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Tuna are fish? Fish are meat?
Scene: I’m in the kitchen at work heating up some leftover lo mein with ginger sauce. A female coworker enters the room and strikes up a conversation about vegetarianism.
Coworker: “Do you eat tuna?”
Me: “No, I don’t eat meat.”
Coworker: “Oh, tuna is meat?”
Me: “Yup, anything that is an animal is meat”
Coworker: “Oh, I didn’t know that tuna were animals. What about fish?”
Me: [Blank stare.] “Um … tuna are fish.”
Coworker: “Really? I didn’t know what it was.”
Me: “Just because it says ‘Chicken of the Sea’ on the can doesn’t mean it’s chicken.”
Various ramblings about the tastiness of burgers and how I manage to avoid the “temptation” (cough) of meat.
Coworker: “I don’t really like bacon, though. Do you eat bacon?”
Me: [Blink. Blink.]
Coworker: “No?”
Me: “Um, no. Bacon is meat.”
Coworker: “Really?”
Me: “Yeah. It comes from a pig. What did you think it was?”
Coworker: “I don’t know. Food?”
Me: “Uh, yeah. It’s meat. It’s from a pig. Pigs are animals.”
Coworker: “Oh, yeah, I know that.”
Me: “Um, ok … well, pigs are animals. Any part of the animal is meat: pigs feet, bacon, ham, whatever.”
Coworker: “Oh. So you don’t eat animals?”
Me: [Blank stare.]
February 28th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
No man, you HAVE to be kidding. An adult actually said those things?
February 28th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I really, really wish I did make the conversation up. Unfortunately I cannot.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Wow. It’s impressive how divorced people can be from what they eat. Is it just that they look at the package in the supermarket and don’t make the connection between that and the living thing? I suppose so. I can attest that in the four years I was vegan (I’m not anymore) I had many equally stupid conversations though so I know they happen.
Poor you! It must have been difficult to keep from bursting out laughing.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Another smug, bourgeois vegetarian.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Not only is it impressive, it is downright scary how divorced people are from their food. The owner of the day care my daughter attends has said to me, “My meat comes from H.E.B. (local supermarket). They make it, package it in plastic, and put it out there for me. That’s all I want to know about it.” Yikes.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I am a vegetarian and the above story makes vegetarians seem like totally smug sarcastic pricks. Being accepting of people that eat meat encourages the same acceptance of those who are vegetarian. Characterizing non-vegetarians as unintelligent and uninformed only lessens our potential impact.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I still fail to understand this viewpoint. Fish are not plants. Fish are not minerals. At the highest taxonomic classification, fish are in Kingdom Animalia (as opposed to protista or plantae), so they are clearly animals from a scientific standpoint. The key is that they are multicellular, capable of locomotion, and respond to their environment. Fish are have vertebrae, circulatory systems, and a brain.
Fish are animals, and therefore meat.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
So I had a similar conversation with my father not long after I became a vegetarian.
(looking at a menu in a small town restaurant)
Me: So I guess I’ll have a salad and baked potato
Dad: Why don’t you have chicken strips?
Me: (staring)
Dad: What? It’s white meat.
Me: Yeah, meat.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
@brodie
I did not characterize meat eaters as unintelligent or uninformed. I said this meat eater is unintelligent and uninformed. My meat-eating wife would be pretty ticked off if I was not accepting of her.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Haha wow some people are completely clueless. Did this person have blonde hair by any chance?
February 29th, 2008 at 12:28 am
The same thing has happened with me and chicken.
Me: Actually, I’m a vegetarian.
Person: Oh, really? That’s cool. So, do you eat chicken?
Me: … No.
I’m always impressed by how hard it is for some people to grasp the idea that some of us just don’t eat animals. Any animals.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Perhaps it’s a bit of semantic triviality, but, traditionally, fish isn’t meat. It’s you who are redefining it as meat. So, you’ll have to excuse those who aren’t fluent in your nouveau vege-speak.
February 29th, 2008 at 9:39 am
@Chad
Depends on whose traditions you are speaking about. I was raised vegetarian on a Hindu ashram. Hinduism defines meat as all animals. Hinduism is hardly nouveau.
