Why do vegetarians eat fish?

Question

It seems a little odd to me that they would go through the trouble of not eating meat... And then go and eat a fish..?!

No seriously though, how do they not see fish as animals?

Answer 1

I don't know.  That's ridiculous.  Real vegetarians DON'T eat meat!  That's or sure!

Answer 2

Being a vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean you don't like eating animals, sometimes people simply do it for health reasons, for their religion, for their culture, etc. This is a kind of semi-vegetarianism called Pescetarianism, though...it's a specific kind of vegetarianism.

Answer 3

uh,  get your facts straight,  that's not vegetarians.. that's Pescetarian.

Answer 4

Ha ha, that's a trick question.

Vegetarians DON'T eat fish!

Pescovegetarain is the word for somebody who eats no red meat, poultry, but they do occasionally eat fish... I personally think that that is an omnivorous diet... but what does my opinion matter?

Answer 5

The correct term for people who only eat fish as their meat is a pescetarian. Vegetarians do not eat any animal and Vegans eat nothing from an animal even if it doesn't mean killing it like for example milk,eggs,and yogurt. And of course meat.

Answer 6

They don't.  People who eat fish can call themselves vegetarian, but that doesn't mean they are.  I mean, I can call myself a supermodel if I want, but that doesn't make me one.

I think a lot of confusion stems from the Catholic Church not considering fish meat so adherents can eat it on Fridays; Jewish laws of kashrut not treating fish like meat (it can be served with dairy products, but not with meat products); and maybe people considering sea creatures "lesser" because they live in the sea.

Answer 7

They are not vegetarians, but pescetarians.  They often make this choice to ease the transition to a vegetarian diet, or because they believe they are lacking in protein.  At least they are making an effort to reduce their meat consumption. I personally am against it however. I am an ovo vegetarian, and would be a vegan if it were not for the intervention of my physician.

Answer 8

If they eat fish then they are not a vegetarian.

Answer 9

maybe they just don't like red meat??

Answer 10

A Vegetarian Does Not Eat Fish, Or Anything That Was Ever Living. A Person Who Eats Fish Or Sea Creatures Is Called  A Pescatarian.

Answer 11

Vegetarians do not eat fish. If you know people who only eat fish and call themselves vegetarian, they are fibbing you. I repeat, vegetarians DO NOT eat fish. Period.

Answer 12

Umm...because...uuhhh...well...hmmm.  

I thought I had an answer for you, but come to think of it, all my vegetarian friends eat fish.  So, do you mind if I come sit in the boat and ponder this with ya?

=)

Answer 13

They don't eat fish...not real vegetarians anyway.  It annoys me to no end that people call themselves vegetarians and eat fish, it just causes confusion.

Answer 14

Some vegetarians just like the idea of calling themselves and telling people that they are vegetarians, but in reality they are meat eaters.

It just stems from wanting a sense of belonging and acceptance.  The fish-eaters even make up a name for themselves so it sounds like they're vegetarians - pescatarian - which means they eat fish.

Answer 15

They do see fish as animals, because they are, and vegetarians don't eat animals.  Therefore, vegetarians don't eat fish.  I don't know who you've met that claims to be a fish-eating vegetarian, but they aren't.  No such thing exists.

Answer 16

Vegetarians tend to resort to fish because of the high protein, low cholesterol factor.  The ways of either baking or fying fishes determines the persons dedication to the word "vegetarian" being that frying includes fats and cholesterol.  The overall health of eating fish as compared to beef, chicken and pork is somewhat proven yet only practiced by 18% of the worlds population.

Answer 17

technically a vegetarian doesn't eat any flesh.

but your right, most of the "vegetarians" i know do eat fish.... i think it depends on your reasons for being a vegetarian... as far as pain and suffering goes, they might feel like some forms of seafood aren't advanced enough or aren't feeling pain like pigs in a slaugherhouse are.... honestly, i can see that... i don't look at clams as really being an animal or going to suffer by being picked up and eaten the way a pig spending it's life in a slaughterhouse and being killed will be.... then again there's a big difference between a clam and say an octopus... which i consider very advanced... i might one day decide to eat certain forms of seafood... but not all of it... right now i just don't eat any... but i think tha'ts why some people do...

Answer 18

THEY ARE ANIMALS.

ANIMAL EATERS ARE NOT VEGETARIAN!

Answer 19

I guess your question is more like, why do the vegetarians you know eat fish? And the answer is because they aren't vegetarians. I don't know when being a vegetarian became so cool that so many people lie to be in the club? I used to get made fun of all the time, now it's the new in thing. If you know people who say they're vegetarians but eat fish, just know that no one really considers them a vegetarian. They're just meat eaters who confuse people into not knowing what a vegetarian is and want to pretend to be something they're not. But don't try telling them that, they usually get quite annoyed when called out on their ridiculousness.  

Answer 20

vegetarians dont eat fish...pescetarians do.  :)

Answer 21

Since the day the word Vegetarian was coined in the 1840s no vegetarian has EVER eaten fish.  It's part of the definition.  Therefore, if you eat fish, you are not a vegetarian.  Period.

Here is the definition from the nice people who made up the word: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/whatis.html

Answer 22

If they eat fish, they are not really vegetarian.  The correct term for these people is pescetarian.