Vegetarians who eat fish... why do they tell me to stop eating meat?

Question

when they are not exactly giving up on eating creatures that breath... I just find it strange that it's considered cruel to eat a living, breathing animal/bird and then when it comes to fish .. what are they inanimate objects?

I have this friend who is always trying to convert me whilst she still stuffs her face with fish and wears leather shoes.... weird...

In response to your question there are shoes available that are non-leather and synthetic.. she could wear those!!

also I don't think you cancall yourself a Vegetarian whilst still eating meat. how can you abstain from eating red meat and sya you are a veggie?? In that case I'd be a veggie as I don't eat red meat..

vegan and pro.. She eats fish and calls herself a vegetarian.. that is what I am disputing. If oyu are a vegetarian why eat any meat or fish?

Answer 1

Your friend is a wannabee. She is not a veggie, its that simple.

Ask her to please stop calling herself a veggie, its confusing for many meateaters and she does the veggei movement no favours. If i had a direct contact for her, i'd tell her myself do we're relying on you to please tell her.

Veggie defintition:
Definitions

A vegetarian is someone living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with or without the use of dairy products and eggs (preferably free-range).

A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or slaughter by-products such as gelatine or animal fats.

Types of Vegetarian
Lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Eats both dairy products and eggs. This is the most common type of vegetarian diet.
Lacto-vegetarian. Eats dairy products but not eggs.
Vegan. Does not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other animal product.
Fruitarian. A type of vegan diet where very few processed or cooked foods are eaten. Consists mainly of raw fruit, grains and nuts. Fruitarians believe only plant foods that can be harvested without killing the plant should be eaten.

As you can see, there is no space here for fish.

There is also a wide variety of veggie freindly shoes. Send her to The Vegetarian Shoes company in brighton:
http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk

but the eating fish thing is the first to get over. She is simply not veggie. Show her the answers here and its clear the confusion and amunition people like her give to meateaters.

I too do not understand why veggies wear leather.

doris (above ) is wrong. It is plainly obvious that animals are killed for thier leather. Making leather products directly contributes to the cost model of the animal. If no-one wore leather, meat would be too expesive and everyone would turn veggie. So, if you wear leather, you might as well eat the meat. So, from a moral viewpoint, veggies shouldn't wear leather. But from a definition point of view, wearing leather is not mentioned.

dianka ( below ): Utter rubbish. I can't be bothered correcting you any more.

Answer 2

Your absolutely right to point our the contradictions in what she is doing.

In my opinion, If you eat fish your not a vegetarian, your a meat eater, period.

As far as the shoes go, that depends. if she is a fake vegetarian for moral reasons, or for health reasons. If its for moral reasons then she should not be wearing leather, although she should not be eating dairy, or eggs either, let alone fish.

I still have leather shoes that I wear daily and I'm Vegan. I bout them before I went Vegan and they are such good shoes they just wont wear out on me! Once they do though a will by the Vegan version of them obviously.
I mention that story because maybe she is in a similar situation. Although that still doesn't explain eating fish.

I suggest that you become a real vegetarian and convert her from meat eating. Since she is still technically a meat eater.

Answer 3

Many "vegetarians" eat fish because they are "vegetarians" for moral reasons related to the ethical treatment of animals, not because they think that cows are tantamount to humans. Since the meat industry is especially famous for mistreating animals VERY inhumanely, many people abstain from eating meat that comes from these sources. That is why they give up red meat and chicken. Some people think that since because the fish are swimming freely in the ocean and then are caught, it is still a natural way to feed ourselves without causing unneccessary suffering.

I, personally, am vegan, so I'm not speaking for myself, but I probably did the no red meat or chicken but yes fish phase SOMEWHERE along the way.

Also, being or becoming vegetarian/vegan is a process. Your friend may not realize her hypocrisy with the leather shoes, or may not be ready to make the 100% switch yet. She may never make it. Each person is different, and whether you're vegan or just cut back on your meat intake, you're still making a difference.

Note: I refer to the people who eat fish as "vegetarians" because that is how they refer to themselves. They do not enter in the conventional, accepted definition of vegetarians. I am not too picky about how people label themselves, but could see how what I said could be misunderstood.

