Almost vegetarian?

[DirtDiva]

So I was reading an article on some MSN Family page about raising vegetarian kids.. (a co-worker of mine is pregnant and I was trying to answer some of her questions since she wants to be vegetarian once she has the baby) and I have heard the term Pesco vegetarian before but was shocked to see it on MSN as a reference term. I am saddened to see that so many people still do not think of fish as animals.. and I'm going to write the author if that article an email to hopefully enlighten them.

If anyone has any good facts or other articles I can refer to argue that fish are indeed animals too I would appreciate it.. otherwise I might just get mad and start pulling facts out of thin air and sound like a raving idiot! hehe

Thanks!

Here's what the article showed as classifications of vegetarianism just so you all can see..


ALMOST VEGETARIAN: Eats poultry, eggs, fish and dairy products, but avoids eating mammalian flesh (red meat).

PESCO VEGETARIAN: Eats fish, eggs and dairy but avoids poultry in addition to mammals.

LACTO-OVO VEGETARIAN: Eats eggs and dairy but avoids all animal flesh including mammals, poultry and fish.

LACTO VEGETARIAN: Eats dairy but avoids eggs and all animal flesh.

OVO VEGETARIAN: Eats eggs but avoids dairy and all animal flesh.

VEGAN: Avoids all animal products; consumes an entirely plant-based diet.

[kristadb]

I don't see the problem. Pesco-vegetarian means no animals but fish.

Meat is the term usually used to describe land-based animals (think pork, beef, chicken). Fish is used to describe water based creatures (think cod, lobster, crab, shark).

[DirtDiva]

Well I see what it means, but to me being a vegetarian means eating no ANIMALS...

[kristadb]

That's why they put the pesco/almost/semi in front of it. It is a qualifier.

[epski]

I'm with Krista. They're using the correct modifiers. The only thing they left out was strict or total vegetarian, i.e., which they defined as vegan. Veganism is actually a bit different from strict vegetarianism, so if you should write them about anything, that's the topic.

[bethanie]

They also didn't use the term pollo-vegetarian (which I've also seen)...eats poultry. I think it's okay to use the qualifying term (though certainly kurmudgeon wouldn't). Pesco-vegetarian has also been shortaned though to 'pescatarian'.

B

[Kurmudgeon]

Originally posted by bethanie
They also didn't use the term pollo-vegetarian (which I've also seen)...eats poultry. I think it's okay to use the qualifying term (though certainly kurmudgeon wouldn't). Pesco-vegetarian has also been shortaned though to 'pescatarian'.B

;)


Pescatarian shortens even more to omni.

[kristadb]

Actually, if you want to get picky, they are not the same thing.

Epski is right; if anything, you should be annoyed over the strict vegetarian vs vegan concept.

[Kyo]

I don't agree that "pesco" can be used as a modifier for "vegetarian" because if I'm not mistaken "pesco" would then specify a type of vegetarian. And, people that eat fish aren't vegetarians so they aren't a type of vegetarian. "Almost vegetarian" is OK because "almost" isn't modifying "vegetarian". If I'm wrong about this please let me know because I'm no expert on English.

I think it's a mistake to think that people not referring to fish flesh as meat means that they think that fish aren't animals. The word "meat" isn't always used in connection with animals. Here are a couple definitions for "meat" from Dictionary.com


1. The edible flesh of animals, especially that of mammals as opposed to that of fish or poultry.
2. The edible part, as of a piece of fruit or a nut.

Because "meat" isn't so clear cut I think it's not a good Idea to define vegetarians as those that don't eat meat. This leads to confusion; some people will take it to mean that vegetarians don't eat animal flesh except for fish and chicken. I think it's much better to say that vegetarians don't eat animals.

[Lothar M Kirsch]

Omnivores view veg*an in respect of what we don´t eat: meat etc. For us it´s better to define what we are instead of what we are not.
Modifiers like pesco, pollo, agno, etc., includingalmost, used in context with vegetarian are contradictory.

[bethanie]

"For us it´s better to define what we are instead of what we are not. "--but isn't this what these terms do? They define exactly what types (if any) of animal products people at varying stages of a vegetarian process are eating.

Almost a vegetarian isn't a contradiction is it? To me it quite explains itself. It is someone saying, "Hey, I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting there."

Oh wait....this has turned into yet another arguement about terminology. I think it would be interesting to count up and see exactly how many of these discussions are presently in existence on VB.

B

[Kurmudgeon]

Actually, I agree with using qualifying terms, but the other way.

So a pescatarian becomes a bovine-pollo-omnivore, meaning they don't eat Cattle or Poultry flesh, but they do eat Fish flesh (BPO for short).

As for "almost vegetarian", what if they never do become vegetarian? All that time spent deceiving both themselves and others. No..... they should be called "not a standard omnivore" (NASO for short).

