How important is a label or to have a label or to be labeled?!
Are labels really that important on a personal level? Or is approval by the "experts" that much more important? If you classify yourself a a "vegetarian" and others say your not, how does that affect your perspective about yourself? Is your overall health the main concern? Or is the feeling of acceptance by and belonging to a particular "labeled" group is the real goal? Is all this bickering about who is what necessary or heplful at all?
Answers: I have seen a lot of questions and answers with regards to what is a "strict" (fill the blank) or a "true" (fill in the blank) or "Can a (fill in the blank) eat..." or Are (fill in the blank) allowed to eat...?"
Are labels really that important on a personal level? Or is approval by the "experts" that much more important? If you classify yourself a a "vegetarian" and others say your not, how does that affect your perspective about yourself? Is your overall health the main concern? Or is the feeling of acceptance by and belonging to a particular "labeled" group is the real goal? Is all this bickering about who is what necessary or heplful at all?
Labels are not important.
Words and thier consistant definitions are important as they help us communicate.
using a definition of a group, such the word "vegetarian" can be seen as a label. I think this depends on peoples motive for using the word.
I think if people say "I am a vegetarian" because they like the sound of it, and they ask what it involves, this is using it as a label a bit.
I think forming a view and what you want to eat, and finding it is defined by the word vegetarian, is a different situation.
If they both have the same end-point, then it doesn't matter.
If there was no such word as vegetarian, i would probably eat and behave exactly as I do now. When i turned veggie, at 14, i had no clue what it meant or what the definition was. It wasn't until i was 20 that i thought of myself as a vegetarian because I'd seen the definition a few times and it fitted with me. I rarely tell people I'm a vegetarian, I don't need to, unless someone wants a concise summary of what i eat.
re-defining words to suit yourself though, that does matter and causes confusion. There is no real purpose to doing this other than to associate yourself with a word even though you either don't know, or choose to ignore, the definition of it. At this point, it becomes a label.
Its strange how many people see "vegetarian" as a label but "christian" is not.
they are both definitions but its your motive for using them that makes them labels or not.
And its easy to call something a "label" if you want to devalue it, "label" is often used as a derogatory term.
Is it "bickering" ? Or is it trying to retain the value and belief system in a defined word ?
Is it "bickering" when Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus talking about if Jesus Christ was the son of god or just a prophet ? If you believe the differences point to fundamental differences in a belief system then its not "bickering" or being padantic, it means something to you.
Sorry, that answer is so vauge i should really just delete it.
I think for many, yes, they are important. I can't tell you why, I don't know. It does irk me when I read "Can I eat..." or "Can vegans/vegetarians eat..." or "i'm vegetarian, can I..." or "I/you/vegetarians/vegans can't eat/wear/do..."
I've posted numerous times that people need to figure out what THEY are okay with doing/eating, then pick an appropriate label for it if there is one, instead of the other way around.
We CAN do anything we want. Choosing to be vegetarian or vegan means we don't WANT to do/eat/wear those things.
Labels are important with regards to food preparation - vegetarian and vegan need to be defined.
One example: If I am buying veggie burgers and it says "vegetarian" but has chicken broth in it, for instance, I would be very disappointed to say the least.
Obviously if the definitions are just too loosely defined or not concise at all it would be nearly impossible to purchase vegetarian or vegan products. Vitamins would label as vegan but have animal byproducts. They are legitimate words that need definition. It's like any other food definition - if it says "egg free" that doesn't mean it can have a little egg white. If it says "dairy free" that doesn't mean it can have casein or whey in it or another dairy derivative.
It almost feels chaotic to throw the definition of words out the window. If we'll disregard those definitions we'd have to disregard other labels - Catholic? Well, what if you are Catholic but don't quite believe that Jesus becomes the communion wafer through transubstantiation? That is a pillar of Catholic belief - that it really IS the flesh and blood of Jesus. If you pick and choose what tenets you believe, that would make you a Protestant, but certainly not Catholic. Labels are there for cohesion and for understanding.
I could go on and on about why you need strictly defined words.
Now on a personal level I think people can adopt any diet they so choose. However, the vegetarian and vegan diet is already DEFINED. Certainly they can create their own (new diets definitions spring up all the time, new definitions... there's pescatarian, there's flexitarian... their diets sound healthy but do not sound vegetarian in the least). And I am aware that the pescatarian diet is NOT new, I just mean that having it defined is fairly new... "someone that abstains from all flesh but for seafood".
And of course, people do end up deciding how strict they want to be and all that. However the word is still important and the definition is important. I wouldn't classify it as a label but it HAS to be there, the standard has to be set because it's chaotic and senseless to make the word vegetarian or vegan weak and ambivalent.
And of course, being healthy is a priority and you can be healthy eating meat or eating a vegetarian diet. However, it is not about health in this situation. If someone eats a mostly plant based diet but enjoy meat now and then, that's fine. I am sure it is healthy but it is not vegetarian. I don't want to have that ambivalence in definition there, that's where the confusion comes up, that's why people think vegetarians can eat fish, that's when kids in high school believe they are vegetarian but they eat chicken and pork, just not beef and lamb.
