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.

My brother and sister in law call themselves vegetarians but they eat fish. It annoys me more than it needs to.

Veggie for 35 years, still get this assumption, massively annoying!

This is one of my regular annoyances. My ex husband would describe himself as practically vegetarian when what he actually meant was that he just didn’t eat red meat.
Then the number of times people have assumed I must eat fish, and sometimes chicken as well.
On occasion I have really had to spell it out as I don’t eat dead creatures of any sort.
Who knew vegetarianism was too complicated for so many people to understand!

It's my late Mother in law's fault.
She was a vegetarian that ate fish, white meat and duck if she fancied it.
I think she just like the sound of being vegetarian.

She was a really lovely woman though.

I haven't eaten meat in 35 years because I simply don't like it. I'll happily eat fish. If I say I don't eat meat, people assume I'm a vegetarian. If I say I don't eat meat, but I'll eat fish, people read that as vegetarian. If I say my dietary requirements are 'pescatarian' a lot of people don't know what that is. If I go to a wedding or a works event it's easier to just tick the vegetarian box ...

In none of this am I trying to hypocritically claim vegetarian status or pretend fish aren't animals.

That's what I don't understand I'm a meat and fish eater but if someone say.they are vegetarian on moral grounds but eat fish, why is thst different to meat ?

Her question wasn't unreasonable. I always book an Asian vegetarian because it's what I prefer, but I am not vegetarian.

Did she say what happened to your booked meals? Normally the special meals get given out first.

Free range?

Every vegetarian I know eats fish! I think the issue comes from descriptions used by vegetarians themselves! Not really a meat eaters problem!!!

How mean you sound.

No it's their problem. And you don't know any vegetarians.... just lots of pescatarians.

@x2boys exactly . I don't eat meat and dairy due to the cruelty .. fishing is so cruel . Poor feckers being left to suffocate or boiled alive! 🙈

I know a lot of vegetarians - I can only think of one or 2 who describes themselves as vegetarian who eats fish.

What do you mean? If you book a vegetarian meal they you should get that.
If it's a flight where you're just given a sandwich then you can't expect them to cater for all dietary requirements.

All fish are bastards. Everyone knows that.

It's not a problem for people to choose vegetarian options if that's what they prefer, or to tick vegetarian on a choices form if they want to avoid red meat.

What is problematic is to tell people specifically that you are vegetarian and then ask for a fish (or chicken, or pork, or ...) meal because you are apparently "vegetarian". That's what causes the confusion for people who aren't able to think it though for themselves.

People's definition varies. To me, vegetarians were always simply someone that doesn't eat red meat. That's it. I know a few vegetarians who eat fish.

It's one of my pet peeves, and I'm not even vegetarian.
I also remember a woman years ago who was offended that I inferred that maybe she wasn't a vegetarian as she claimed to be, on account that she was eating chicken.

It is common knowledge. That said, some people are veggie for ethical reasons most of the time but have fish or seafood now and again as a treat as they enjoy it. Absolutely fine by me (full time vegetarian) but I think it causes confusion as they tend to do it as a treat when eating out in company giving the impression that vegetarian is a lot more of a loose term than it actually is. I know someone who is strict with everything but high quality sushi, for instance.

Yes I agree with you. The people who are calling themsleves vegetarians but eating fish, are telling other people (such as meat eaters who might not be sure on the differences) that vegetarians eat fish. So then it’s confusing and actual vegetarians end up being asked if they’d like a fish meal like in my example. DH literally told his friend “DW is vegetarian” and she didn’t even ask the question if I ate fish, just assumed I did. This is the problem. If you don’t eat meat but do eat fish… just say that! How hard can it be

YANBU, but I've also had a wedding venue offer fish as the vegetarian alternative. It's weird.

Nah.....
People might not know what "vegetarian" means, but this indicates they are ignorant. It's not subjective.
You do not know a few vegetarians who eat fish - there is no such thing.
You might know people WHO SAY they are vegetarians and eat fish, but they are not vegetarians.

I've been vegetarian for over 40 years. I use the phrase 'nothing with a face'

I still get smart arses asking what about mussels, clams, oysters...

This is a bit like the 1/2 term discussion.

Someone says "well, we've always called it [Christmas break, Easter break] 1/2 term" and they think it must be thus.

It's people like my sister who ruin it for everyone. She was "vegetarian" who ate fish, and after a drink or abroad ate chicken and kebabs. And she'd eat anything someone else cooked so not to be rude.
Thankfully she gave it up and now eats the way she always ate, but doesn't insist she vegetarian anymore.