February 29th, 2008 at 9:57 am
OK, folks. Regardless of whether you think fish are technically “meat,” you DID know fish are animals, right? Not vegetables or minerals?
Coworker: “Oh, I didn’t know that tuna were animals. What about fish?”
It’s like you’re deliberately ignoring the fact that this chick is a TOTAL moron just because vegetarianism pisses you off somehow.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I get the “so you don’t eat fish either?”-thing almost every day at work at the lunch buffet. It’s all good though, it gives me a welcome chance to explain why I don’t eat meat.
People who argue that fish and chicken isn’t real meat are usually convinced when I ask them to make the naturally following conclusion: that neither a fish nor a chicken is an animal.
It does frustrate me however, to hear my old dad tell me: as long as you don’t get fanatic about it, being vegetarin is fine. I fail to see how not eating meat is any more extreme than doing so. From almost any ethical standpoint, not eating meat is better than doing so.
Culinary tradition in western europe may regard fish and chicken as lesser forms of meat. Considering the effort that goes into raising cattle or sheep, compared to the relative ease with which one can catch a fish or raise a chicken, I think it makes sense from a historical standpoint.
None the less, if it’s an animal it’s got meat, a vegetarian is by definition someone who doesn’t eat animals, culinary semantics aside (:
February 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
This is extremely incredible. the sad part is I have met people like that. One thing that surprises me though is how this person got the job. is low inteligence required for his position?
February 29th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I would punch her for being so stupid.
Holy crap…wow.
Yeah there are no words to convey my thoughts right now…wow.
February 29th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Well, I’m not a violent person, so I’ll keep my fists to myself.
February 29th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I have conversations like this all the time. I love them though. It’s funny when people can’t grasp a simple idea.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
A coworker once informed me that his wife was a vegetarian. I commented that this was admirable of her. He said “yeah she only eats chicken or fish.”
February 29th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Did she really not know that bacon was meat? Just too funny! I had to re-read it to get another good laugh. I’m a pesco-vegetarian, but not because I consider the fish a lesser animal. I’m working my way towards eventually being a vegetarian.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I see we have the same coworkers….
March 1st, 2008 at 12:25 am
No offense to Thomas but until you give up the fish, give up the vegetarian title. Its fine if you want to cut back and ween yourself off meat. I never did. I read Gandhi’s account of eating meat and I was done. Some six years later I still haven’t purposely ate any animal flesh (just to clarify that after the meat debate).
Everytime I have a girl discover that I don’t eat meat, I have to hear “Well, I only eat a little chicken but I just would NEVER give that up.” Wow, its like the meat is laced with crack these days.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:10 am
Everyone who reads this should realise something I have known for a long time… the world is populated by idiots.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:34 am
I’m going to guess that you don’t work at a very challenging company? :)
March 1st, 2008 at 10:27 am
@ BM Thomas
“working my way towards evetually becoming a vegetarian.”
Seriously, we’re not talking about coming off heroin here. I don’t mean to sound self-righeous (I hate it how people think you’re being self-righteous whenever you talk abut being a vege) but when I decided to become a vegetarian, I just stopped eating meat. Any meat. All meat. Straight away. It’s really not that difficult.
Pesco-vegetarian? There’s nothing vegetarian about it. Call yourself a pescatarian, that’s fine. But please don’t think it’s a coherent ethical stance.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:32 am
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March 1st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Pesco-vegetarianism is legitimate. People saying “Don’t call yourself one of us, because you still eat fish!” makes me sad.
I don’t have any problem with eating meat. I just know it’s healthier to eat vegetarian. It’s never been a “Save The Animals” quest for me. Fish is healthier than, for instance, pork. It’s simply a matter of where you draw the line on what substances you will put into your body.
But more than that, why care what one calls themselves? Does it truly offend that someone calls themselves a pesco-vegetarian? It’s just a word, worth only 1/1000th of a picture.
Rather, understand that there IS a difference between a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. Even though being an animal rights activist typically means being a vegetarian, the two concepts are separate.
