2.09.2011

Vegetarians do not eat fish. Ever. Really. EVER.

If you eat fish, PLEASE do not say you are a vegetarian. No, you aren't a "vegetarian who eats fish." Fish is not a regular part of a vegetarian diet - nor is it a "sometimes" part of a vegetarian diet. Do you grow fish in your garden? No. Fish have faces.

The reason I make this point is not to "kick people out of some exclusive club", but it just confuses the world, okay? If you go around wearing an "EAT VEG!" shirt then snarf down a Filet o Fish while walking through the mall, you are serving as an example to every person that you walk past. Then, when their vegetarian cousin/friend/co-worker/neighbor comes over for dinner, the host serves fish because they assume the actual vegetarian eats fish.

For those of us who primarily go veg for ethical reasons, it's especially bothersome. We could argue all day about fish feeling pain, etc, but here's the thing - that fish has a face. And fins. And gills. And a mouth. And a heart. I'm not eating it for a very specific reason, got it?

4 comments:

KovasP said...

I believe the proper term is pescatarian and you're right, it does confuse people, especially the elderly.

Paul said...

Veg*nism is always going to be a tough sell to the meat and potato crowd, but they aren't really the target audience, right? So, does it really have to be 100% to allow people into the club? I don't thin it's fair to kick people out because of unintentional or aberrant experiences. I think it might be more productive for people to think (and act!) in terms of distributions and central tendencies rather than a 0-1, black and white world. Go Duke? Wanna go swim some day?

M said...

Thanks for the "Go Duke" comment, Paul :-) And yes, we need to go swimmmin. Like fishes.

Matthew Smith said...

I've been a vegetarian my whole life, and I agree with the irony of people saying they are vegetarians, "But I eat fish and chicken!" It's kind of funny. Oh well.