To think tuna is not vegetarian!

[TheTitOfTheIceberg]

A member of my team has been involved in arranging a small event at work, which was taking place today. I'm on leave but dropped her a quick text to see how it was going, and also asked her to let me know particularly what she thought of the lunch provided/any delegate feedback about it as it was the first time we've used these particular caterers. Company policy is now to order vegetarian options only as standard.

She has just replied "lunch was fine - samosas, spring rolls, quiches (leek & cheese, broccoli), dips with raw veg crudites, sandwiches/wraps (salad, cheese, tuna mayo, egg & tomato) and lots of fruit".

Tuna?? On a vegetarian platter? AIBU to think the catering company has dropped a bollock here?

It’s not vegetarian no but why are they only allowed to provide veggie options? Can you bring your own?

Of course it’s not - worth mentioning to the catering company if it was labelled as a vegetarian platter etc.

A meat free platter was obviously ordered.

Georgie it's part of my organisation's sustainability plan, to cut down meat consumption given its effect on the environment (and please, no lectures on how vegetarian stuff is a squillion times worse, I didn't write the policy I only have to adhere to it )

Cariadne it was and the list of foodstuffs provided when we asked for quotes was described as something like "assorted vegetarian sandwiches and wraps".

I think Tuna is vegetarian!? Am I mad? It's fish not meat. The veggies I know eat no meat but they do eat fish.

some people do consider fish to be a part of a vegetarian diet some people do not

Ok I've googled it. Tuna isn't vegetarian!

Of course it isn't vegetarian, but there are lots of twats who eat fish and call themselves vegetarian so people get confused.

Tuna isn’t vegetarian. Vegetarians don’t eat fish, pescatarians do.

Vegetarians do not eat fish. Pescatarians eat fish not meat.

YANBU - vegetarians don't eat fish. Someone who doesn't eat meat but eats fish is a pescatarian.

...pescatarian innit? Not vegetarian.

@LoveB surely the distinction is vegetarians don’t eat animal flesh not just ‘meat’? Although I would class fish as meat under these circumstances as it’s part of an animal.

Cross posted with about 50 people.

As a vegetarian this stuff pisses me off so YANBU. Tuna is a fish. Vegetarians don't eat fish. No I am.not a vegan because I don't eat fish. Pescatarians eat fish but not meat. And no I am not difficult or fussy. Can you tell I have been asked these things a lot?

I'm glad I'm not going mad! Once I'm back in the office I think I'll contact the company and suggest that they either relabel that particular lunch package as pescatarian or remove the tuna.

I don't think I've come across anyone who calls themselves vegetarian but eats fish (maybe it's just never come up) but if it is a 'thing' then at least I can see where the confusion has arisen.

One of my pet hates is people calling themselves vegetarian when they eat fish.

A vegetarian lunch, especially a buffet, sounds a great idea. Apart from ethical reasons, everyone can surely find enough to eat from that selection and it avoids the vegetarians missing out when other people tuck into their food.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat are you saying you couldn't manage one meal without meat?!

YANBU. My DGM knows I have been a vegetarian for many years but she still brings tins of tuna or frozen haddock over. I have to explain every single time that fish is not vegetarian, I think she thinks I’m lying...

I’m pescatarian (I am always aiming to go proper veggie but I do eat some fish currently. People who know that I eat fish still refer to me as vegetarian, including my DP from time to time. I always say ‘no I’m not, I eat fish which isn’t vegetarian’ because I recognise I’m part of the problem for actual vegetarians who want actual vegetarian options and get presented with tuna as in your scenario. I do think it’s bad that a company whose business is catering don’t realise this though.

Maybe your colleague & the catering company are channelling Nana from the Royle Family

Vegetarian food is made out of vegetables, although they can have dairy. Vegan is just vegetables. Tuna is a fish, at one time a living, breathing fish, and therefore definitely not a vegetable and definitely not vegetarian or vegan.

Ugh as a veggie of 30 years this pisses me off!

For 30 years explaining to companies like this who are too lazy to even check that no fish and chicken are NOT vegetarian!

I too blame the twats that call themselves veggies but still eat fish, seafoood, chicken, gelatine etc

And the "flexitarians" can fuck off too it's not a real thing you're just theoretically denying your meat consumption! Humans for thousands of years have been omnivores the majority of which due to economics mainly didn't eat meat every day or every meal, doing so is actually unusual and a pretty recent development.

People need to stop misappropriating vegetarianism.

So many people on here have already said what I want to - tuna/fish is NOT vegetarian. Drives me absolutely mad when people think veggies eat fish.

Pinkvoid that must be annoying! Well-meaning but unable to retain the information, or passive aggressive? An ex's mother used to do that sort of thing to me with stuff she had been told several times I didn't like/use, but in her case she very definitely didn't like me - or, to be more accurate, she didn't like women who went out with her son.

I agree with a PP that it sounds they made the mistake of ordering a meat-free platter rather than vegetarian.