To be sick of people thinking vegetarian eat fish

[Dearaugust]

Also, people who eat fish but not meat calling themselves vegetarian!

When people find out I’m vegetarian, a lot of people ask me if I eat fish. If I ate fish, then I wouldn’t be vegetarian! It wasn’t a big deal really, but an incident has happened recently where I was choosing a meal for a wedding and there was only meat options and a “none of these due to dietary preferences” option. So I ticked that. The person then contacted DH (it’s his friend who is getting married) and he explained I’m vegetarian. A few days later she said not to worry, they have sorted a fish meal for me. So he’s now had to go back to her again saying I don’t eat fish. What a faff!

I honestly thought it was common knowledge that vegetarians don’t eat fish. But apparently not because i get asked it a lot.

Loads of "veggies" eat fish though, it's common. But I'd be shocked if I said I was veggie then was told don't worry we have sorted fish! I couldn't get wound up over it though.

A whale doesn't have a proper face, I reckon.

I think your first sentence nails it. Many people call themselves vegetarian but eat fish. I know someone (who doesn’t eat fish to be fair) who calls herself vegetarian because it’s ‘easier’ to explain at restaurants and to people cooking. She doesn’t like the taste of meat but will eat gelatine products, and indulges in one meat dish that she absolutely loves. I can see how ‘I’m vegetarian’ is easier than saying all of that, but I do understand the frustration, OP. If someone told me they were vegetarian I would assume they didn’t eat meat.

I was a vegetarian for 10 years, a pescatarian for an additional 11 years and now an omnivore for the last 6 years.

Many people have never heard the phrase pescatarian though so a lot of the time I would have to say I'm a vegetarian who eats fish for them to understand.

People then get used to asking do you eat fish when you say your a vegetarian.
The availability of vegetarian food varies massively depending on which country you are in.

Well, I have friends who say they're vegetarian who do eat fish, so what do you want me to do? It's a simple question, easily answered, and then everyone is happy and moves on. Not a big deal.

I think people often use the word "vegetarian" to mean that they don't eat meat (from mammals and birds).

My oldest friend has called herself a vegetarian for over 40 years. It was only recently that I discovered that she ate fish!

I also have a much more recent vegetarian friend who I cooked for recently and assured her that the roast potatoes were vegetarian. She told me that she wouldn't have minded if they hadn't been. She doesn't want to eat meat but isn't worried about where the fat comes from.

It's a simple question that they've answered wrongly, because if you eat fish you aren't a vegetarian. And it's a big deal to actual vegetarians when the world at large thinks vegetarians eat fish, when we don't, because of people like your friends. That's literally what the thread is about. It's not a big deal to the pescetarians claiming to be veggies , they're not disadvantaged at all, the actual veggies are though, so everyone isn't happy. Hence this thread.

I routinely get asked if I eat fish and I answer that veggies don't eat fish. Because they don't. Also as per PP, I'll say no food with a face.

I'm pescetarian and would never refer to myself as a vegetarian, but lots of other people will refer to me as vegetarian, which is just confusing the issue!

I probably confuse things even further because I say ‘I don’t eat meat’. This is true, if you think fish and meat are different things…

If people take that to mean I’m fully veggie, that’s absolutely fine. I try to be careful about what fish and where it comes from.

Equally, if it caused confusion and I got some meat broth or gelatine I wouldn’t be bothered on the odd occasion.

One could argue fishing is the cruelest of all .
In vegetarian and can't fathom why people ask if I eat fish ffs

Some people are just thick !

My children refer to themselves as 'vegetarians' but they do eat fish. This is not to piss off the die-hard-do-you-know-what-a-vegetable-is vegetarians.. It's so people don't cook meat for them.
Hope that's ok?

Yes I agree with a lot of people that it’s actually not the people who are asking that are at fault, it’s actually pescatarians calling themsleves vegetarians. Because then people get confused. If someone is pescatarian but don’t want to say the word because it isn’t widely used or known, they could just say “I don’t eat meat but I do eat fish” it’s not hard to say. People automatically assume I eat fish and then are shocked when I say I don’t and ask “so are you vegan then?” Like people genuinely don’t know the difference between everything

That was my first though!

Yeah i dont even know why they think this they wouldbt be people who know about special religious diets and fasts where they include fish but not land meat or something. Maybe they think fish dont have feelings and so counted like plants?! Its so bizarre.

But they are calling themsleves something they’re not. If someone is cooking them a meal instead of saying the words “I’m veggie” why not say the words “I don’t eat meat, but I eat fish” instead?? Because they’re literally not vegetarian..

No it's not ok, teach them how to say Pescatarian!

No, it's not ok. This is the exact issue that the OP is annoyed about. You should get them to say they are pescetarians, and if people don't know what that means, then they can explain that it means the only meat they eat is fish.

It's not "die-hard-do-you-know-what-a-vegetable-is vegetarians", it's just vegetarians. The normal ones, who don't eat meat, of any kind in any form!

I find it is odd that people think vegetarians eat fish, I know none that do, but the flip side is I know 2 vegetarians who complain they get lumped in with the vegans and gluten free guests and are fed up with mushroom risotto at every function.

To be fair it works both ways. Majority of the time, when telling someone DS is pescetarian, they give you a blank look and then say "oh, you mean veggie" when we explain.

As an aside I wish foods were labelled as 'pescetarian' if that's what they are.

I asked someone this before and they said that fish aren't the same as other animals as they don't feel the same apparently. Sounds like bullshit to me. Just call yourself pescetarian🤷

Hallelujah!
I thought it was just me that found this extremely irritating!

Please, please don't shoot me, but.... my best friend who declares herself a vegetarian won't eat fish, eats chicken, hates most vegetables except carrots (and despises anything green) and thinks Dorito's are a food group.

Yes, I know. I have tried pointing out that she is what the rest of the world call a fussy eater, but....

Yes, it's annoying! I booked and paid for vegetarian meals for the family for our flights. On the return flight, they had 'run out' of vegetarian meals, and the cabin crew woman sighed and asked if we would eat fish or chicken.

This was a long haul flight and we were starving for nine hours!

Exactly this.

I don't think a vegetarian eats fish. But enough people do.

Exactly.
OP is probably sick of people asking and irritable due to basically being undernourished.
😆