Can I consider myself vegetarian if...?

Question

I don't eat any meat besides fish ?
I'm not sure why but I just don't consider it meat .. is it okay to call myself vegetarian..?
♥
A big shoutout to all the veg's out there - you're amazing =]
Take care everyone x

Guys - thanks for your advice but i never said i really actually called myself vegetarian .. i was just wondering
Thanks for your feedback.

Answer 1

You shouldn't call yourself vegetarian if you eat fish as if you eat fish then you are not a vegetarian. If you want a label then you would be a pescetarian.

If you were to call yourself vegetarian then this would confuse people as those who do not know about vegetarianism would presume that actual vegetarians eat fish and so might then offer this to an actual vegetarian. This is in fact a common problem faced by vegetarians (see the fishconceptions link below) and so we would appreciate it if you did not refer to yourself as veggie.

It is, however, great that you don't eat any other meat and vegetarians do appreciate that pescetarians are worthwhile people.

Answer 2

Do you really need that label?

You can consider yourself a panda if you wish... although most will not agree with you.

Same thing with eating fish. Fish are animals... so no, you would not be a vegetarian by definition. You would be what is called a piscivore/pescatarian/flexi-vegetarian (all of these are made up terms used to define people who are almost, but not quite vegetarians.)

The weird thing is... so many people have this misconception that the general public will call you a vegetarian, even if you aren't. My cousin won't eat any meat except fish, but all of his friends call him a vegetarian, even though he corrects them. This seems to p*** him off a lot.

Answer 3

Think a lot of this confusion comes down to what is specifically meant by "meat".
Most authoratitive dictionaries like the OED define along the lines of "The edible flesh of animals, especially that of mammals as opposed to that of fish or poultry".
If you look further into it Governments issue papers on these things to make sure that when they speak to each other they know exactly what they mean (yeah, like we see that working!). The principle one in the EU extends this meat=mammal to include poultry (with specific mention of domestic fowl, turkeys, guinea-fowl, ducks and geese) and Lagomorphs (rabbits, hares and rodents)... but the principle drive is still land based mammals. If you are interested this is "Regulation No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin."
Vegetarianism definition of meat further extends it to cover fish as well... essentially making the word meat mean any animal.
This can all explain why you don't naturally consider fish as meat since not only traditionally in the western world, but also legally in statute, it isn't. That being said, the vegetarian world in which you are now moving would regard fish as meat.
Context is everything here.

Answer 4

You're a pescatarian. Please don't call yourself a vegetarian - its really annoying for people who really are one, and consistently get lectured about/served fish!

I remember when I was vegetarian (now vegan) and in a seafood resteraunt (thier choice), i had my grandmother, aunt, mother + sister ALL shouting at me because I wouldn't eat a main dish as they were all fish because my sister and aunt were 'vegetarians' and happy to do so - so i should stop being so fussy and pick something. I stood my ground and just ate potatoes. that event's always stood out in my mind for some reason - many more have happened!

Point being... yeah, its unfair and annoying so please start referring to yourself as a pescatarian!

Answer 5

You're not vegetarian if you eat fish. Real vegetarians don't eat animals of any kind. Some folks eat fish and say they are vegetarian; real vegetarians don't consider them vegetarians.

Sometimes I call myself herbivore because non-vegarians have hijacked the word and won't give it back.

I used to know a guy who called himself vegetarian. He slaughtered his own sheep and ate them. That must be the meat-eating and animal slaughering kind of vegetarian. The word apparently means absolutely nothing to some people.

Answer 6

A fish is an animal, it's clearly NOT a plant so eating it means you are NOT a vegetarian. You can go ahead and lie and call yourself one all you want but at the end of the day your still just an omnivore.

Answer 7

Thanks for the shout-out, but as long as you eat the flesh of ANY animals--and last time I checked, fish are animals--you cannot honestly call yourself a vegetarian. There is no real label for someone who only eats one type of animal flesh. People desperate to label themselves as something use "flexitarian" to indicate they eat less meat or only eat one type of meat, but it's not a real word. Still, I suppose I'd rather someone who eats no flesh but fish use that term rather than calling herself a vegetarian.

This is something we veg*ans--the ones who DON'T eat animal flesh--have had to say over and over and over again. It gets kind of tiresome, especially when we're explaining for the fourth time in a week that no, vegetarians don't eat fish.

Answer 8

omg, guys she is more of a vegatarian than most people in this world, so give her a bit of support! To whoever answered first, she never said that she wanted to be vegan!
Yes, if you want to call yourself a vegatarian you can. Don't listen to the peole on here (exept the last few who are supporting you). Most vegies out there aren't that strict, its just the ones on here who make themsevels feel good by saying unless everyone is a strict vegan then they are crule and heartles. You would recon they would be kinder to new veggies out there if they want more people to go veggie, not put them off, but they are propbably not even strict vegans themselves, they probably eat meat everyday. But anyway my point is that you dont need to listen to them and can say youre a veggie if you want, and well done, I think its really good that you have become veggie and dont let these guy put you off!

Answer 9

no.. You are eating a much healthier diet, true, but you do not fit the definition of vegetarian.

And fish eaters who call themselves vegetarians are causing ALOT of confusion and fustration.. don't add to it.

Fish is meat. IT is the flesh of a dead animal

Vegetarians do not eat any dead animals.

eat what you want.. but do us a favor and on't calll yourself vegetarian until you give up fish.

Answer 10

If you eat any type of meat, you are not a vegetarian.