2¢.
March 1st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Are you sure he wasn’t just messing about to see if you would take him/her seriously?
March 1st, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Yeah… Come on, if you eat any animals at all, you’re not a vegetarian. Saying you’re a vegetarian that eats fish, is like saying you’re a virgin, because you only have sex with asians. It’s a contradiction in terms.
I have to agree with Martyn: meat-eaters have a strange way of behaving in discussions about vegetarianism. Sorta like smokers debating their habit with non-smokers. I suppose meat-eaters prefer not to think of the ethical implications of their dietary habits. How much meat would people eat, if they had to slaughter every animal for themselves?
I also quit eating meat from day to day, it’s not like you get withdrawals. It’s all mindset - contemplation and meditation on the subject is an excellent approach to creating the right mindset. So is googling “animal cruelty”.
March 1st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
@fc
Yes. I am absolutely sure she was not just messing around with me. The same woman also did not know there was a Washington state and Washington, D.C.
@Kav
I am not offended that someone uses the term pesco-vegetarian, but I think it is an inaccurate term. In my mind, pescatarian is what BM Thomas is. I do not take issue with people who eat animals, but they are not vegetarian in any manner.
Honestly, people who label themselves pesco-, pollo- or semi-vegetarian make it more difficult for vegetarians and I want a clear distinction. Countless times I have said I’m vegetarian and was told there would be vegetarian options available only to later find out it is fish or chicken. That happens because people call themselves vegetarian when they are not. So no, pesco-vegetarian is not correct and damaging to vegetarians.
This would be like me calling myself an ovo-lacto vegan. Everything else I eat is vegan, just not the ovo or lacto. That just does not make sense.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I once read a recipe for a “vegetarian sandwich” on a package of rolls. The first ingredient was turkey…
March 1st, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I grew up in a fishing community, and I still eat fish if it’s caught in the wild, but I tell people all the time I’m a vegetarian. I’ll admit… maybe I’m not. But it’s a hell of a lot easier than ranting about health and the meat industry to anyone who offers me food.
So basically, if I call myself a pesco-vegetarian, I’m causing damage to vegetarians, but if I call myself a vegetarian, I’m lying, right?
Come on guys… Who cares? Vegetarianism is about living right, not showing off.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I’m not a vegan (I am weak and love the taste of animal flesh), but I would hope that anyone over the age of lets say..I dunno….8 would understand what vegan means. And on top of that they know what they eat.
And please don’t let the stupid make you think that all non-vegans have few brain cells. Some of us are quite bright.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:04 pm
@Jessi
I often prefer not to discuss–much less rant–about health and the meat industry when discussing vegetarianism. Many times I say I was raised that way and never got used to the taste/texture of meat–which is true. That pretty much ends the discussion right there. I am not sure I follow your resistance to the term pescatarian. It describes your eating style perfectly. If using the term pesco-vegetarian did not cause people to serve me fish when I say I’m vegetarian, I actually would not take issue with it. Since it affects me directly, I do. It has nothing to do with showing off. I just want to be able to eat with everyone else at events and parties.
@Jinksy
I know most of you meat eaters are quite bright–my wife included. The one I had the above conversation with… not so much. As for everyone above eight knowing what vegan means, did you happen to catch baseball pitcher Roger Clemens’ answer when he was asked by Congress if he had ever been a vegan? He was clueless. By the way, I’m not vegan either, just vegetarian (ovo-lacto to be specific).
March 1st, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I’m…surprised at the comments this story has garnered. Do you guys surf the net much? Stories about people being completely stupid/clueless are very common. Check out http://notalwaysright.com/ for more stories of this nature- no one’s implying anything about any group of people. Some humans are just very dumb at times. It’s funny. Laugh.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:41 pm
What about,like, umm… mice and rats, yeah do you eat those? They’re not meat, they’re vermin!!
