to not understand why a 'vegetarian' would eat fish?

[EccentricaGallumbits]

sorry. a thread about a thread about a thread. bad form I know.

really though. why? I've never understood the point. Could anyone enlighten me?

I used to eat fish and call myself a vegetarian.
My only excuse is that it was the easiest way to quickly declare my general food preferences -- I definitely didn't eat fowl or meat. Rather than make myself sound like a fusspot by saying "Yes I eat this but not that and yes those but not these", etc.

I stopped eating fish for long spells, after I saw a beautiful Marlin strung up and couldn't eat the sense in catching and killing such a magnificent creature just to eat bits of it.

I eat most types of animal flesh nowadays .

Someone who eats fish but not meat is not a vegetarian, they are a pescatarian. Apparently there are many types of vegetarian- vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/tp/TypesofVeg.htm

What annoys me is when people offer vegetarians fish instead of meat. A fish is still a dead thing. This happened to me a lot when I was veggie.

isn't that a piscatarian rather than a vegetarian?

You cannot be a vegetarian and eat fish. You can however be a pescatarian.

The Vegetarian society states very clearly on their website that vegetarians DO NOT eat fish. Fish are still animals. Therefore I can only assume that those people who only eat fish but not meat refer to themselves as vegetarian because there isn't a proper recognised term for them.

Or that they've been influenced by that Nirvana song that says 'It's okay to eat fish cos they don't have any feelings'.

but it's the loads of people who do describe themselves as veggie, while tucking into a fishfinger. that's the bit i don't get. why? why would they?

and what's the point of a piscatarian then?

Put simply - you're not a vegetarian if you eat fish. The fish has to die.That rather precludes vegetarianism. Call yourself what you like apart from a vegetarian.

Can they eat wafer thin ham?

(courtesy of Nana from the Royle Family)

I'm also confused by "vegetarians" who eat chicken. I've met a few. Bizarre.

Oh I thought vegetarians could eat fish, and vegans didn't eat fish or meat. What's a vegan then (honestly want to know, am in the process of going meatless)

I don't think of myself as vegetarian.I don't eat meat as I really don't enjoy it. It is not a moral/ethical decision. I haven't eaten since I was 13y although did try some recently and no, it isn't for me. I do hoeweer eat fish and shellfish - because I do like and enjoy it.

However sometimes when going out it is easiest to describe myself as veggie to ensure that I don't get given meat. If people ask about fish I tell them. otherwise not.

vegans don't eat any animal produce at all, including dairy and eggs.

Vegans eat no animal products at all - so no dairy, no sweets with gellatine etc.

Thanks Eccentrica

And thanks Nancy

Dp's ex is a "vegetarian" she eats fish and her describing herself as such has always bugged me (well amongst other things about her ) in fact she eats no vegetables either she only eats prcessed ready made things from the freezer (judgypants me??????) and that is a whole other rant about feeding dss 5 days a week as he is here while she works.

DP is not a vegetarian, but we call him one as it saves explanations that he will eat fish, but not shellfish, seafood or meat. We both know he is not a real vegetarian, but if we call him one, it makes it easier in restaurants abroad, or if we are going to dinner at someone's house.

yanbu - they are just cheating!!

I have a few friends that are veggie and eat fish (or rather pescy )

Their reasoning behind it (all of them) is that an animal reared to be eaten won't have lived a full life, whereas a fish can go where it wants and then it will be caught.

Also one of my friends says he will only eat something if he is willing to catch and eat it himself. He likes going fishing and eating his catch, but thinks that it is disrespectful to eat something that he wouldn't kill himself.

hth

If you were a vegetarian because you had a moral conviction that eating living things was wrong then you wouldn't eat fish - that would just be daft. But suppose you're a vegetarian because you think fatty meat is less healthy? It would make sense then to eat fish and maybe chicken.

You just need a bigger range of words for which you are.

oooh i have a great question to add to this, as i was also on the same boat as op, but how can a vegatarian wear leather, i mean really the cow died?

When I used to not eat meat but ate fish I just told people I didn't eat meat but did eat fish. Not too difficult to understand.

YANBU a veggie should not eat or use anything that an animal died or suffered for. However most vegetarians (me included) eat regular (not ethically sourced) dairy products so we are all bloody hypocrites in one way or another. It's a personal choice at the end of the day, doesn't much matter who eats/wears what or what they call themself.

One explanation is that not all vegetarians (or non-meat eaters) are doing it because of animal rights; some are 'political' vegetarians, who avoid meat because of its effects on the environment and food sustainability (eg, it takes something like 12 times more land to produce a pound of beef than to produce a pound of grain, and meat production is closely associated with things like deforestation in the Amazon).

It's becoming obvious that a lot of these issues apply to fish too, but for a long time it seemed that fish was the preferable political option (so long as you avoided obviously over-fished species, like cod.)