Flexitarian...really?

[FrustratedTeddyLamp]

Seen flexitarian a few times now and so off I went to Google which gave me this definition:

Flexitarianism or 'casual vegetarianism' is an increasingly popular, plant-based diet that claims to reduce your carbon footprint and improve your health with an eating regime that's mostly vegetarian yet still allows for the occasional meat dish

So a meat eater? An omnivore am I missing something? This seems stupid to me and just another unnecessary label

My boss is a flexitarian. He is vegan wherever possible, vege if vegan isn't possible, but would still eat meat if it was the only thing available. So if he went to a dinner party and the hostess cooked meat, he would eat it. So it is a bit different to a normal diet as he always tries to be vegan, and would never cook meat at home. He only eats meat if there is no alternative. I think it's a sensible approach.
Yup, that makes heaps of sense - will always opt for the vegan option if available, but flexible about it if there’s no other option (other than going hungry).

Tbf, I’m probably ‘flexitarian’ to an extent. I don’t eat meat but I would tolerate rennet or gelatine at a dinner party.

People are more likely to change their behaviour if they integrate the behaviour into their identity. It's easier to give up cigarettes if you tell yourself "I am a non smoker".

Many people want to eat a more vegetable based diet for health or ethical reasons. Consistently changing your diet can be challenging. Strict diet change is daunting - I personally am not up for strict vegetarianism.

Therefore, I can see how this team could be useful.

Also, making up new words is just something language does - especially English. There seems to be an unreasonable amount of outrage about this.

Term, not team.

Psychologically, telling yourself that you won’t have meat again is quite difficult. Most people in this country were raised on meat and find it hard to give up. We’re Irish and used to eat it daily!

We haven’t eaten meat in months and jd we want to we will do so, however it’s pressurising to think of it as a permanent WOE so we just keep on eating plant based food for the 7485837 reasons that we should. Who cares? It’s a level but if it helps you eat properly it does its job.

What a weird, pedantic thread.

You probably have a vocabulary of 40,000+ words. This is just one more. You already know what it means now so the learning is done.

@ArmWrestlingWithChasNDave

Be great to not to to explain and explain and explain but looks like we will have to, seeing as the phrase that explains it (flexitarian) is causing such offence too.

"I don't eat much meat. I don't like it much." How is that more taxing than "I'm a flexitarian" which you then WILL have to explain, as many people don't know what it is?

If only it stopped there! It doesn’t! People just love to peg you into a hole I guess.

What I really want to say is mind your own business about what I eat. I don’t like talking about what I eat and how and when.

Just think it’s a wanky, unnecessary term.

@skgnome

I agree it’s really an omnivore

Everyone is an omnivore though.

Flexitarian portrays a less meat-heavy diet

But "I don't eat much meat" would cover that,@Fairislefandango.

Yes, I agree. I've already said I think 'flexitarian' is a silly word. But some people seem to be taking issue not just with the word, but with the actual concept that eating less meat might be a thing worthy of mention, or of categorising as a type of diet or way of eating. Hence the "Yeah that's just called being an omnivore" type comments.

Eating minimal meat is a recognised and established tactic for improving health and reducing environmental impact. What does petty, mean-spirited sneering at people who choose to categorise their eating habits in that way achieve? By all means dislike the word 'flexitarian'. After all, there are threads every week about the words and phrases that give people 'the rage'.

Flexitarian portrays a less meat-heavy diet

Still an omnivore though.

If only it stopped there! It doesn’t! People just love to peg you into a hole I guess. Advertisers love it when you accumulate labels you make their job of profiling and targeting marketing at you so much easier. She/they, flexitarian, Vegan, adorn your profile picture with a selection of cute flags and symbols, each of these a signifiers for what you are most likely to buy. For market researchers this sort of data is gold dust, the more labels , the more accurate their profiling .

@SoupDragon

Flexitarian portrays a less meat-heavy diet

Still an omnivore though.

Plus 'flexitarian' is like social class, there's no set definition and people use it to mean different things.

Some people would use flexitarian to describe someone who eats mostly vegetarian food but doesn't insist on it if someone else has cooked for them, or the vegetarian offering at a restaurant/function is non-existent or not to their taste. Or they just fancy meat once in a while.

Others, and especially the media seem to use it if people eat meat most of the time, but occasionally have a meal that would otherwise include meat, eg 'meat free Mondays'.

The average person eats a lot more meat than is necessary, healthy or sustainable and it's only due to intensive farming that we've ended up like this as a population.

You only have to go back a few decades to find a place where meat was comparatively far more expensive and people couldn't afford to eat anywhere near as much as they do now, especially chicken. A chicken might have been something eaten a few times a year, not several times a week in large portions.

The idea of making a chicken last more than one meal was a thing way before Mumsnet or even the internet was available to the average person.

So maybe we should be looking to redefine what the norm has become, rather than painting someone as special/different for tending towards eating as we actually should do?

If only it stopped there! It doesn’t! People just love to peg you into a hole I guess.

If you say you're a "flexitarian" is that the end of the conversation?

It is an annoying term but if pushed I might describe one of my DCs this way.

Personally I am 100% vegetarian, if there isn't a vegetarian option, I will not eat at all, I would never take the ham out of a sandwich and eat it, or peel the pepperoni off a pizza and eat it.

My DC will choose veg if possible, but if none available will eat meat. It's probably the most sensible and practical way to be 🤷‍♀️

Pointless extra word. Irritates me as much as pescatarian.

But not as much as vegans treating it like an allergy.

I am a flexitarian but didn't know it until this thread!

I do think it could be useful to be honest... DH and I both eat meat but he prefers meat as the main aspect of a dish at any meal, I rarely eat meat and would always choose a veggie option if I could. We're both omnivores but have wildly different tastes and preferences within that. I don't see how describing that is wanky really.

It's not outrage though is it.
Just pondering the utility of the term really.

@WitchWithoutChips

What a weird, pedantic thread.

You probably have a vocabulary of 40,000+ words. This is just one more. You already know what it means now so the learning is done.

Hardly a clear meaning though. It's all very vague.

@pastypirate

Pointless extra word. Irritates me as much as pescatarian.

But not as much as vegans treating it like an allergy.

Why does the word pescatarian irritate you? My husband is a pescatarian. It's much simpler to say that then to say he eats a vegetarian diet plus fish.

Someone at work went into gushy praise about how I was embracing being a flexitarian because I had a cheese sandwich.

I just really fancied a cheese sandwich.

It's like saying you're celibate just because you're not having sex right at this moment.

Involuntary vegan = only beans on toast in the house😉.

@PierresPotato

Involuntary vegan = only beans on toast in the house😉.

Hopefully you're not spreading butter on your toast then!

@PierresPotato

It's not outrage though is it. Just pondering the utility of the term really.

Exactly. People are claiming it's a useful term but how can it be when flexitarians, according to posts in this single thread:

• Don't need to eat meat in every meal
• Eat meat three times a week
• Eat meat once or twice a week
• Eat chicken once every few months
• Will eat meat if they're in a crap restuarant (?)
• Will eat meat if it's the easier option
• Will eat meat if the only alternative is not eating
• Don't judge others for their diet

I'm a flexitarian.

My default option is vegetarian, but if I go out to dinner at other people's homes and they have cooked meat I eat it.

Absolutely don't eat it as a regular part of my diet, but will have it occasionally when it would be tiresome not to.