The only time I run into these labels is here on Yahoo! Answers... and I can assure you there are no "experts" here. There are very caring (as well as very hateful) people, but there is no Tofu Mafia.
Labels are not important on a personal level, as you don't need a label to identify yourself to yourself. If you can't figure out your own self, you have bigger problems than finding a suitable label.
Labels however can be useful (useful, not important) in the "outside" world. Labels are a quick way to categorize. Instead of spending 5 minutes telling people exactly which things I eat and don't eat, In 5 seconds I could just say, "I'm a strict vegetarian". Although then I would have to clarify what a "strict" vegetarian is rather than just a normal vegetarian.
Labels can also be misleading. For example, everyone where I work calls me a vegan, even though I have explained to them why I am not. But for them, it is easier to say, "Bring lunch for 2 normal folks, 2 vegetarians, and 1 vegan." rather than say, "Bring lunch for 2 normal folks, 2 vegetarians, and one guy that doesn't eat meat, cheese, milk, eggs, butter, or honey... or anything made with beef/chicken broth... or anything that contains animal fats.... (etc., etc.)".
As I have never personally met any other person that eats the way I do, it is not important for me to be accepted into this group, since there is no group in which to be accepted. As for the people here on Yahoo! Answers, I could tell them anything I wanted, such is the pleasure (and pain) of the internet. I could say I was actually a green elephant with purple stripes trapped by the circus and forced to answer questions... but it would be a lie. Lies... which reminds me of the point of this whole rant... blatant lies. The labels became important here because of the incredible (and sometimes frightening) lies. I'm sure several flexitarians exist. They have (in my opinion) made a change for the better, and should be commended for their actions. However, flexitarians on this forum (with a few exceptions) are simply trolls getting their jollies from lying, manipulating, and generally misleading people who came here with good intentions and left very, very confused. While there may be a flexitarian, there is no such thing as a flexi-vegan, flexi-vegetarian, or flexitarian vegetarian, as those terms include the entire global population.
So, as for your last question is concerned, all this bickering is not helpful but it is sometimes necessary. It isn't the label itself that is important but the idea that label represents. As much as the people here like to say that vegetarianism is easy, it isn't... at least not as easy as the standard diet. It requires sacrifices (convenience, some tastes, social acceptability) for what is believed to be the greater good (health, animal welfare, environmental). When you work hard for something, and someone else takes credit for it... it's likely to get on your nerves just a little bit.
Labels are important to some, for status. Definitions are important to others, for order.
In marketing, labels are an important way to clarify what food is acceptable to what diet.
The bickering here is simply about accuracy and those who wish to pervert the truth for their own agendas. Don't think for a second that the flexis are interested in being helpful. They are here to ridicule and to encourage vegers to eat meat.
I'm an omnivore, just like the flexis. If I don't like how I'm defined, as an omnivore, I'll try to change me, not try to change the definition.
It shouldn't be that important as you can buy a label maker at any office supply store for about ten dollars. As for the vegetarian questions... it's a matter of education and definitions. If you eat animals you aren't a vegetarian... period. Beyond that, I have no trouble with it.
I'm totally baffled as to why so many people insist they are "vegetarian" when they aren't.
Sometimes they say "it's easier to just say I'm vegetarian."
Well, it's not easier for me. If I go to a restaurant I'm unfamiliar with, I'm not even going to bother saying I'm vegetarian unless I'm absolutely sure they are going to know what I mean. I'm going to ask what doesn't contain meat, poultry, fish, seafood, or meat broth.
The only time I'm not going to ask is if it's an Indian restaurant; you just have to see what's "veg" or "non-veg" and that's all there is to it.
If I meet people who say they are vegetarian, they usually aren't (unless they are from India).
It's not that big of a deal. It's just a minor inconvenience at best. But I still have to wonder
why it's necessary to confuse people by saying you follow a certain belief that you don't really follow.
Labels are not important.(at all, at any place or time)
It is just foolish to modify the definition of a word so that someone can add it to their collection of trendy labels.
Many of us abhor misinformation from both sides and have little tolerance for people spreading it.
I really do not enjoy labels, or categories.
From the start my goal has been to be as much of a Natural Human (as I imagine it to be), I'm fine with being labelled a human, mammal, and a herbivore.
But, when talking to people in general, this would need explanation or clarification, so I just allow myself to be labelled "vegan". Personally I really loathe the word "vegan" because it just seems such a silly word to me.
But in times of liability and ease of explanation, it's easy to just say "vegan". It's kind of like when Americans go travelling and tell people they are Canadian and wear Canadian flags etc. It just makes life a whole lot simpler when out in the public. You know, you don't have to keep explaining to people, "I'm not *that* kind of American... I'm the good kind." or "I'm not that kind of vegetarian, I'm the 100% kind..."
It's very important to my boyfriend. He likes to reserve the title of strict vegetarian for himself. He only eats fish and vegetables. When we move out of his mothers basement we will both turn into vegans. We want to work for the PETA and help all animals--except for gerbils. Gerbils are the downfall of the gay community.