why isn't fish classed as meat ?!

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It's odd isn't it? I've noticed on Come Dine With Me that when someone eats fish but no other meat they generally say "I don't eat meat" rather than "I'm a vegetarian." Although it's true that they're not a vegetarian, I don't see why they distinguish between fish and other types of meat.

My only suggestion would be that fish has a different texture to other meat, so if they're seeing it as a food item rather than an animal they may justify a difference. I'd imagine that these people would be avoiding meat for reasons of health or dietary preference since if was for animal rights it would make no sense seeing as fish are still killed and suffer the same way as other animals!

X

Well, vegetarians and vegans do consider fish as meat. And I wonder why the so-called vegetarians on the show didn't put up a fuss when someone tried to feed them fish!

Put simply: Vegetarians do not eat the flesh of animals. Fish are animals. Vegetarians do not eat fish. Anyone who says he's vegetarian and eats fish is lying or seriously confused.

I think some of the confusion stems from religious beliefs. Both Jewish and Catholic dietary laws treat fish differently from other meats. Kashrut, Jewish kosher laws, allow consumption of fish with dairy foods, but not with other animal flesh,, so no "surf and turf" meals for them. Jews are not allowed to mix meat and dairy, so this further adds to the confusion of how fish is classified. And the Catholic stricture against meat on Fridays apparently doesn't include the flesh of sea creatures.

And perhaps people see sea animals differently from land animals, I don't know.

I grew up Jewish, so that's how I know about Jewish dietary laws.

Vegetarians don't eat fish. If those people are eating fish they should not call themselves vegetarians because they aren't. They could call themselves pescetarians, which means people who eat fish but not meat.

Vegetarians don't eat the flesh of any creature, and don't eat anything that involved the creature being killed, such as gelatine. They do eat dairy products and eggs because, although they are animal products, they don't require the animal to be killed first.

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs. The word meat is also used by the meat packing industry in a more restrictive sense the flesh of mammalian species (pigs, cattle, lambs, etc.) raised and prepared for human consumption, to the exclusion of fish, poultry and game.

brain

True vegetarians don't eat fish. Those who eat fish but not meat are called pescaterians. Those who won't eat meat on moral grounds i.e. killing living creatures, probably won't eat fish as it's tanamount to the same thing; slaughtering a living creature just for food. I was a true veggie for 12 years for health reasons but started to eat fish about 18 months ago as long as it's soft and not chewy. I can't eat shellfish. (I started eating fish when on holiday in Portugal and I found that they didn't cater for veggies at all!). But that is me..............others have their own views and ideas which I respect.

mate i understand your dilemma & to be honest i can't answer it. i see so many fish killed because the person can't get their hook out of it's gob. but if i used a harpoon to shoot lets say deer or rabbit then dragged it back by it's mouth to where i was standing, their would be an uproar about animal cruelty. at-least the deer didn't suffer as much. but your question is very valid, i know where your coming from, have a look at how much leather the vego's wear as well. hypocrites. have fun with your latest quest.
staycool

commercial cookery trainer, restauranteur (the boatshed, Cottontree, Qld, Aus

It is, except by people who are hung up on labels and want to call themselves vegetarians although they still consume flesh.
For a couple of years after I quit eating all other meat I ate fish and sometimes would just say "I don't eat meat" to simplify things. If a person was curious and asked questions I would admit to not being a complete meat abstainer, but I never did plan to continue eating fish indefinitely, it was just harder to give up because it's my favorite and my primary motivation is health.

You are quite right. Fish IS meat, and serious vegetarians never eat it. (Buddhists say that you should never eat anything that has a face.) However, having said all that, a lot of people call themselves vegetarians and don't eat red meat or chicken, but will eat fish. I think it's just a matter of personal preference.

your wrong from the beginning

Pescetarians are people that don't eat meat but allow fish

Vegetarians don't eat meat

5 second google search

Fish is an animal. Meat comes from animals. Whoever says fish isn't meat, is an idiot. If you're made of flesh then you can be turned into meat.

vegan :D

On a sidenote, according to Jewish Kosher dietary laws, fish is considered neither meat nor dairy and therefore can be legally mixed with both.

In general parlance someone is not considered a vegetarian if they eat seafood. If they don't say that on that program then they are weird.

Probably because people don't class fish as animals only cold blooded creatures with no feelings.

I don't know any vegetarians who don't count fish as meat

Fish isn't vegetarian. Unfortunately, the world is full of stupid people.

well i still think fish is meat but the reason why vegetarians eat it is becuase apparenlty fish dont feel pain cause they dont have a nervous system. im not sure if that's true though lol

cause fish is fish and meat is meat innit

I dont understand either! it's just stupid, fish IS meat!! it has bones, eyes, skin, a brain, and FLESH!!

I just wrote a research paper on overfishing, and it's true :( we don't value fish the way we should...it is meat, really

if your a true vegetarian., you would not eat any fish or meat