[monkeyandbunny]

I for one don't agree with the terms... Pollo- vegetarian, pesca-vegetarian. They are contradictory. An article in Real Simple did an article on Vegetarians a couple of years ago, they sadly included a "pesca-vegetarian" Yep, I wrote to the editor.

A vegetarian consumes nothing with a face , a vegan consumes no animal products or by products....... period.....

I happily correct people who choose to title themselves as such. If the "pollo-vegetarian" is planning on giving up chicken eventually, then I would call them "transitioning" or "on the vegetarian path" If they are not planning on giving up meat entirely (Most of the time this is the case) I call them "selective omnivores" Secretly, I call them "Apologetics" (I really want to give up meat, but I can't seem to do it or I don't know how, or I won't have anything to eat)

Most of the people I have met who are "pollo- vegetarians" are this way because they don't want or cannot stand up for themselves yet they have this insane desire to make themselves unique or cool. On the contrary, I have met a few that are "in transition" and needed someone to nudge them down the right road. :D

[Kurmudgeon]

I've known a few people who, upon learning I am vegan, tell me "oh, I don't eat red meat" or "I only eat Fish".
I can't decide why they tell me that; is it to try and establish some sort of kinship? Or is it that they want so much to be my friend? I don't know. But at least they never claimed any sort of vegetarianism..... indeed, they never claimed any -ism at all.

But then there was the "vegan" who ate Chicken..... :mad:

[borealis]

Originally posted by Kyo
I don't agree that "pesco" can be used as a modifier for "vegetarian" because if I'm not mistaken "pesco" would then specify a type of vegetarian. And, people that eat fish aren't vegetarians so they aren't a type of vegetarian.

I agree with you. Pesco-vegetarian sounds like a type of vegetarian, and gives the wrong impression. (But I also think the vast majority of people aren't even going to know what pesco- means.)


I think it's much better to say that vegetarians don't eat animals.

Even then, some people make a distinction between animals and fish, and even mistake animals as meaning mammals only, and so distinct from birds as well. I say I don't eat creatures. "Nothing with a nervous system" works too.

[Lothar M Kirsch]

Almost vegetarian, what about almost pregnant?
For me a bovine-pollo-omnivore would be someone, who stresses that he eats beef and chicken, but then omnivore would already have that in its meaning. I like the term selective omnivores. I can also live with the term part time vegetarian. Some people do so in transition, living months vegetarian and eat meat once in a while (e.g. Christmas).
Bethany: "I think it would be interesting to count up and see exactly how many of these discussions are presently in existence on VB." Forgive me, I´m new to this kind of discussion, it´s too interesting.

[DirtDiva]

I agree that the terms "meat" and "flesh" have different meanings; as does "poultry" and "fish" but they all are grouped together. Fish have flesh, which when it is eaten it's called seafood or meat, so therefore with me being a vegetarian I do not eat fish.

By using these "modifiers" or "qualifying terms" I think it's just helping are adding to the trendiness of vegansim/vegetarianism.. I mean if you are a pollo-vegetarian or a pesco vegetarian, I don't agree that you are a vegetarian at all, and people who call themselves by those names to me seems like they just want to be in with the veggie crowd.

Encarta's online dictionary defines "vegetarian" as: Somebody who does not eat meat or fish but instead eats vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, and sometimes eggs and dairy products.

Kurmudgeon: I have had the same experiences as you.. several of my friends eat only chicken for meat, but they have never claimed to be pollo-vegetarians. When I was switching to veggies, I simply told people that I was "becoming a vegetarian" or "not eating animals anymore". Which is why I think these other terms are just made up so people can be in on the trend.

Lothar: are you expecting??

[Lothar M Kirsch]

I´m not expecting, only Arnold Schwarzenegger could do so in one of his movies!

[DirtDiva]

I was just wondering what the almost pregant comment was about.. I love babies and I'm nosy!
:D

[Rie]

Um... what's the difference between a vegan and a strict vegetarian? :confused:

[epski]

Rie: Strict vegetarian only alters his or her diet to remove all animal foods (usually not including honey), while vegans seek to avoid all products (including honey, leather, silk, wool, etc.)

It was nice to hear some contrary opinions on the pesco- thing. I agree with the dissenters. It's an oxymoron.

[Rie]

Thanks!

[austinswingrr]

I agree that pesco-vegetarian is an oxymoron because they aren't really vegetarians.
However, while I just chuckle at those folks, I get really mad when people call themselves vegetarians and eat fish (or chicken!) etc. It just causes problems for those of us who use the name vegetarian but don't want to be served any flesh. If I had a nickel.... ;)

[epski]

austin: Trust me, I agree. There was a thread called vegetarians and fish in which this was made abundantly clear.

[mushroom]

I agree with Kurm. To be ANY kind of vegetarian, one must abstain from ALL flesh...so, although they are not your typical omni...they are no kind of vegetarian.