To ask how you can be a pescatarian. Possible Triggers

[Jessiejuju]

So the whole point of being a vegetarian is that you don't eat meat from a living thing so why is it OK to eat fish and seafood. I know it is not classed as meat but it is still a living thing that is dying so you can eat it and is actually cruler than other animals for example chickens simply have their neck broken which is relatively quick as apposed to fish who suffercate when removed from the water.

I am mainly vegetarian but occasionally eat fish, mostly when there isn't much else to choose from or when cooking a meal that the whole family can eat. Fish, although the killing is cruel, are generally not subjected to the cruel factory farming conditions that chickens etc are for their whole lives, and being a completely different species I feel less empathy with a fish than a cow or a pig for example. I also find having the odd bit of fish when I get a meat craving helps. Sorry that pisses you off OP. I get pissed of with people who, with no provocation, continually question my food choices, and insist I adhere to their opinions on what I am or aren't allowed to eat, or what I can or can't call myself. Its ironic that they then usually launch into a tirade about how vegetarians or vegans are judging them. I must say the majority of judgement that I see is from meat eaters.

Pescatarians are just part time vegetarians, that's my affectionate name for them, lol.

Used to work with a guy who would kick off at catered do's if the meat sandwiches were next to the veggie sarnies but then he'd wolf down a tuna/salmon sandwich. He went around telling everyone he was vegetarian ... dick!

As a vegetarian myself, I just couldn't take him seriously.

Vegetarians DO NOT eat fish. Common misunderstanding.

My husband and I are pescatarians....I haven’t eaten meat for 25 years. I never enjoyed eating meat at all and that was one of the reasons I stopped. When I met my husband 23 years ago, he just went along with me and was happy to do that. I can’t get on with a full vegetarian diet as I can’t eat dairy and I found it especially hard if eating out. I think we all have our own personal reasons for being pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan. I wouldn’t say we are ‘part time vegetarians’ as some others have said. It’s a personal choice at the end of the day.

This is the daftest thing I’ve ever heard. I am pescatarian as after having my appendix out I found that I couldn’t digest meat and if I had it I was ill. It took me a while to realise what exactly was triggering me, but I then became pescatarian - my reasoning is nothing to do with morals or animal welfare!
DH will eat the same as me at home but will still eat meat when out and I salivate occasionally when he has bacon 🥓 😋 bit know it’s not worth the illness it’ll cause me. There are days when what we’ve eaten has been completely vegetarian but that’s because fish is often really expensive and we can’t afford to eat it every day. But I never call myself vegetarian cos I’m not!
Ironically through all my meat eating days I would never eat a rabbit as I wouldn’t eat a pet! Does that make me a hypocrite? 🤷‍♀️

I eat fish but not meat. I just say that I don't eat meat. Bit entirely sure why you care what other people eat or what they call themselves though.

My vegetarian friend was told by her GP it would be healthier to add fish to her diet, so she did.

Anne Diamond was on The Jeremy Vine Show today claiming she's a 'vegetarian who occasionally eats bacon sandwiches'. So, not a vegetarian then.

Some people are OK with the killing of a wild animal that has lived a good life but opposed to farming. I'm a vegetarian mainly because I hate the way animals are farmed and slaughtered. I wouldn't rule out eating a fish one day if I had seen it caught and killed quickly.
I might also eat roadkill.
I don't go fishing and I haven't come across a fresh deer hit by a car so I don't eat meat!

BTW fish is contaminated with plastics, sometimes radioactivity and heavy metals. That's a good reason not to eat it, whether it's cruel or not.

I was vegetarian for about 8 years. I was veggie as I felt strongly that modern farming methods were not healthy for animals.

I continued to eat fish as they were free caught not farmed.

When I gave it up and went back to eating meat, I ate organic meat, or free range.

I’m pescatarian. I don’t eat meat from mammals because I find it really hard to imagine the idea of killing a sheep/ cow etc, but truthfully I don’t really care about fish. I guess I don’t really view them as sentient in the same way, I have been fishing and killed fish and felt no guilt but I couldn’t bear the idea of slaughtering a lamb or a pig.