March 1st, 2008 at 8:40 pm
How about an attorney that four of us had to convince that honey came from bees.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:05 pm
It’s interesting to me the discussion about the words we are using. I’ve always understood that a true vegetarian was “vegan” as some here have used. Some are vegetarian because of a moral issue of killing another animal. Producing milk does not normally injure an animal so a lacto vegetarian is not causing harm to another animal though modern dairy farming techniques may make this a grey area. For ovo-, most eggs we eat are unfertilized and will never produce a living organism so it could be argued that no harm is done. From a vegan perspective both have animal protein so are not vegetarian. For whatever reason some people qualify how much an animal can “feel” when being killed. We’ve all seen fish being eaten and they don’t seem too put out by it when they are only partially eaten. Some have concluded that they can’t feel it so justify pesco-. A vegan will stick to their position that all are animal protein so not vegetarian. The problem comes in when you look at modern farming techniques. Without looking at GM foods, many methods are used just to get better production. Fertilizers, insecticides, pest controllers all have a potential to add animal protein to vegetable products. Even eating organic can’t guarantee that animal wastes were not used in fertilizer contaminating the crop with animal protein. Food processing can also contaminate the “pure” food. Look at a list of vegetarian restaurants. Many are just vegetarian friendly and do cook meats in their kitchen. How do you know that your fried vegan entree was not cooked in a pan that fried meat before your dish and now you’re eating some of it. The bottom line is that we don’t know. We can purposely avoid meat protein and still be eating it against our will or intent. I’m not an “official” vegetarian but I do try to make a large portion of my diet plant matter. I eat almost no red meat or pork. A little more poultry or fish but not much. No milk because I’m lactose intolerant and eggs are bad for my health. So it ends up being mostly vegetarian but I’m definitely not a member because I know our system of production and processing won’t let me do it honestly. Pretty heavy huh? As far as your co-workers not understanding that fish are meat, there is an anti science stance in the USA so we’re not expected to make the connections. If you handed most people a can of Tuna and a whole Tuna fish from a fish store they wouldn’t get the connection. The can doesn’t look like fish and the Tuna doesn’t have the word “Tuna” printed on it or any metal skin.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:50 pm
On a totally unrelated subject…
Dude…! she SO wants to do you…
March 1st, 2008 at 11:55 pm
@Gabe
I see your point completely, but no one in Louisiana knows what pesco-vegetarian means. I suppose I was just a bit offended at people criticizing something I do to make life more simple. I would never want to “offend” vegetarians by my word choice. Vegetarians are my favorite people!
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:12 am
To the person who said this:
“Seriously, we’re not talking about coming off heroin here. I don’t mean to sound self-righeous (I hate it how people think you’re being self-righteous whenever you talk abut being a vege) but when I decided to become a vegetarian, I just stopped eating meat. Any meat. All meat. Straight away. It’s really not that difficult. Pesco-vegetarian? There’s nothing vegetarian about it. Call yourself a pescatarian, that’s fine. But please don’t think it’s a coherent ethical stance.”
Ok, first of all, I’m sick of this self-righteous, elitist bull from many vegetarians out there. You’re making the rest of them look bad. So you can retire now. You’ve done well.
Second, the comment about “we’re not talking about coming off heroin here, it’s not that difficult, etc.” is total crap. If you’ve been eating meat all your life and decide to stop that practice, it’s not going to be an overnight thing (except for a few people, and congrats if that’s you. I’m impressed. But the point is, that’s not the norm). You have to work on it.
And how dare you look down your nose at someone who is trying to make a change in his life to help out animals? Isn’t that the point? You’re not a vegetarian so you can tell other people how superior you are to them, are you? No, you’re a vegetarian because you want to help out animals. So act like it. If this person is genuinely trying to shift their lifestyle to help out animals, then shouldn’t you encourage them instead of scoffing at them? If they aren’t completely off meat yet but they’re getting there, you don’t look down your nose at them, you cheer because in the end, fewer animals are being eaten. And that’s the whole point. So drop the labels, and get over yourself.
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:59 am
I always say that I am vegan, with the exception of honey, because my main reason for the (virtually) vegan diet is not to ingest animal *protein*, largely inspired by the book “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell.
