Why do some "vegetarians" eat fish but still call themselves "vegetarians"?

Question

=/ I've always wondered this, lol. :) I mean...isn't fish still meat...? o.O

^_^ This isn't meant to offend anybody but I've met some vegetarians who eat fish and call still themselves vegetarians...so I'm just wondering how that can still be considered in the lines of a vegan diet?

Does anybody know? o.O

Answer 1

a vegan and vegetarian are completely different things.

a vegetarian doesn't eat meat,

a vegan doesn't even interact with any thing to do with animals.

so they have to be careful what kind of shoes and jackets they buy etc.

i'm a vegetarian and i don't consume fish,

but some 'vegetarians' do eat it.

they just ain't proper.

if they was a real vegetarian they wouldn't eat anything with a face.

Answer 2

Hehe my sister is a vegiterian but still eats ribs! Explain that lol. :D I agree that they shouldn't say they are vegiterians but perhaps 'only eat fish for meat'aterians.

Answer 3

they are wrong then because fish is meat. vegetarians eat fruits vegetables nuts soy and grains (anything non meat) but they dont eat fish

Answer 4

They are really "pescitarians"

Its annoying when they call it vegetarian, i'm not sure who made up the misconception that fish isn't an animal

Answer 5

I wish I knew. Fish isn't a plant.

Answer 6

   ¡If they Do -- they are not vegetarians!

   but  they can evolve ..gradually

Answer 7

im a vegetarian and i dont eat anything associated with cooked meats (and fish). i do eat any dairy products...and eggs...but for your question, some people consider fish not meat....dont ask me WHY...but it is a huge controversy. look it up maybe?

hope i helped at all =]

Answer 8

haha because they're stupid.  

Answer 9

there's a host of people out there that misuse the words vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, etc.  It REALLY gets me when they say they are vegetarians and they eat fish and chicken.  What do I care, I love meat.  

Answer 10

I could be mean and say they're idiots, but they're either seriously misinformed or they want a label.

Now, I have a question of you:  If fish isn't a meat, what is it?  It's not a fruit or vegetable.  It isn't eggs, it isn't dairy.  Fish is an animal.  The flesh of animals is commonly called meat.  Fish is meat.

Answer 11

i think you are on meds...   ok, since when do vegetarians eat fish?

explain that.

Answer 12

Vegetarians don't eat fish and call themselves vegetarians pescatarians eat fish and ckll themselves vegetarians.

Because they are stupid.

some even eat chicken and call themselves vegetarians and vegans it makes true vegetarians like me quite upset because it confuses non vegetarians and we have to hear things like well you can have fish right? "my cousin is vegetarian and eats fish" like a million times a day.

If you eat the flesh of any animal you are not vegetarian, If you use any animal product or byproduct you are not vegan.

Answer 13

Because they have not been exposed to the proper term for that sort of diet: Piscetarian, also spelled pescetarian. It's often a simple matter of a lack of education regarding the appropriate term.

While some of the answers you have received have focused on the idea that the person who is a fish-eater and calling him or herself a vegetarian is the one who is "stupid" or whatever, that's not always the case. I am a piscetarian myself, and I have frequently found myself forced to explain my dietary style as "similar to a vegan, but I also eat fish" simply because when I say "piscetarian" the person I'm talking to doesn't know what I am talking about--even my doctor didn't know what  that diet was, and she is a well-educated woman who eats as a vegetarian herself.

There are various levels of dietary restriction or preference in the dietary style; I myself eat no animal product beyond fish, but others include dairy and eggs in their diets.

Wikipedia has a decent article on the dietary style, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pescetarian  

Answer 14

Anyone who only eats fish as their meat is a pescetarian.  

Answer 15

They must believe that fish are actually swimming vegetables.

Answer 16

Because they don't know what a vegetarian really is.  It's that simple.