Question to people who are vegeterians and still eat seafood?

Question

How can some vegeterians who don't eat meat but eat seafood justify the difference?
I don't eat meat but i eat seafood sometimes, am i a hypocrite?

To some peoples responses I was talking about people who don't eat meat because they think it's cruel towards animals.

Answer 1

Oh, ****. We get this question every week and i wish those fish eating people would just go away.

VEGETARIANS DO NOT EAT FISH.

Eat as much fish as you like, but never use the word vegetarian to describe your diet.

There are some people who eat fish and call themselves vegetarians. They are not. They just choose to make up thier own definition because they cannot be bothered to do the right thing.

They confuse the issue for all of us.

I have no idea why this confusion even exists. Its like people regularly cropping up and saying why is it some people thing a carrot is a mammal. Its just miles away from the generally accepted formal definition that its laughable.

Yuo are a Hypocrite if you call yourself a vegetarian, yes.

Its a big assumption, but becuase you have posted this is the veggie and vegan section I'm assuming you think you are a veggie ?

You've just got to read some of the answers to this question to realise how frustrated we are with this type of comment. Please do us all a favour and stop using the word vegeratian to describe your diet. And please, do not start using phrases like demi-vegeratian, almost, partly...You are either veggie, or not, its simple.

Jennybeet... by "People who are vegetarian but eat seafood or fish are actually called pescatarians" I assume you mean "People who abstain from most meat but eat seafood or fish are actually called pescatarians".

Ther is no such thing as "People who are vegetarian but eat seafood or fish".

Answer 2

no its fine every veggie eats not veggie fod sometimes
the only eatfood i would every eat it fish +chips and i only eat it if someone buys it for me cos just chips is cheaper :)

geleatine is the thing im always like i shouldnt eat tihs but its soo nice

i think fish is just the same as any other animal so i dont see the difference
andy b this is the way i think of it im an animal so i wont eat any other animals you wouldnt eat a person (thats just 1 reason) seafood is an animal so i rarely eat it but mussels ect. yuck thats just soo gross
mciheal h i agree with you but she says sometimes you cant say that shes a hypocrite becuase evrybody eats things that they say thier not going to sometimes can see where youre coming from but lighten up a bit?

Answer 3

Micheal H is spot on.

Fair enough, eat whatever diet suits you, but I can not stand it when people say they are a vegetarian who eats fish. It is a contradiction in terms, and then the rest of us ACTUAL vegetarians have people thinking we will eat fish or even chicken.

What's really annoying is when these non-vegetarians think they have the moral highground and act like they're one us us- they're NOT. I am greatful for their contribution- I don't think it should be all or nothing, but I just wish they'd call themselves what they really are- a pescatarian! I don't go around calling myself a vegan, or expect to be regarded on the same level as them.

Or when they say "Yeah but it's only because my doctor advised me to"- frankly you can't have been that committed to the lifestyle if you take the first excuse you're given to start eating it again. There's other sources for these nutrients, even if they're not the easiest way to get them- every vegetarian knows this and so should your doctor! They'll tell you the easiest way to do it, all you have to do is say "Sorry that's not possible, what else could I do?" and any doctor worth his salt would have an alternative solution. I'm allergic to fish- what would he tell me?!

ARGH! It's sooooooo annoying.

Answer 4

I would say that someone who eats seafood but not meat, but who calls themselves a "vegetarian" is kidding themselves.
Fish/shellfish are just as alive as cows and pigs;whether or not they feel the same level of pain is irrelevant.

Then again, any vegetarian is always going to be looked down upon by someone on the next level up. I get told off by my vegan friends for eating cheese (even though it has no animal rennet in it), and I'm sure someone tells THEM off for eating nuts or something.

Answer 5

I've had many a debate about this.
How the hell can anyone be a vegetarian if they eat ANY sort of meat be it Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile - all backboned animals. Vegetarians arn't supposed to eat the non backboned beastie's either, such as shelfish, slugs, worms, spiders, cockroaches and any other crap that isn't, well a vegetable.

Of course, they'd be free to eat a few politicians, such as George W etc as they're classified as Vegetables ;-)

Answer 6

Hiya Baby ,

Don't worry you are n't exactly, you are just using the wrong title, the correct title for people who totally abstain from meat but eat fish, dairy and vegetables is a 'pescatarian'! I was one for a little while but I went back to being a lacto-ovo vegetarian as it makes me feel a lot healthier and gave me more self esteem! You see,I also felt like a mass murderer for eating fish so it just wasn't worth it,spiritually, morally or physically

Answer 7

I would dispute that seafoods (or at least shellfish, oysters, mussels and the like) have about as much capacity to feel pain as plants do.
Is there much difference between an oyster and a plant? Neither have any form of brain and have about the same neurological capacity, and I don't think you can be cruel to them in the same way you can't be cruel to plants, aside from whether or not they're animals.

Someone said "Fish/shellfish are just as alive as cows and pigs;whether or not they feel the same level of pain is irrelevant."
By that logic you shouldn't eat plants because they are just as alive as cows, and that they don't feel pain is irrelevant. Of course that is rubbish, I know of no one who feels you can be mean to plants because they don't feel pain and in my opinion the same goes for shellfish.

Seafoods aren't conscious, I don't think anyone can dispute that. They do not even know that they exist, or anything else for that matter.
The only way they can react to their surroundings is through complex instinctive reactions, akin to how a human might pull their hand back from a flame. They cannot think, and as such not only don't they know that they exist they cannot comprehend pain. They may have nerve endings but they cannot feel pain, the nerve endings simply stimulate their instinctive reactions.
Think of a computer, it knows when you're pushing it's buttons and can react accordingly, it can even carry out hugely complex activities dynamically based on preset behaviours. That does not mean they are conscious. In the same way that a mussel has nerve endings and can react in complex ways does not mean it is conscious either.
As seafoods are unconscious, and thus cannot comprehend pain it is impossible for them to suffer, and I don't think there are any credible ethical/compassionate reasons to refuse to eat them.

Answer 8

If you call yourself a vegetarian than yes you are a hypocrite. Even worse you are further diluting the word vegetarian to the point where every non-vegetarian thinks that vegetarians are totally non-committal and use the label because it is "trendy". If you or your friends don't know better than you are merely ignorant and need to do some research.

Answer 9

Vegetarians do not eat seafood. Therefore, a person who calls himself a vegetarian and eats seafood is using the "label" incorrectly.

Answer 10

Just don't call yourself a vegetarian. It would be the same as saying "I'm a vegetarian but I eat chicken". Vegetarians eat NO animals including seafood.