The main take-home point from the book is that every reduction in animal protein in the diet conveys a significant advantage in reducing chances of chronic-disease–a consistent, direct relationship–all the way down to zero. Once below 5% animal protein, cancer cells in already-developed tumors stop growing.
I have often wanted to get together a Relay For Life team to walk for the Cancer Society in T-Shirts emblazoned with this information.
It was only after I adopted my current diet that I gained more awareness of the morally unsustainable nature of the meat/dairy/egg industries in the modern world.
Anyway, I hope vegans are not offended that I use the term even while specifying that I eat honey which is not considered vegan. It’s definitely much easier than saying vegetarian and explaining that I don’t eat eggs or dairy etc.
I also *most* of the time avoid eating foods from “tainted” settings (that may have been cooked on same cookware etc.), but will occasionally, while still insisting that what I order & eat not have patently animal ingredients, eat out with family that are visiting etc., to avoid a fuss. And I always continue to research other places to eat, and make sure I keep up a gentle, but steady and consistent pressure on toward the vegan stuff, exposing them to the best and tastiest I can find. No one gets offended, I have seen my family increase their vegan eating, and overall I would say that way makes a positive impact all around.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:08 am
Peaceful greetings from Jamaica.
I was contracted by an American Fortune 500 company to conduct corporate training sessions in Houma, Louisiana. One day at lunch I went to a Chinese restaurant and was delighted to see “Vegetarian Delight” on the menu. After questioning the waitstaff, I was advised it was stir-fried vegetables that came with pork fried rice and a side order of chicken wings.
Needless to say I went without lunch that day.
Bless Up,
Lady Roots
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
tbh, i think you should all stop moaning :P
i think its very funny.
i get this all the time.
“what you dont eat meat?”
me: no
“so what do you eat?”
me: everything else?
“well, like what?!”
me: everything that isn’t meat..
“that can’t be much can it?”
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
hahaha wow its amazing how ignorant people are of what they eat. I get similar questions also, but I use it as a way to educate people so I don’t mind too much.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:02 pm
After thirty something years of being vegetarian, I heard a lot. I’ve heard, “My friend is a vegetarian, she only eats chicken and fish”, sooooo many times - and from otherwise intelligent folks. The comment that has always stuck with me is when I was talking to a bright young woman about my reasons for not eating, or wearing, animals. She asked me, in all seriousness, “Yes, but what would they do with all the cows if everyone stopped eating them.”
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
sigh. This story is funny because it is so true. Many reasonably intelligent people get confused about vegetarianism. The fact that this co-worker is clearly an idiot makes the joke a bit more palatable.
I agree that there is an anti-intellectual movement in the U.S. and a disconcerting disconnect between our actions and the consequences they have for us and for others. That said, I would not judge anyone who makes informed choices about what to put into his or her body (Food, drug, media, religion, etc.) as long as there is sound reasoning for those choices. Usually there isn’t, but it is pointless to argue with someone who believes that researching the facts and drawing a logical conclusion is elitist. I think most people would choose to be vegetarian if they weighed all the pros and cons and knew “what else” to eat.
What is great about living in a wealthy country is that you can decide what you want to eat, when, and how much. The tough part about converting to vegetarianism is that you have to take the time to educate yourself about nutrition and preparing food. Then you have to take responsibility for yourself and change your lifestyle.
I have been a vegetarian for over 10 years now, and for me it has been a journey. I have worked towards a healthier lifestyle for myself, and at the same time, I’ve grown more tolerant of other people’s personal choices. When I first gave up meat, I could be a real pain, telling people off who questioned my diet. Now that I have my own kitchen and do all the food shopping and cooking for myself I don’t get upset about what other people eat or what they call themselves.
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Fish has always been technically classified as “meat”
In Christian traditions it is a meat that can be eaten on holy days because it is considered “cold blooded” (because it swims in the ocean) and “hot blooded” meat, like chicken, pork, etc, was forbidden.
Putting fish in the category of non-meat is an oversimplification (albeit a convenient one).
