Talk to me about pescitarianism

[BootMaker]

I understand veganism, I understand vegetarianism.

I do not understand pescitarianism.

Explain it to me.

A vegetarian who also eats fish and other seafood. Simples.

I imagine the OP wishes to point out some illogicality in eating fish if one declines to eat meat.

Whatever … 🤷‍♀️

What is it you don't understand?

Well, it doesn’t have to be on ethical grounds, surely? Someone may prefer fish to mest.

DH and I are both vegetarians. I’m vegetarian on ethical grounds, as much for the environment as animal welfare, and he’s vegetarian because he doesn’t like meat, fish or poultry.

ETA ‘Pescatarianism’, OP.

My bestfriend is Pescatarian and does it for health benefits she suffers from bad psoriasis apparently this can help?

They are Fish & Chipocrites.

Quite! I did the maths and one would have to eat 200,000 prawns to eat the weight of a cow.

That's 200,000 lives vs one.

Where is the logic?

I also did some other maths!

An Octopus has 500 million neurons, a cow, 3 billion, so, brainwise, one cow = six octopuses.

But pescitarians could eat 20 baby octopuses in one portion, which has the brain power of 3.5 cows.

I don't understand the logic of pescitarianism..

Is it because fluffy life isn't important?

I speak as an omnivore btw.

There are two choices of spelling for the word in your title, @BootMaker.

And I would never eat an octopus.

For me, veganism is the only defendable position if you are doing it for ethical reasons.

If you don’t eat beef, but eat cheese or butter or drink milk then why is that ethical? Your dietary choices still cause the death of cows. Ditto eating eggs, you are still the cause of male chicks dying in their thousands.

If you don’t eat meat, but eat fish (and presumably cheese, butter, eggs etc), for ethical reasons then I don’t understand your ethics at all!

The only meat a pescatarian eats is fish.

cause fish live a free life and aren’t farmed

Did you start this thread just so you could show off your maths?

Most pescatarians I know don't want to eat meat for health reasons. Why does it matter to you?

cause fish live a free life and aren’t farmed

🤔

I haven’t eaten meat for nearly 40 years. I dislike the taste and texture.

I like the taste and texture of white fish and some seafood. So I eat those.

Because literally all of our choices have an ethical/environmental impact. If a strict vegan drinks coffee, that still has a significant impact on habitat loss and deforestation, as well as wildlife impacted by the widespread use of pesticides and herbicides etc, not to mention the amount of water required. We could always do more.

If people feel like vegetarianism or veganism wouldn't work for them or is too restrictive, and choose pescatatian as a half way house, I think that's fine.
Also a big fan of more and more people having meat free meals regularly. Every little helps.
I don't think people choose it because it's ethically sound to them, but because it works for them.

Same as me currently being a vegetarian rather than a vegan.

I sometimes fib and tell people I am a vegetarian because I don't like much meat.
It's easier to say that because if they were making me food I could happily eat a bacon sandwich but I really really couldn't eat a roast chicken.
So I fib to make it easier.
I do like fish though - but only white fish (cod, haddock, pollock etc). I don't say I am pescatarian because I'd probably get served something gross like salmon 🤢 or tuna 🤢🤢.
Basically..... sometimes it's about food tastes and preferences rather than a moral thing.

I used to be vegetarian and now eat fish (but no seafood - I don't like it). I have various reasons for being vegetarian, which include health related ones, and evidence suggests that eating fish is very good for you. Morally I agree it's a bit odd eating some creatures but not others; I think we all have to make moral choices and very few people live a highly moral life. I'm at peace with my choices.

Because fish don't mind suffocating to death in the hold of a boat, in a big pile of their relatives.

I’ve been a vegetarian for years for ethical reasons. Fish was always me preferred choice of meat and when I decided to be veggie I told myself I’d still eat fish if I felt like it, but as you say, I couldn’t square that a fish life was any less valuable than another being.

When I was pregnant, I always said I’d eat meat if my body seemed to want it; never did. In the last year I have had strong cravings for fish, oily fish in particular, and have begun eating fish again. It’s not what’s desirable for the fish. I’d rather eat some fish occasionally rather than have a full meat eating diet. Harm reduction approach you might say. Is this acceptable to you?

Agree. I gave up meat many years ago, as a reaction against factory farming, but kept eating fish believing that fish weren't 'farmed'. Nowadays I'm more aware of fish farming, but would struggle with my diet if I didn't eat fish. I'm happy enough that I've not eaten meat for almost 40 years - as you say, every little helps.

Why do you care what anyone else eats?! 🙄

I could probably eat 200,000 prawns, or rather, shrimp. Because as everyone knows, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.

Why does anyone need to justify their dietary choices to others at all. Some people choose veganism. Others choose vegetarianism or pescatarianism. Some people eat meat but not dairy, or fish but not shellfish. It’s perfectly reasonable to say, for example, ‘I don’t eat meat or fish’ or ‘I’m vegan’. There’s absolutely no need to explain why, and those who feel a need to explain tend to come across as preachy or tedious or both.

I agree.

I think there are two 'ethical' choices.

Local, which will involve eating ethically reared or caught animals.

Or vegan, which involves no animals, but involves import to have a balanced diet.

Neither of which are perfect.

Or pragmatic, which sees the options but understands why we have to make choices.

Or! Feed my fucking family. They haven't got 300 quid a week to spend on choices.