Who invented the notion that vegetarians eat seafood and poultry?

Question

I get so irritated whenever I hear people claim that some vegetarians eat seafood and poultry! Seafood and poultry are flesh! Therefore, the people who eat them are NOT vegetarians! In fact, the word "vegetarian" was coined by the people who started the Vegetarian Society in England in the 1840s to describe people who abstain from eating flesh.

beebs: I like you, even if you do eat fish once in a blue moon.:)

Answer 1

It's 3am and I'm finally answering this question? Run for your lives!

I'll try to be nice ;-)

I've been digging into this ridiculous notion for the past few weeks (in my voluminous spare time) and the earliest mention of the Pesca-whatever term I've come across is in a 1990 Beef Council screed to the membership. It appears this idea didn't exist in 1974 since the book "The Vegetable Passion" makes no mention of the concept. I also KNOW the subject wasn't considered at the IVU meeting in '75 so my best guess is that the concept of vegetarians eating murdered animals had to start in the '80s (or I've already found the source). I've sent mail to William Safire asking for his etymology of the idea but he takes *forever* to reply (assuming he will). The only mention he's ever made is in this sentence:
"''Pescetarian is a frequently used term for those alleged veggies who eat seafood (but not meat or fowl),'' noted a writer in The Guardian in 2002, ''and irritate meat eaters and genuine vegetarians the world over.''
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/magazine/30ONLANGUAGE.html?ei=5088&en=e274594270494bdf&ex=1264827600&pagewanted=print&position=
Other than that the web is *useless*!! Everything tracks back to wikipedia (and we all know how useless it is!(I hope)). If you're bored and want ot try a fun link:
http://www.briancoad.com/Dictionary/Complete%20Dictionary%20latest%20version.htm
The first time I heard (or at least paid attention) to this idiotic idea was on the web! It would help if I still had all my back issues of VT magazine (lost in a fire) but I've got my local library getting them for me through a system loan so I can see if they ever referenced the phenomonon (but I think this is a dead end-I'd remeber something so outrageous!).
Gabriella has the right idea (I hope) but that 1990 cr*p really bugs me since (to me at least) it makes sense that 'those' people would enjoy starting this kind of meme! Sarch_uk has missed that Franklin *used* the term vegetarian over 100 years before 1839. The real origin of the word seems to be lost but the German word "vegetariar"(sp.?) existed in 1700!
I'm the evil person that should like Beebs but doesn't! She deleted a question rather than let my answer to her stand; I've spent too many years of my life educating folks about what a vegetarian is to now have the lie that we eat fish go unchallenged!! If Beebs would stop lying to herself and the world about her lifestyle, I'd have NO problem with her dietary choices! George Bernard Shaw pulled the same kind of CR*P; he liked to claim he was veggie but had his doctor giving him liver extract injections "for his health" . That's TOTAL B.S.! The ONLY medical reason to eat murdered animals is if you have Cystic Fibrosis. PERIOD!!!!!! The excuse of needing protein is total garbage! Anyone who's been a real veggie for any length of time knows that almost everthing veggies eat has protein. Have fun digging through this link and see that even something as lame as lettuce has good amino acid levels:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/AC854T/AC854T00.htm#TOC
Soy isn't needed on a vegetarian diet, it's just convenient! I did my growing up without soy since it didn't begin to really be available until the '70s. Someone either needs to change doctors or have their quack run a full spectrum bioassay for heavy metals since the symptoms of toxicity are often misdiagnosed... And guess what's a major dietary source of heavy metals...

Now it's 5am and so much for being nice. Folks who lie to the world about being veggie when they aren't get me just as angry as the sleaze-buckets that claim to be 'religious leaders' and end up caught with their pants down. They're all just a bunch of lying hypocrites!!

Answer 2

Quite so, vegetarians do not consume any part of what once was a living creature.

Not so sure you are correct in what you say about the origin of the word vegetarian though...

History
Etymology
It is often claimed that the word "vegetarian" was invented with the formation of the first Vegetarian Society in 1847. In fact, their website claims "[they] created the word vegetarian from the Latin 'vegetus' meaning 'lively' (which is how these early vegetarians claimed their diet made them feel) in 1847..." [2] and "[the] term vegetarian has nothing to do with vegetables, but is taken from the Latin word for lively - vegetus." [3].

However, the OED cites two quotations pre-dating the 1847 foundation of the Vegetarian Society:

1839 F. A. KEMBLE Jrnl. Residence on Georgian Plantation (1863) 251 If I had had to be my own cook, I should inevitably become a vegetarian.
and

1842 Healthian Apr. 34 To tell a healthy vegetarian that his diet is very uncongenial with the wants of his nature.
Though, the OED also notes that "The general use of the word appears to have been largely due to the formation of the Vegetarian Society at Ramsgate in 1847."

Answer 3

Thank you.

Apparently, if you look back into the entomology like one of the members here has, the idea was invented by the beef council in the early 90's when they coined the neologism p-word that now plagues the very word "vegetarian."

Apparently they so cannot understand people who do not eat dead cows that they threw fish-eaters into our word.

I however, stick with the actual definitions of vegetarianism. Seriously, why go by a definition of a group of people written by a group that hates them? Would a person accept a definition of "Jewish" written by a Nazi? I think not.

Vegetarians do not eat the flesh of animals. They do not, nor will they ever eat fish.
_______________
"People who don’t eat red meat but do eat chicken or fish are making a very important first step, but they aren’t vegetarians. We usually call such people meat-reducers."
http://vegsoc.org
______________
"What is a Vegetarian?
Vegetarians are people that do not eat meat, poultry, fish or any by-product from a slaughterhouse such as gelatin."
The Vegetarian Channel
______________
"For the purpose of membership of IVU, *****vegetarianism includes veganism and is defined as the practice of not eating meat, poultry or fish or their by-products, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs."
International Vegetarian Union
______________

Answer 4

Further to that, why do they think that vegetarians and vegans indulge in milk and eggs. I have heard the phrase 'lacto-ova vegetarian' and I think it totally defeats the purpose of the lifestyle choice. Calcium and protein are substances readily found in vegetable sources. Peanuts, lentils, chick peas are all good sources of protein and can be made into recipes that taste 'meaty' without the compromise. Calcium is readily available in other nut sources, almonds are a very good source and because they are hard, not as fatty as other nuts. Green vegetables are high in iron and in some cases, calcium as well.

Answer 5

Haven't you heard on the news? Vegetarians can even eat beef now! As a vegetarian, I was so excited to hear that!

Answer 6

It was probably "invented" by people who are attention seeking, pretending something to be they are not. And you are right, no real vegetarian consumes any type of meat.

Answer 7

The reason for that is because so many people have their own definition for vegetarian. For many, myself included, vegetarian means abstaining from red meat and eating only what contains protein, such as fish or chicken. Basically, not eating another mammal. Vegan is the new name for a full-on vegetarian, who eats no meat whatsoever. I hope that explains it.

Answer 8

lol obviously people who do not understand the definition of vegetarian!

Answer 9

Pescevegetarians is the title given to people who eat fish and seafood. If someone is eating chicken, I would not call them a vegetarian, but merely "avoiding red meat."

Answer 10

I agree with you a vegetarian eats vegetables.If you eat any meat then you are one of the others in this world.So don't pretend to be one that you are not......Give me meat or give me death....