Originally Posted by
zoebird
similar story:
every 12 years or so my mother's side of the family 'gets together' for random events. my mother has one brother, three half-sisters, and one half-brother. last winter, one of her half-sister's died (breast cancer), and my mom was not able to go to the funeral (long story). Anyway, everyone decided to get together for my grandmother's 75th birthday in seattle.
my mother went to dinner with her brother and her two half sisters. they were at her brother's house. i was not in attendence.
my cousin is not a vegetarian, but calls herself one--though she eats lots of fish and seafood. she was also not at dinner, but people started to talk about it--for whatever reason--and when it was noted that she eats fish, my mother commented that vegetarians do not eat fish, that she would be considered an omnivore or a pescitarian. seeing as my mother knows me and by this knows all of the definitions.
her half sisters started chiding her a bit saying 'of course vegetarians eat fish. a lot of my friends are vegetarian and they eat fish. some of them even eat chicken!" and my mother said, 'then your friends aren't vegetarian either. vegetarians do not eat any meat, and both chicken and fish are meat foods." and then they got huffy.
my mother came back to the hotel and told me that sometimes her sisters are biitches.
anyway, later in the week i was having lunch with my two aunts and two uncles and my husband. it was kinda cool, actually. we went to a restaurant and i asked if there was a vegetarian menu (i didn't get to choose the restaurant). There wasn't, but the chef came out to ask me what i did and did not eat. He had a little list and he asked--do you eat any meat, such as chicken or fish? and of course i said no. And he then asked if i would consume things with broths from these things, and i said no. And then he asked if i had any sensitivities to soy, wheat gluten, or any other foods--vegetables or spices and what not--and i told him no. he asked if i would be ok with a pasta dish or if i would prefer something else. I told him that pasta would be fine, but i have a preference for something else if possible.
He made fresh raviolis (huge ones) that were stuffed with wild mushrooms and herbs in a great cheese/milk sauce and with a ton of sauteed veggies. it was freakin heaven.
and my aunts started to ask me--what do you mean you don't eat fish, you don't eat chicken? and i told them that vegetarians, by definition, do not eat the flesh of any animal. That strict vegetarians, by definition, also do not consume any products from an animal--dairy, eggs, honey. That vegans not only maintain a strict vegetarian diet, but they also do not consume animal products in other aspects of their lives--no leather, wool, fur, silk, etc.
they said that they had never heard of this definition, that it was silly, and that they should know because so many of their friends are vegetarians who eat chicken and fish and because they live in california.
to which i replied, even people in california claiming to be vegetarians can be wrong. and moreover they are. go home, look in a dictionary. Fish is meat; chicken is meat; and vegetarians do not eat any form of meat. Anyone who calls themselves a vegetarian and still eats meat is ignorant, stupid, or posing for popularity.
then they got huffy about it. But i told them--hey, i'm the vegetarian here, so i should know what the term means.