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Non-vegetarians differentiate between meat from land animals and meat from ocean or river creatures ( with gills). In the western world they will call the former “meat” and the latter “fish”. they have done so for centuries . You were born in this world so you really should know that if you state you do not eat meat, they will NOT automatically assume that you are vegetarian. They may ask if you will eat fish.
IN addition, there are a great many people that will eat fish but not meat, and some of these folks will call themselves vegetarian- please do not ask me why. And then there are those who consider themselves vegetarian but will eat cheese, which contains a small amount of animal product, and eggs. And then there are those who will not, but they will drink milk. And then there are vegans. And then there are people who do not eat beef, pork, chicken, or fish, for whatever reason. And there are poeple who will only eat the white meat of the chicken, or only dark.
PLease understand there can be some confusion here and there. And please understand that stupidity and ignorance will randomly strike in whatever consumer class you are. Personally, I feel that this one was worth an eye roll- I tend to believe that this tuna person might also believe ithat Europe is a country, etc etc.
_ Frog legs anybody?? Meat or fish??
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
i am a vegetarian. i don’t do it for ethics so much as for health. what i don’t get is why some vegetarians and vegans are such snobs? i never force my eating habits on others. that’s rude.
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I am vegetarian. When people start asking me these types of questions, I tell them my motto is:
If it blinks or sh*ts, I don’t eat it.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I’ve been vegan for two years and I get so much of that, even from adults.
I guess when you don’t need to think about everything you eat(or check ingredients all the time) you really don’t put much thought into it.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:13 am
I have a friend who won’t let his daughters have sugar (points / props for him!) but can’t sit down without meat at the table. And I quote “Gimmee cow!!!”.
He’s still my friend and, although I am 15 years older than he is, I’ll probably attend his funeral.
I’ll wear my nicest tie, too.
I am not yet a full-on vegetarian … but I am not alone in this household and my wife is only just now coming to realize the effect of diet on disease. Another year or two and I should stop finding out that ‘dinner’ is the pepperoni pizza she got at the drive-through window. Or that a salad consists exclusively of tough green things. But, for now, I prepare most of our meals and exercise such control as I can. But if you think that I am going to turn my nose up at the food my wife offers me … think again.
Vegans would get much better play at our house if they would drop the mysticism. It’s a diet … I already HAVE a religion.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:45 am
I hear you.. I’ve had near the exact same conversation at a previous workplace about “Why do you eat fish if you’re a vegetarian?”
Wasn’t quite this priceless though. Hah!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:22 am
If you want to eat with people like normal at parties eat what is being served. If you conciously decide to go against the norm then be prepared to accept any consequences don’t blame them on other people ie, “wanna be vegetarians” for your decision. Fish is good for you so I don’t know why you’d even begin to take the position of “I dont eat meat, not even fish” because if you are a. health concious then this doesn’t apply. b. animal concious, again doesnt apply to (lots of) fish. c. want to feel like you have some moral highground, this could make sense.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:48 am
this is so funny. I’m having that discussion almost every day. I was at the cantina the other day and asked if the quiche had meat in it” no it has fish” I couldnt even be bothered to disuss it there is no point anymore. I was at the hospital and said I was a vegetarian and they served me fish :-( so I was starving at my stay, because i should have told them I don’t eat fish well DOH!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
The “temptation” of meat, eh? Like the temptation of cigarettes when you’re quitting? So, meat is addictive by that. Should meat be considered a dangerous drug then?
March 4th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I have had similar situations but this is by far the worst. It seems like when people say, “Oh, I’m a vegetarian…I don’t eat red meat!” they are trying to find some way to relate to you. It _is_ frustrating, and not for self-righteous reasons. To be self-righteous one would have to see vegetarianism as difficult, which most of us don’t. I think it is frustrating because it shows how little people understand about what they put in their mouths. Like if you don’t even know what “meat” is how are you going to understand factory farming? Desertification? hormones in milk? If we are ever cheeky about it, it might be because of all the times some helpful person has served us chicken or fish because they think that’s what we eat.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Being vegetarian means not eating animal flesh. Technically fish is not meat but it is still an animal flesh. So if you eat fish, you are not a vegetarian. I have friends who do not eat meat, but love fish. They call themselves Fishetarians.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
It is amazing how naive some vegetarians and vegans truly are.
