Are you still a vegetarian if you eat fish and don't check labels to see if they are suitable for vegetarians?

Question

I am a vegetarian and i have been told by a countless number of people that i am not a vegetarian because i eat fish, so i am a pescotarian. Also, people have told me that because i don't check the packets on food products to see if they say that they are suitable for vegetarians, i am not a proper vegetarian. Please help because i am getting confused, and also slightly annoyed!

Answer 1

First of all... people who call you a "pescatarian" are right. Fish are animals. Vegetarians do not eat fish.

Secondly... if you are worried about being a fussy eater, why not just go back to eating meat? If you're going to commit to being a vegetarian, you may as well do it properly and at least try to check labels. (Although in some cases this is hard as companies don't say if food is vegetarian)

Answer 2

er..fish is not a vegetable, so you are not a vegetarian. if you eat a product that is unsuitable for vegetarains -contains animal products or derivatives - then you are not a vegetarian.

Answer 3

Sorry - you ain't veggie!

Answer 4

No and No.  You are an omnivore if you eat fish.  A pescetarian is a made up word and is no way any type of vegetarian anyway.

Answer 5

I don't eat red meat or fowl - but I do eat fish.  Just like you.  And I eat jello.  I sometimes call myself a vegetarian if it's necessary for me to simply explain that I don't eat red meat or fowl.  When I get into a discussion I explain that I DO eat fish.  I very often call myself a Catholic vegetarian (because they eat fish on Fridays during lent when they are told not to eat meat).  And sometimes I say - "Well - I don't eat anything with a CUTE face."  But then - even some people argue that fish are cute.  Whatever.

I'm more of a "meat doesn't feel good in my belly" vegetarian than I am a "political" or "moral" vegetarian.

If you look in dictionary.com - it says that a pescetarian is a vegetarian who will eat fish.  So - that means you and I ARE vegetarians.  We are vegetarians who eat fish.  I don't refer to myself as a pescetarian - because really - how many people really know what that means.

Answer 6

I see this question a lot and it always tells me the person is more interested in being CALLED a vegetarian than in being one.   Just say you don't eat red meat or something...

Also, checking labels IS important.  A lot of vegetarians routinely order onion soup in restaurants without stopping to realize it's always made with beef broth.

Answer 7

if you want to call yourself a vegaterian  you should not use or consume any product with any animal products that includes leather fur any product that uses animal parts that also includes what they used to make the broth in canned soups and other foods

Answer 8

no.if you are a vegetarian.DON'T EAT FISH OR ANYTHING THAT HAS MEAT ON IT.

people don't get it.

Answer 9

Once more... vegetarians don't eat living beings, they may eat their produce: ie butter, milk, etc...

For some reason some people will happily eat fish, seafood and chicken and still call themselves vegetarians when they obviously aren't.

The keywords are LIVING CREATURE, if you eat one no matter what species, you're not a vegetarian.

Answer 10

picky people will say you are a pescotarian

i say you are a vegetarian.

i was a vegetarian for 10 years (i ate nothing with a face) but i ate milk and cheese. then i was a vegan and ate no dairy or eggs either. but no i didnt check packets and i wore leather shoes so i was a lazy vegan!

eat what you chose and let others worry about it if they have nothing better to do!

Answer 11

So you're not a vegetarian because you don't check labels? Right...

Just tell them to *beep* off. People like that annoy me immensely.

Answer 12

Yes. I'm a fish eating vegetarian. I do check labels. To each their own. If your happy that is all that matters.

Answer 13

Checking labels doesn't have to do with being vegetarian necessarily, and many vegetarians DON'T check labels. To each their own.

But you, unfortunately, are not a vegetarian. Everybody who told you that you're a pescetarian is right. Vegetarians don't eat meat, fish, poultry, game, or in some cases, products that are derived from the death of an animal (such as gelatin). So it doesn't have to do with being a "proper" vegetarian, but eating fish makes you not a vegetarian at all!

Hope that helped, and good luck!

Answer 14

I've never got the whole thing about people who claim to be veggies but then eat fish. I dont think your a true vegetarian if you do. The way fish are killed is just as cruel as the treatment of animals for meat.

Answer 15

A vegetarian doesn't eat any animals, and fish are animals. Go ahead and call yourself whatever you want, but by definition you're not a vegetarian.

