'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.

[BizzyLizzy70]

Please will all the fish eating people stop calling themselves veggies as I can't remember how many times people have thought I eat fish. The one and only time dc1 went to nursery they gave her fish fingers because ' we didn't give her chicken because you told us you are was vegetarian' The only time they have ever had meat. Fish meat.

Pah. In Australia we did go one better - i was offered fish and repeated i was vegetarian so they oh sorry, and gave me chicken! Ahhhhhh. Must be a mammal thing..!

[wink1970]

I called someone a pescetarian the other day when they said they ate fish, and they thought I said pesky 'tarian - quite miffed, they were

btw I was vegetarian for over 20 years then got an urge to eat meat in my late 20s. Odd. Remember growing up in the 80s and friends' mums never quite knowing what to cook me - thank god for tinned tomatoes and pasta.

[Bramblesinforrin]

Im vegetarian and my aunt was struggling to work this out at a family meal, asking me if I could eat the sausage part of pigs in blankets or not. Sigh.

And fwiw, my hens seem very happy to me and provide beautiful fresh eggs.

[choccyp1g]

leGavrof Apparently they lit fires on the beach and found melted sand forming glass in the ashes.

[ChoccyP and leGavrof take the thread off into the distance]

[LeGavrOrf]

Did they?

You just bloody well made that up didn't you

[meganorks]

Lots of people call themselves veggies who do occasionally eat fish. Obviously a fish is not a vegetable but don't see why it's worth falling out over.
MIL calls herself a veggie and mostly is. I think there are only 2 types of fish she will eat these days and very fussy. So easier to just refer to her and treat her as a veggie.

[choccyp1g]

No honest, LeGavrOrf I heard it on radio 4 so it must be true.

[FixItUpChappie]

Well, TBH I was a pescetarian for many years and when asked on the fly what I "was" I would just say vegetarian to avoid having to explain for the umpteenth time what a pescetarian is followed by the inevitable mocking interrogation over why I think eating fish is okay but not cow (I live in a meat-eating mecca).

Seems a silly thing for either of you to get upset over.

[PeppiNephrine]

Do those who say they call themselves vegetarian when they aren't because they think its easier not realise that they are making life harder for actual vegetarians? When people try and give fish and chicken to vegetarians its often because they've met people like you who make them think thats what vegetarians eat!
So bloody stop it. It doesn't make life easier for anyone, and you are just pissing people off.

[hugoagogo]

This drives me mad.
It just confuses people.

Tuna melts on the vegetarian menu and my own gp suggesting chicken breast as a good alternative source of protein for a vegetarian. [gives up]

[FixItUpChappie]

So bloody stop it

Er, no. If you see fish on the vegetarian menu though feel free to not order it. Its not that complicated.

[PrincessFlirtyPants]

This is a pet hate of mine.

OP, your friend is a pescetarian. FFS, if she wants to be 'proud' then she should be proud about the diet she actually follows!

[PeppiNephrine]

I wasn't talking about menus, obviously. Do pay attention. And stop making it complicated for others. If you want to be a vegetarian, be one. Don't do the teenage sap thing of calling yourself one when you aren't.

[PunkHedgehog]

Green Shoes make all their styles in non-leather versions.

[TarkaTheOtter]

I say that I am a vegetarian (when I occasionally eat fish and meat ) exactly because it makes people assume I won't eat fish or meat and because I am a fussy eater I would prefer to eat vegetarian when not at home.
I have never met anyone who would assume a vegetarian would eat fish and meat so don't see how it can make life harder for vegetarians. If I want to give more detail I have to say I am a vegetarian BUT I occasionally eat fish and meat, because normally a vegetarian obviously wouldn't.

There's no point labelling oneself a pescatarian when you always have to explain that means "like a vegetarian but also eats fish". Might as well just say that in the first place.

[ooerrmissus]

Tarka, why don't you just say you are a bloody fussy eater?

[vix206]

I think it's the labelling that's the problem. I think, as with many lifestyle choices, we are all at a place on a line. The line goes from 'I will happily eat ANY flesh at all' at one extreme to 'I will only eat wild fruit that has fallen from the tree' on the other end. We each find out position of comfort and feel happy there. The labels make it harder than it needs to be.

[FixItUpChappie]

Yes I am paying attention than you Peppi. As someone who ate fish maybe 3 times a year - I didn't feel the need to qualify it really or make for further explanation. I certainly didn't find the rest of the year sans fish more "complicated". I suspect what really bothers people is feeling these discrepancies threaten their own personal pride in being the officially titled sacrificing "vegetarian". I am less concerned clearly with the titles than some.

[Xmasbaby11]

She's not a vegetarian. But does it matter? Does it really affect you? A lot of people misuse the word, but it only really matters if you are catering for this person and need to know what they eat, in which case you discuss it with them.

[FixItUpChappie]

vix hits the nail on the head IMO.

[AmandaPandtheNightmareMonsters]

I think it's rather daft to call yourself vegetarian if you eat fish. you don't need to use the word pescatarian - if a friend said to me "I don't eat meat or animal products" I would get what that meant.

I do periodically toy with vegetarianism, but I like the taste of meat too much! Also, I don't think in all conscience I could do that without also ditching milk and eggs given the treatment of male calves/chicks.

[pigsinmud]

I don't really care how people describe themselves, but get bloody irritated when people assume we eat fish. When into a pub once and the vegetarian options were all fish?? We asked where the vegetarian dishes were, as the pub described itself as catering for veggies, and they pointed at the fish dishes. Hmm, that's fish...yes, not meat....still an animal...only fish....do you have anything without meat or fish....no. We gave up.

I toy with the idea of being vegan, but am not sure I could do it. We have our own chickens and I have no problem eating their eggs. They drop them and leave them and we don't have a cockerel so certainly not fertilised!

[PeppiNephrine]

not close enough since you can't grasp the basic "vegetarians don't eat fish, not even just every few months" bit. It's a binary state, like being pregnant.
Seriously, why so confused? It's not that hard, is it?

[StuntGirl]

But does it matter? Does it really affect you?

It matters because it leads to a general misconception that vegetarians eat fish, which leads to vegetarian options being further limited when well meaning people offer fish as a vegetarian option.

That said, good restaurants will try to cater for dietary issues anyway. I had one recently who could turn a few of their meals vegan by omitting certain ingredients, and offered to make me something else if none of those options suited. I thought that was pretty awesome service.

[Kinect]

YANBU

She's a twat & a pescetarian.