Everyone’s reasons for their dietary choices are their own and to be honest it’s none of your business where others choose to draw the line in terms of what they feel is acceptable or unacceptable. By your logic it’s equally non-sensical to be vegetarian because if you dislike animal cruelty how can you eat eggs/ milk etc as the animal welfare standards are equally or more cruel in the dairy industry than the meat industry. In terms of cruelty the differences between a pescatarian and vegetarian are minimal when compared with a vegan lifestyle

Haven’t read the thread but I would say that fish do live a more natural life, chickens however, it’s just hideous what they go through. Have a look at ‘Earthlings’ or ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ - on Netflix.

We keep clown loaches. Not on purpose, we just thought they looked cute when setting up our tank and they proved to be charming pets.

They’re honestly enchanting creatures. They greet me when i get home (by hopping up from where they rest like dogs on their sides and swiming forward) I’ve taught them to swim through a hoop, very quickly and easily. They have distinct personalities. You’re kidding yourself if you think a fish isn’t a sentient being

You’re also judging by ourself if you think your fish isn’t [[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/may/11/foodanddrink.features1 farmed{

Bad link here

** Ffs kidding yourself if you think your fish isn’t farmed

I know a fish is a sentient being, but I just don’t feel able to relate or care about fish in the same way I care about mammals. I guess it’s the same way lots of meat eaters could eat a pig but wouldn’t eat a dog/ cat even though a pig is equally intelligent. Many meat eaters don’t see agricultural animals as equal to domestic pets regardless of whether their distinction is true and I guess in the same way I don’t see a fish as equal to a mammal or feel able to relate, and this care, about them.

It’s interesting that so many people think it is the killing of the animal that causes people to be a vegetarian whereas often it is the animal welfare when they are living including the conditions and hormones that animals are subjected to.

I was pescatarian for 20 years - I don’t have an ethical issue with eating previously living creatures as I personally feel it is something we are evolved to do (& each to their own - if anything now the environmental impact of meat production is more of an issue) . Essentially the reason I didn’t eat meat was because I fundamentally disagreed with farming practices in the UK but found the provenance of fish was easier to establish so didn’t have an issue with that. I now eat meat & fish (but am careful about free range etc) as farming practices & the availability of free range and organic meat is far better than it was in the 80’s.

I’d say OP that you assuming one single reason for vegetarianism when it is a complex & personal choice with a lot of contributing factors. If you really are that bothered about animal cruelty I’d do some research into the dairy industry - then have a look at whether meat eating is all that different to consuming dairy, if you aren’t vegan and eat dairy that is anything other than free range organic you are in no position to judge!

I agree with you OP. I've been veggie for about 15 years and I just can't understand it. I think the difference is mainly that most vegetarians are veggie because they care about animal welfare and don't condone the murder of animals. Most Pescetarians don't not eat meat for that reason - its more dietary, texture etc related. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but otherwise I just cannot understand - killing an animal is the same as killing a fish. I knew a women who appeared far more into animal welfare/environmental issues than me but she would then eat fish - knowing how many different types of fish species are being wiped out in the ocean due to over fishing. Absolute madness.

Its not quite as clear cut as ‘killing an animal is the same as killing a fish’. It is the barbaric, cruel farming procedures for cows, chickens, lambs and pigs that is vastly different to the life of a fish. Many meat eaters don’t care about that, but many, if not most of pescatarians do. I think it’s vegetarians who can’t fully understand that. I never say I’m a vegetarian, I’m a pescatarian. For those that say they’re a part time vegetarian who eat fish or meat....well it’s up to them, if it makes them feel better.

I’m pescatarian. My reasons being: one January, I decided to do Veganuary, no meat for the month, I’d had an overindulgence at Christmas, it seemed a good idea. By mid February when I started eating meat again, I could not stomach it . First time I ate meat was at a restaurant, I thought I’d got a bug, second time a few days later, I thought my bug had returned. By the second week, I realised it was meat making me ill. (Think D&V ) so, I’ve quit meat.
Speaking to a long term vegetarian, he told me it can and does happen that gut flora changes and vegetarians struggle to digest meat, but it’s rare to happen so fast. I still eat fish and shellfood as i like the taste
Hope that’s ok with you!