Answer 16

they are right,

you are not a veggie because you eat fish but don't let your parents bully you by calling you fussy, check the labels if you want they should be pleased you are taking an interest in your health

Answer 17

Most everyone is correct.  If you eat fish, you are NOT a vegitarian.  Fish IS meat.  I also find it so ridiculous when Catholics say they can't eat meat on Fridays, so then they eat fish instead.... go figure...Someone needs to educate the Catholics too.

Answer 18

I do that!

It's easier to say, I'm a vegetarian, than 'well, i don't eat meat, but I eat fish and also stuff like haribo...' isn't it?

Just carry on calling yourself a veggie, it's simplier (like I do!)

You're probably not 'officially' a veggie, but who cares ? :)

xxxx

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 19

I don't know why you bother, why not eat what you want?  It's so pretentious.

Answer 20

No, you are not vegetarian if you eat fish, because fish is an animal. And also if you eat beef broth, gelatine (almost always in jello and marshmallows) or other products that contain ingredients that are made from animal's corpse. Most likely you accidentally have ate those if you haven't been checking the label. However, even though you are not 100% vegetarian you can state to others that "I am not perfect, as no other human is, but I really am trying to be vegetarian so please serve me vegetarian food. I would extremely thankful!" That's just an example to give you the idea in a situation if someone wants to cook for you, ask him/her to make it vegetarian, even though you might not be a perfect vegetarian YET.

I really don't find logic for forbidding you to check labels, but they allow you to be "kind of a half-vegetarian"? Being vegetarian and vegan inherently IS fussy, but it has very good and logical reasons to back it up. It's wise for omnivorous people too to check the labels! You will be surprised how much high-fructose corn syrup, additives, colourants, really unhealthy ingredients and all sorts of nasty stuff is pumped into the processed food that at first seems harmless and is marketed "natural". Tell your parents a whole range of arguments why you choose to be vegetarian. There are a lot of valid reasons for example, environmental, health, ethical/moral, religious.... Make your parents understand that this is a big issue for you and means a lot to you. Don't forget to tell them that as their child you would like to have their support, regardless they don't 100% agree. That's just the thing parents have to endure when kids start to use their own brains :)

It's always smart to learn how to defend yourself in a debate. Most of the people flaming veg(etari)ans, don't know anything about the subject. They just repeat the oldest "arguments" on the planet that they heard from as equally uneducated person as themselves. Most common is "but humans need protein, and you can't get any protein from vegetables", "vitamin B12 is found only in meat in the whole world", "humans have canine teeth which means we are carnivore" and the list goes on (just for the info, all of the above arguments are false in a way or the other)...

Unlike one person above said vegetarians can eat gelatin, is untrue. Vegetarians don't eat anything from an animal (including fish!) that requires the animal to die before the product can be "harvested", including gelatin.

Answer 21

..."If" it has a "face" or had a "mother" you're a "meat" eater.

(I love animals !!!   I think they are so delicious)

Answer 22

Vegetarians don't eat animals. Fish are animals, too. So you can call yourself a vegetarian, but you're not really a "true" vegetarian.

Answer 23

A vegetarian who eats fish, by definition, cannot exist. Just like a 3 sided triangle doesn't make sense... a person who claims not to eat animals and then eats animals is quite clearly mistaken.

Fish are not plants... they're living beings which have needs and feel pain. Just because they're not as cute as a cow or dog, it doesn't make them any less of an animal.

If you don't check packets then you could be and probably are eating products containing animals, in which case no, you're not a vegetarian. Like I said, vegetarians do not eat animals.

I have a feeling you're one of those people who love being labelled as a vegetarian. Eat what you want but forget about the labels because they don't apply to you.

Answer 24

this question is asked on here literally 5 times or more every day.  

if you eat fish, NO, you are NOT a vegetarian.  the correct term is pescetarian.  please stop calling yourself a vegetarian if you still eat the flesh of a dead animal....it confuses people and makes it very difficult for those of us who are actual vegetarians.....

you say you're slightly annoyed?? slightly doesn't even begin to describe how annoyed vegetarians get when people constantly ask you if you eat fish.

Answer 25

The definition of vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat. That includes fish, but it doesn't include animal products like gelatin etc. So if you eat fish, you're technically not a vegetarian. But who cares? Eat what you want and be happy, you should be eating healthier for yourself (or animals), not for someone else.

Answer 26

A fish has a face . Vegetarians don't eat anything with a face.I always check food labels as many things contain gelatin which is made with animal bones. Having said that manufacturers tend to put a V sign on packaging which means it is suitable for us.