Why do you think SO MANY people think that vegetarians eat fish???!
Answers: Is it because so many pescatarians claim to be a vegetarian?
There are a bunch of reasons.
First and foremost are all of the fish-eaters who claim to be vegetarians, thus confusing the issue.
There's also the whole problem with some definitions (particularly in law and in the meat packing industry) not including fish as meat. Combine that with the notion that vegetarians "don't eat meat," and people think fish is ok.
Plus there's the whole problem with various groups not traditionally considering fish to be meat, like Catholics allowing fish during Lent.
Plus a lot of people think that fish are different, because their nervous systems are less developed than many other animals that are used for food.
Also, people think fish are different because they aren't farmed in the way other animals are farmed, so people think fish are ok to eat.
The problem with fish-eaters calling themselves vegetarian is that it confuses omnivores. Omnivores then think it is appropriate to use fish in the vegetarian option they offer, so actual vegetarians (those who don't eat animals) don't have an option.
Some people call themselves vegetarians even though they sometimes eat fish or seafood. It's those people's faults if you are insulted by that or whatever...to be honest, does it really matter?
Don't give me thumbs down...it's just what happens, it's not my fault, personally I don't care because I eat fruit, veg and meat!
Because too many people make assumptions about the lifestyles of others without bothering to find out the facts. It's very disrespectful. :o)
Because people get confused with the many different kinds of vegetarians.
fish don't have feelings??? lol
Ignorance mostly. talk about an oxymoron... vegetarians eating animals. WOW!
Well, if they eat fish, they aren't vegetarians. And if they call themselves vegetarian but eat any animal flesh, you are free to call them on that. As to why some people call themselves vegetarian and eat fish, that's another question entirely.
And pesco-vegetarian is entirely inaccurate and oxymoronic. There is no such thing. There really is no word for someone who eats no flesh but fish.
Because some do. There are several types of Vegetarianism. Some eat fish, but no eggs or dairy while some eat & dairy, but no fish and some eat poultry as well. A vegan is one who eats NO animals products including honey & gelatin. Being a vegan is more of a lifestyle where no animal products are used whenever possible.
Me and my son argue about that all the time. He says fish doesn't count as meat (and then I get a Nirvana quote about "It's ok to eat fish b/c they don't have any feelings" lol)
because people CALL themselves vegetarian and still eat fish.. Taking the label doesn't make them a vegetarian anymore than calling myself a tall-striking blonde makes it true (I'm short and have brown hair)
These people are misinformed, and spreading misinformation.. I think there needs to be some campaign to educate and clarify the definition of "vegetarian" and "meat"
Yes. I think it is because pescatarians claim to be vegetarians.
I looked up pescatarian on Wikipeda, and it said that people who eat fish want to emphasize that their main staple of food is vegetables. So the hyphenated pesca-vegetarian means that they eat fish, but they are mostly vegetarians in their diet. That makes some sense to me, but it also violates the word vegetarian though because fish is an animal and it is muscle tissue that you are eating (muscle fibers are not found in plants).
The whole emotional side of describing vegetarianism with fish have no feelings is illogical. Scientifically, muscle tissue is muscle tissue, and muscle tissue is found in animals only. Now whether you want to debate the factory made animal tissue grown in vats that adhere to a glass planes and is harvested as oppose to animals providing the animal tissue is a great one to converse about! That will muddy up the scientific reasoning for vegetarianism, and will probably bring in the emotional aspect to it then!
Remember also that fish have a central nervous system, and just because they don't have a hippocampus to processes their thoughts, doesn't mean they don't feel pain (when I was little and had to go fishing with my parents, taking the hook off their mouth was nasty to me - I made them do it for me. I also prayed that I would not catch any fish, but guess who would catch the most! yeah me. dumb nasty luck. . . ). I don't know if using the logical reasoning of pain is correct either. It is more of a tugging on the heart strings of humans to support the not eating of fish. Scientifically again, it is that a live animal was living one minute, and the next its life has been snuffed out. Whether or not their is any suffering involved is inconsequential, it is the end result that counts. Alive one minute, dead the next.
I have heard people say they were vegetarian and then order something with chicken in it. Like all fads, there are hangers-on that just don't get it
Vegetarisns do eat fish. I'm a flexitarian vegetarian and I eat fish. That's just the way it is regardless of what anybody says. And I'm very open about my vegetarianism.
You will find many people on here claim to be vegetarians and eat fish.
The proportion os far greater than in real life. But if you pay attention to the "thumbs down" you'll see what most people think of it
Sorry, i can't answer as to "why". All I know is they cause a lot of grief.
I don't know why they don't say " I'm a meat-eater that limits my meat intake to fish" Its perfectly accurate, why not use it ?
Don't hi-jack another word.
But no worry, the overwhelming majority of vegetarians know the truth, and in that you can have confidence than they will prevail.
See my profile for what the worlds 3 largest vegetarian groups think of this fishy tale.
And if we are starting to rely on Wikipedia for evidence we need to think about that a bit. Does the world revolve around a user moderated internet site ? i think not.
I don't think that many think of themselves as vegetarians. Just because the flexis here in V & V say everybody who eats fish is vegetarian certainly doesn't mean those same people being referred to think that.
Any that do think that are just simply mistaken.
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/definitions.h...
Don't let anyone tell you different. Especially the flexis here in V & V. They have an alternate agenda. Sharing knowledge isn't their way. They have blocked everyone of the regulars who disagree with their "flexitarian vegetarian" BS, send out profanity laced lowlife e-mails to people here and even have had to have answers removed because they encouraged direct physical harm to minors (and I don't mean a spanking if they're bad). Not the kind of people an intelligent person would take advice from nor reward with credibility.
Because a lot of people who eat plant based diets also eat some fish. I have never heard the word 'pescatarian' and don't intend to use it.
If you want omnivores or others to know for sure that you don't eat fish or eggs or whatever, then just tell them. I get asked often if eggs are alright with me, and they are. Don't just expect others to know what your dietary needs are, just because you used the word 'vegetarian'.
there are to many labels for us to remember, so we group -em all together
Yeah, the folks who eat fish and call themselves vegetarian sure do confuse matters, don't they? It's because of those misinformed people that there is the confusion.
A better question would be to ask why people who eat no flesh but fish call themselves vegetarian. And I think you can lay the blame for that on the Catholic Church who declared that fish was not meat so people would "have something to eat on Fridays." Plus, the Jewish laws of kashrut don't consider fish to be fleishedig (meat). Growing up, I recall fish being served primarily with milchidig (dairy) items.
So religion muddles things up and people who don't eat animal flesh or their byproducts have to be REALLY vigilant.