like it.

Vegetarians do not eat animal flesh. There are lacto-ovo-vegetarians who eat dairy and eggs but no meat, fish or poultry (this is the OP and the most common vegetarian diet) and lacto-vegetarians who eat dairy but not eggs, meat, fish or poultry. More information from the Vegetarian Society for those who would like it.

Pescetarians eat fish but no meat.

To be one and call yourself the other is a bit silly, but hopefully she will learn. It can be frustrating because essentially it spreads misinformation about the diet; so fish ends up appearing in 'vegetarian' food options and dairy and other things end up appearing in 'vegan' options.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

YABU to call her a friend. You meet someone new who says she's a vegetarian that eats fish, you call her out as being wrong, she takes the hump... Moral of the tale, if you want to make friends, resist the temptation to be a know-it-all

[BaldricksTurnip]

Really wow I didn't know that. Even given the obscure origins of the word, I would assume most people who are vegetarian don't eat anything of direct (as opposed to by product like honey from bees) animal origin. I think the problem lies in the common understanding of 'meat' and 'fish' being different. In fact if you said 'I don't eat flesh' there would probably be less room for confusion! I am a meat eater by the way.

[BaldricksTurnip]

X-post with Stuntgirl.

[VinegarDrinker]

Pretty sure the vegetarian society don't think that gelatine etc are ok for veggies stuntgirl In fact they specifically mention this on their website

"Vegetarians don’t eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, crustacea or the by-products of slaughter"

[mrsfuzzy]

tarka, not being funny,[i like your name] but how he heck can you be veggie if you eat meat sometimes?? just makes real veggies look really daft no wonder people get confused!

[WorraLiberty]

i don't eat meat/fish because of the inhumane treatment of animals, i believe that all living creatures should be respected, but i respect the freedom of choice for other people

Really? And yet you eat dairy?

YANBU because your friend is wrong but it's a very odd thing to fall out over.

[StuntGirl]

I like saying vegetarians don't eat flesh - using 'meat' and a shorthand for meat, fish and poultry leaves it open to confusion and interpretation imo.

[ICameOnTheJitney]

Have a word with my Vegan Dh....in his eyes vegetarians "aren't" vegetarians because they eat dairy he sees vegetarian as someone who eats nothing but plant based diet....in short vegan I say but he says no...go figure.

[enjoyingscience]

Apart from it being a very weird thing to properly fall out about, it does annoy me when people call themselves veggie when they aren't.

I still get offered salmon, prawns and tuna on a very regular basis by the morons canteen staff, because so many people who self define as veggie just plain aren't.

[StuntGirl]

I was drawing the main distinction between the two very different diets but yes, vegetarians shouldn't eat things like gelatine or rennet either.

Some vegetarians don't wear leather either, but that's also mainly the preserve of veganism.

You'll also find mildly conflicting opinions between different vegetarian groups/societies depending on what their aims are and how strict/militant they are.

[ICameOnTheJitney]

Can I just say...people calling Vegetarians "veggies" is bloody annoying me for some reason! Stop it! It sounds silly!

"Meet the Veggies, meet the Veggies!" (Mr. Bloom)

[MerylStrop]

She is not a vegetarian. She just doesn't eat meat. Which is a perfectly valid position to take.

I imagine that perhaps she isn't speaking to you because she feels that you ridiculed or embarrassed her in front of other people - how exactly did the conversation go?

[Peetle]

I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years. I call myself a "realistic" vegetarian as I avoid flesh (and fish) but without interrogating chefs and examining kitchens everywhere it is impossible to be sure you are completely avoiding all dead animal products. I eat dairy.

Don't forget isinglass (fish swim bladders) which are used in the production of most wine and beer, though they probably won't be present in the finished product (as if that makes a difference).

[onlytheonce]

Oh please, plenty of people call themselves vegetarian and eat fish. It might not be the correct technical usage but they've probably found it more confusing to say they are pescetarian when a lot of people don't have a clue what they are talking about.

It sounds like the OP is in a hump because the friend still eats fish. I can understand the friend being annoyed when she's done something she thinks is good and presumably thought the OP would be supportive of.

[StuntGirl]

A lot of people obviously don't have a clue what vegetarian means either, so no harm in throwing another word in the mix

[Branleuse]

im a fishandchipocrite!!!

[mrsfuzzy]

worral i should have said i eat dairy such as vegetarian cheese, free range eggs but no cows milk just soya instead, if truth be known it would be a lot easier to go vegan and done with, as for recent posters asking about my friend, the 'disagreement' came about because we went out to eat and the menu has fish under the vegtarian options and i pointed out that it was not correct for it to be there, and she got huffy for no more than that! no loss to me obviously if someone is going to be so petty.

[mrsfuzzy]

only theonce, no, i'm not in a huff because some eats fish, i respect peoples choices to eat the muck they serve in some take aways, out of a dustbin et al, i'm not bothered.

[VinegarDrinker]

Why cheese but not milk just out of interest?

[mrsfuzzy]

i don't like the taste of cows milk at all never have done, and i only eat cheese if it is made with non animal rennet, so no pizzas etc.

[Suzieismyname]

I was a 'true' vegetarian for 6 years and ate fish for 6 months either side of that time. (I'm a full blown rare steak eating omnivore now!)
Don't understand how you can eat vegetarian cheese but not cows' milk?

[VinegarDrinker]

The vast majority of cheese in this country is made from non animal rennet. I'm surprised that you say no pizza, there are loads of pizzas that are suitable for veggies. Anything vegsoc approved doesn't contain rennet.

[LadyBigtoes]

"chicken periods"!

I'll never see eggs the same way again.

[Debs75]

I think people just feel the need to label themselves. I was a pescatarian fir years but didn't know it I just called myself a vegetarian[shame]
Now I am an 'eat anything on my plate'ian.
I would like to be pescatarian again for the health and money benefits but not 100% sure how to rebalance the diet.

It shouldn't matter to others what you eat but it should matter to retailers so that normal cheese and fish isn't offered as a vegetarian option