Why do some fish eaters claim to be vegetarians?

Question

Just curious.

On this site we regularly get fish eaters claiming to be vegetarians.

And yet all the recognised world authorities on vegetarian issues, and dictionaries, say this

A Vegetarian os a person who does not eat meat, fish, poultry or any slaughter by-products

What is the point in lying to yourselves and others ?

Please don't point to any unmoderated website that says veggies eat fish, they are just made up definitions, not real ones.

I don't think i would ever lie just to say i was connected to a group of people, no matter how great they were

fish-eaters cause so much confusion to the vegetarian movement. Even in the face of being told what the official definition is, they still claim to be veggies.

whats the point ?

My question is not about whats right, or wrong about being veggie, so we don't need to discuss the merits of vegetarianism vs fishy diets. My question is about why do so many fisheaters pretend to be veggies.

by "authority" i mean "accepted expert", not controlling group.

i notice all the fish eaters are quite...what a suprise

Still no fishy people after 4 hours ? How strange, they are all very quick to state they are veggies in the other questions on here.....me thinks they have no answer.

Answer 1

I don't understand this, either. There are folks who eat chicken or other white meat and refer to themselves as a vegetarian as well. It really annoys me. I tell people I'm a vegetarian and TOO many of them ask if I eat fish/chicken, which I never understand.
me - "No, I just told you I'm a vegetarian - I do not eat meat".
them - "Fish/chicken isn't meat".
me - "It's not a plant, so it's meat".
them - "Plants have feelings". (anyone ever have this card pulled on them?)
me - "Ok... I do not eat anything that has eyeballs, parents, legs, paws, creepy crawler things, climbs, swims, flies, or walks. Besides... I eat what I want. You eat what you want. Quit fighting with me about what I choose to put into my body; it's not your business and your just pissing me off."

Sheesh! It is annoying. There are actually words to people who call themselves vegetarians and eat chicken or fish. I cannot quite remember the words, but they're like Pesce-vegetarian and Pollo-vegetarian.

Answer 2

I think it's because they are getting wrong information from others and from the Internet. For example, if you go to About.com, there is an article about the different types of vegetarians and the woman states that eating fish is one of the types. That doesn't make any sense!

PS: I emailed the author and hopefully she will do more research before putting out false information.

Answer 3

There is only pretense if that's the way you see it.

I generally say "vegetarian" because of the general ignorance of the American population.

Saying you are a vegetarian doesn't mean you don't eat meat, it means you choose to eat vegetables and fruits, (preferably raw).

If not eating meat is a secondary element to that, so be it.

There are essential oils present in fish that you can't get anywhere else, except in supplements, which, for me, are questionable in purity.

I am a rock climber, my choice to go "vegetarian or vegan" lies not in some semmantic debate over ethics, but in real life situation.

When I ate meat regularly, I carried an extra 15 pounds.......
Which is harder to haul up the side of a sandstone cliff...........

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

They're lame vegetarian wanna-bes.

Those people have ruined many- a dinner for me. Because of their nonsense a lot of meat eaters think that vegetarians that fish and endlessly try to convince me of this.

Answer 5

They aren't Vegetarians they are "Pescetarians"
Pesco/pollo vegetarianism", "pescetarianism" or "semi-vegetarianism" are neologisms coined in the media to describe certain lifestyles of restricted diet. Most commonly, these include the practice of not eating certain types of meat (most commonly red meat such as beef, pork, lamb) while allowing other meats, such as seafood. As with lacto-ovo vegetarianism, there are usually no restrictions on non-flesh animal products such as dairy and eggs.

Answer 6

I think they are pretending to be something they are not.
the word Vegetarian says it all, we only eat veggies we are not called
vegefisharians

Answer 7

because some people think that vegetarians can eat poultry because its not meat. vegetarians should NOT eat fish.

Answer 8

The reason is because fish is not considered to be meat in many religious traditions. Some vegetarians also drink milk and eat eggs, referring to themselves as "ovo-lacto vegetarians". The true vegetable only dieter is termed vegan. There is no actual authority on this as it is from traditions. It is a lot like calling oneself a Christian... Going to church every Sunday no mor makes one a Christian than standing in a grage makes one a car. Human beings are omnivores that sometimes like to delude themselves with labels like vegetarian.

Answer 9

it's an excuse.. it's not vegetarianism first of all..

they're meat eaters.. plain and simple. i have no idea why they call themselves vegetarians.. the dairy consuming 'veggies' do the same thing..

they're eating animal product.. no if's and's or but's about it...

it's not vegetarianism.

Answer 10

Probably because they feel eating red meat is a violation of their beliefs, but fish is okay.

And.... why don;t you ask THEM why they eat fish? Seems THEY should know the reason for their actions.