One thing you need to realize is the science of nutrition and human biology, which is often just overlooked. You are lacking EPA/DHA in your diet… mmmm not too good… I won’t even list the other stuff b/c I’m sure you’ll argue about it, but really how ethical is animal husbandry in general, you think that is better than eating a wild fish? Please.
It is no surprise to me at ALL that some of you veggies and vegans get so militant, the very stuff you are not eating is changing your brain chemistry!!!
sure you can survive awhile on your veggie with no animal product and vegan diets, but you won’t be thriving, unless you are not human. do some research, stop being so naive and looking down on others who are more aware on issues than yourself…
Ever think you have been misled by vegetarian propaganda and poor nutrition science…wake up people. Just b/c something sounds nice doesn’t mean it is optimal or should be carried out. We would all like to live in this perfect hunky dory world but there are some things you shouldn’t mess with, well… if you agree on scientific principal you shouldn’t, such as human biology.
April 6th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products.
Compliments of Wikipedia
I agree it is frustrating that chicken and/or fish eaters refer to themselves as vegetarians.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Most comments here are snobbish with the assumption that vegetarian = some one who think it is unfair to eat another animal. To say one is ovo-, lacto- or pesco- vegetarian is just a description of what they will eat if you go out to have lunch or dinner. Why does everyone think that is has be a a statement of who you are IN COMPARISON TO OTHER PEOPLE! If someone should ask me over to dinner should I say I don’t eat meat (land based) or shellfish but I will have certain types of fish but not catfish, shark, sword fish, callamari,quid…..the point is pesco-vegetarian describes the type of meal one wouldn’t mind eating not the person.
A pesco-,lacto-,ovo vegetarian meal will mean that main course of salmon with ice cream and cake after will be ok. But pork chops wouldn’t do. Abritrary? maybe, whose business? mine and my delightful and generous host.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:01 am
ashly Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
i am a vegetarian. i don’t do it for ethics so much as for health. what i don’t get is why some vegetarians and vegans are such snobs? i never force my eating habits on others. that’s rude.
I don’t think being a vegitarian makes you a snob, my gf and a small number of my friends are, and apart from making it slightly harder to plan where to eat (it only really removes the option of all-meat establishments.. I don’t mind all-veggie places once in a while, and they don’t mind penne that much ;) I have never seen them as being ’snobby’.
However, like many other ‘fringe’ lifestyles it does attract a certain amount of people desperate for attention, which I assume is what you call ’snobby’. I’ve had a vegan friend once (once, because she turned out to not be such a nice friend after all) who would always tell us about first becoming vegetarian, then vegan, and then how she no longer ate any cooked food. This was also the same person who whilst being ‘vegan’ munched through half of my tin of milk chocolate spread (actually we don’t know 100% it was her, but she was the only person in our house since we bought it the day before, and neither me or my gf had touched it :P)
Anyway, before I go on a rant, if you want to take a number of people and group them by their diet(or social beliefs, depending how they see vegetarianism) then, like in any grouping of people, you will also have a subset of assholes. The problem that the assholes are the ones most likely to stand and shout ‘look at me! look at me! I’m a vegetarian!’.. or whatever else they have decided to get into that week. To use a very bad analogy (very very vey bad indeed, please, no offence is intended), Islam is a peaceful and tolerant religion, under which much of the basic technology in the modern world was developed, but for some reason the members of that religion that make buildings fall down seem to get all the attention.
Ps: This is only in response to the comment posted by Ashly regarding the perception of veggies as snobs. (Just in case anyone thought my post related to the original article; it doesn’t. (althought the stuff from here on down does) I agree with the author, both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike should be more aware of what it is that they eat (with honorable mentions to ‘mystery-meats’ and ‘unfermented-soy’). Food has become too much of a ‘product’ in our society, and we appear to have fallen in love with cling-film. Oh, and I can’t believe someone actually hired the ‘clever’ person mentioned in the original article)