Answer 4

I used to know a "vegetarian" who ate fish as well. We used to have a mantra which was "Meat is murder but fish is justifiable homicide"! I have no problem with vegetarianism -it's freedom of choice in action. However, it seems slightly dubious for someone to profess this lifestyle, whilst eating meat (that's what fish is, after all) AND trying to convert others. Does this person use being a veggie as a point of interest, do you think? Mind you, I was once in a hotel in Leeds where the veggie option on the menu was salmon!!

Answer 5

I currently just do not eat red meat, and I know that I'm not a total vegetarian. I do see why people think eating fish makes you not a vegetarian as well, but people c'mon! You get so stuffy with it. Trying to convert meat eaters, and then get mad when meat eaters tell you to eat a burger. Back to the topic though.

I can agree a bit that you friend should not be trying to convert you when she still eats some form of meat. However, I don't see what is wrong with it, unless she is doing it for animal rights.

I, myself, am doing it partially for animal rights, but more for a healthy diet. I am all for animal rights, but not to an extreme.

Sorry, I rambled and made no sense.

Answer 6

She is not a vegetarian, she's a hypocrite. Anyone who tries to force their opinion onto you whilst still holding onto an opinion that contradicts it is a hypocrite. It is cruel to eat living things of all types including fish and people like this who seperate "Cute and Fluffy" from "Slimy and Ugly" to justify their choice to eat fish really anger me. The fishing industry is just as ruthless and damaging to the animal kingdom as the meat industry and people need to realise this. Also, with regard to her wearing leather, she has choice, in fact women have a lot more choice in this than men as often women's shoes come in patent (fake) leather or in other materials. I buy all my shoes from http://www.ethicalwares.com. Your friend can not escape the fact that if she is going to make a moral judgement about your diet she needs to accept that her diet is not perfect either and that to encourage you to stop eating meat, she needs to give up everything which causes death or suffering to animals.

In the mean time, just tell her to face up to the fact that what she is doing is no less cruel than what you are doing and she needs to take her head out of the sand and start thinking about what she puts in her mouth and on her feet.

Answer 7

I am a vegetarian who doesn't eat any meat-including fish or chicken. I don't like to eat things that were once breathing animals-and that includes fish and chicken. That's my feelings, other people may have different ideas-but that's just their opinion, they are entitled to their own opinion. Vegetarians who eat fish and/or chicken...aren't proper vegetarians-they just don't eat red meat!! Fish (and chicken) seem to be not considered as much when it comes to eating them-I don't know why, they are still animals! But that's just my opinion! Hope it helped a bit! xxx

Answer 8

Well she is incorect with what she calles herself then.
Vegetarians eat to meat at all, but they do how ever eat products that come from the animal sch as milk, butter, eggs, ect...
Pescetarian is what your friend is, she has cut out all other meat from her diet except that of fish, (which she should cut out as well)...bassicaly she is on what me and some of my friends refer to as the "Asain diet"
(just because in asia they eat alot of fish)
When it comes to her trying to "convert you" into being a vegetarian or what ever, just tell her that it is a personal choice and that you can respect what she does with not eat "land animals" but that she need to try and respect youin the same why, it's not like you are always trying to maje her eat meat.
I am a vegan and i know that you can suggest it to people a few times, but you can not constantly try and make some one change, it become extremly annoying.
but good luck with your friend, and try saying something like what I said to her

Answer 9

It's not about names so much as it's about reasons for why you stop something.
I eat fish, but only wild and not farmed. This way I am eating a creature that had a good life until it died. I don't eat meat because of the horrible conditions cows and chickens and other commercial livestock are raised in. You have to figure out what you believe and cut your diet accordingly, for you, not for them.

Answer 10

People with some kind of conviction or other will tend to impose their view of what is good or bad on others, especially those who follow certain practices not purely out of their own choice but from a 'herd instinct'. This applies to anyone with any convictions, be they vegetarians, followers of religions, Republicans, Democrats, environmentalists, etc.

In all these cases, the actual problem is with the individual person (e.g., the vegetarian) having that viewpoint and imposing it on you and others; not with being a vegetarian per se.