Eating a varied diet doesn't need a wanky label?

[Wherearemyminions]

Lots of articles and discussion in the media at the moment around diet, eating less meat, increased availability of vegan options etc. I keep seeing reference to Flexitarianism and think it's bonkers tbh.

I think we're a fairly typical household diet wise, I don't know anyone who has "meat and 2 veg" type meals every night, the last time I saw that was my grandparents in the 70s.

If we're eating out, sometimes I'll opt for the veggie/vegan option, purely because it's the thing I fancy or most like the look of on the menu.
At home, we probably have red meat once a fortnight, quite a bit of fish and chicken , maybe 3 or 4 times a week on average, the rest is plant based.

This is just being an omnivore, and eating a varied diet for taste, preference and choice with a nod to health and budget reasons.

I would not describe myself as flexitarian, or part time veggie/vegan, all of which I have seen recently. Unless you are actually vegetarian or vegan then no descriptive label of your diet is required.

I shall continue to eat what ever I like. No label necessary.

Well of course there's no label if you just eat whatever the hell you want without worrying about the consequences!

I don't label myself as anything but do try to eat a lot less meat and try to be more responsible in general - so I eat fish but avoid anything that is over fished or fished in a non-sustainable way. I don't have a problem with people labelling themselves though - I get what they mean.

@crispsandwiches whatever else you eat I will agree with you that crisp sandwiches are delicious.

lol I'd definitely need to NC before I could get away with pretending to be have a sophisticated pallet!

That’s your opinion Barbara, but anyone who wants to is entirely entitled to use words in whichever way they choose to define themselves and their diet.

That's all very well and good, but the consequence is that words cease to have any meaning.

Increasingly 'I'm vegetarian/vegan' seems to mean 'I eat meat/fish/dairy sometimes'. That makes it more difficult for people who use those words in the strict sense.

Oh I quite agree with you. Don’t you think it might be so they can put it on their Facebook page?
People brought up during the war must laugh at this they were lucky to see meat and fish more than once a week.

Two of my 4 children became vegetarians at 5 and 6 year old. It wasn’t a problem and one has become a strict vegan while the other met then lived with a girl who ate meat and fish and he know eats it but isn’t so keen on the taste of fish. All adults now and living in their own houses.

the consequence is that words cease to have any meaning

Which has an impact on others.

If I invited someone round for a meal and they told me they were vegetarian and I'd made a vegetable dish specially I'd be pretty pissed off to find them eating meat the next day. It would make me much, much less likely to bother going out of my way for the next person claiming to be vegetarian.

Pomegranateseeds
I mind the labels because each time someone choose to be so special they require labels, however inaccurate, they cause issues for people with genuine food requirements. An increase in wankery labels and wankery behaviour also risks reducing understanding for people who do have requirements

So someone who makes a song and dance about being vegan but then puts parmesan all over the vegan dish that had been chosen around their 'requirements' is creating issues and lack of understanding for actual vegans.

Self identified flexitarians (aka entirely big-standard omnivores) are just pretentious.

Flexitarian is a stupid term, surely it just means omnivore?

Ha, cross posted with you Lola

This is all really interesting because here it sounds like people want everyone to - if someone is going to use a label - actually stick to what that label means, yet not long ago there was a thread about a vegetarian who wouldn’t eat a vegetable lasagne containing Parmesan that had been specially made at a dinner party and at least half of people thought that was unreasonable. . . (Parmesan is not vegetarian)

(Before anyone asks yes I mean vegetarian not vegan it contains r

Posted too soon! Rennet!

Funniest 'meat alternative' for veganuary I've seen on a restaurant menu this week was chargrilled watermelon.... at around £13 WTAF!

Batqueen

I would want people to a) not kick up a fuss if their host didn't realise parmesan wasn't vegetarian and just eat it without comment and b)not tell their host they are vegetarian, expecting a dish to be made specially, when actually they are quite happy to eat meat.

It isn't that difficult to not behave like an arse when someone else has been good enough to invite you round for a meal. We all sometimes have to politely eat things we don't like.

Agree. I also hate the misconception that "going vegetarian or vegan" is automatically healthier or will help you lose weight. Not true; it can be very unhealthy to restrict areas of your diet and can be fattening. It depends what your substitutions are!
E.g ; "I'm on a real health kick; I'm doing Veganuary this month".

Saw someone on tv promoting "Seagan" (vegan but incorporating ethically sourced fish)

Parmesan is not vegetarian

That isn’t common knowledge though. Most people think cheese = fine for veggies. The person who offered a veggie Parmesan did so in good faith, trying to cater to their requirements.

However I don’t think the guest should have eaten it if they didn’t want to.

I hate the term flexitarian. I wonder if anyone has ever put it on an invitation reply asking for dietary requirements, and what the host would/wouldn't change on their menu when faced with that!!

I also hate the rise of normal vegetables (I'm looking at you cauliflower) being touted as something totally different and therefore ridiculously expensive
Low carb? Have cauliflower rice!
Can't eat wheat? Have a cauliflower pizza base!
Vegan? Cut a cauliflower into slices and call it cauliflower steak! Or mince some mushrooms and market it as plant based mince.

"going vegetarian or vegan" is automatically healthier or will help you lose weight
MIL insisted a friend was overweight because she was vegetarian "and it's all that pasta that makes her fat" we'll overlook the fact that MIL is not vegetarian, doesn't like pasta, and is also overweight Said friend now eats meat and fish and is still overweight, so something doesn't quite work there!!

Yeah I like to think none of my friends would expect me to eat something I was uncomfortable eating. Similarly I buy meat for my brother if he comes round because he wouldn’t enjoy my veggie meals and wouldn’t put on an all veggie buffet at a family party as they wouldn’t enjoy it as much. I wouldn’t want anyone to eat anything they don’t enjoy to be polite at my house.

here are definitely people out there who are omnivores and tend towards meat more often than not!

That's because ALL human beings are by nature omnivores, it's then up to them what they choose to eat.

I believe vegans are something like 0.6% of the population but listening to them preach and pontificate you would think they were in the majority. I honestly wish they would shut up and get on with their own lives.

The bottom line is we should all eat what we want and call ourselves whatever we please.

I don't see the problem with saying you're mostly vegetarian. It's perfectly obvious what it means, and if anything it sounds considerably less wanky than saying "I'm an omnivore".

Flexitarian is very vague and is just an inherently stupid-sounding word. Sounds like it means you eat bendy things.

Vegan? Cut a cauliflower into slices and call it cauliflower steak!

Hallloumi "burgers" are super tasty but they aren't burgers. They're just grilled/fried cheese in a bun

I’m sorry I don’t know how to quote properly but WeSleekitTimorous:

“the consequence is that words cease to have any meaning

Which has an impact on others.

If I invited someone round for a meal and they told me they were vegetarian and I'd made a vegetable dish specially I'd be pretty pissed off to find them eating meat the next day. It would make me much, much less likely to bother going out of my way for the next person claiming to be vegetarian.”

But what you’ve said is the exact reason for using “flexitarian” - it literally means “I try to stay vegetarian but I’m flexible about it”. It means they wouldn’t be demanding a veg meal or “claiming to be vegetarian”...?

Bag of wank

“I try to stay vegetarian but I’m flexible about it”.

^^

Aka a meat eater

Let's call a spade a spade

And LaurieMarlow, “words ceasing to have meaning” is not a consequence of people using words differently, or having different opinions about word usage. Do you know how language development works?