[MarrakeshXpress]

About a month ago (?), someone posted about a dietary category called "Flexitarianism" asking if anyone had heard of it. I hadn't. Supossedly, Flexitarians are people who attempt to cut-back on meat by upping the number of meatless dishes they eat and sidelining meat in the non-veggie dishes they do eat.

My September issue of Natural Health just came with a big article about Flexitarianism. It's very interesting. Obviously, I'm not going to trade in vegetarianism for flexitarianism but I definitely think it would be great for animal advocacy (not to mention the obesity epidemic) if more people would try this kind of eating.

Next time someone gives me the old "Oh, I'd love to be a vegetarian, but I could never do it", I'm going to recommend becoming a flexitarian!

 

[Dirty Martini]

I know a lot of people here hate that word, but it's growing on me. I'm all for anyone eating more vegetables

if it means attaching a word to it or feeling special (we all love our labels), so be it.

 

[Ayrlin]

Alot of people may hate it but I think they forget that even baby steps are great.

Anyone who gives up meat even once a week is taking a big step to improvment

 

[honeyfugle]

as long as they don't call themselves veg*ns whilst eating meat/poultry/fish i don't really mind.

what i don't like is how some people are calling them "meat-eating vegetarians". if you eat meat, you're not vegetarian!

 

[Tesseract]

Yeah, I don't think there's any harm in it. If it'll get people to reduce the amount of animal products they eat, great.

I think what gets people here so up in arms is the way it's often characterized as a type of vegetarianism, and the way media articles sometimes imply that "flexitarianism" means you can be a vegetarian when all you're really doing is reducing your meat intake. But hey, if giving people a fun name they can call themselves helps them feel empowered to make the changes in their diet/lifestyle, that's OK with me.

 

[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tesseract

But hey, if giving people a fun name they can call themselves helps them feel empowered to make the changes in their diet/lifestyle, that's OK with me.

"vegetarian" and "vegan" are nothing more than that

 

[ketivnilloc]

if this means fake veg*ans will use the word flexi instead, i'm all for it.

 

[Quincy]

this world would be so much more of a better place if EVERYONE was a flexitarian. for those people that don't have the willpower, motivation or effort necessary to become a vegetarian, becoming that would be a LOT better than doing nothing.

it seems like my mom and dad are becoming kinda like that...stepdad would NEVER consider it, haha.

PS. I'd much rather want everyone in the world to become vegan, but that's EXTREMELY unrealistic and something that may never happen, as sad as it sounds.

 

[Tesseract]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard

"vegetarian" and "vegan" are nothing more than that

Yep. I wondered how long it would take you to point that out. And the idea of that label seems to effectively motivate us to make and maintain certain dietary/lifestyle changes. So that's OK with me, too. Whatever works.

 

[Irizary]

The terms vegan and vegetarian are not merely "fun" names to "help people feel empowered" - they're specific, descriptive terms to let waiters, family, friends, etc. know what exactly one will not eat. That is why the terms are debated and protected here. "Flexitarian" can mean anything and is not particularly useful in letting waiters, hosts, etc. know one's dietary needs. How is your host going to know if it's your "pork night" or "vegetable night" if you announce you're a flexitarian? But whatever, I don't care if people use it, but it doesn't serve exactly the same function as veg*n.

 

[GhostUser]

^^ Very well said.

 

[Sevenseas]

Personally, I think the term is stupid. Maybe we should invent the name "sexytarian" for lacto-ovos who want to be vegans but eat cheese.

But I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that the term exists. The bad thing is that people may be less motivated to become veg*ns when they already have a dietary category that makes them different from omnis. The good thing is that this may still lead to less meat eaten overall.

 

[Tesseract]

Given the large number of people who think "vegetarian" means you can eat fish, or even chicken, and the wide variation in what people who call themselves "vegan" will or will not use, I'm not convinced those terms are really significantly more helpful to others in the world at large than "flexitarian." As long as there is significant disagreement over what they actually mean, their value is more symbolic than anything else.

 

[Bonoluvr]

So this is what i am calling my hubby from now on.........Flexitarian, i am going to tell him tomorrow.......LOL........

i guess thats what he is.

 

[Irizary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tesseract

Given the large number of people who think "vegetarian" means you can eat fish, or even chicken, and the wide variation in what people who call themselves "vegan" will or will not use, I'm not convinced those terms are really significantly more helpful to others in the world at large than "flexitarian." As long as there is significant disagreement over what they actually mean, their value is more symbolic than anything else.

I'm not really sure where you live that the terms seem so useless to you, or if you're just trying to overstate for a point. In the places I have been, they are quite useful. There's some variation in what many people think vegan/vegetarian mean, but it's generally not huge. No one in the slightest informed thinks that vegans eat chicken, or that vegetarians eat beef, although there may be some question over by-products and trace ingredients. Some people really don't know the terms, but it's generally useful in restaurants and such. The very definition of flexitarian is that one will eat *anything,* it's just a preference *sometimes* to not eat *something.*

 

[troub]

even dick cheney is vegan between meals...

 

[Irizary]

Anyway, it just seems more useful for people who want to eat less flesh to say something like, "I'd like a vegetarian meal" when they choose to do so. To say, "I'd like a flexitarian meal" could mean anything.

 

[Sevenseas]

Or it could mean nothing. If I hadn't visited msg boards, and had met someone who said they're a flexitarian, my response would be "flexi... wha???".

 

[Snow White]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarrakeshXpress

About a month ago (?), someone posted about a dietary category called "Flexitarianism" asking if anyone had heard of it. I hadn't. Supossedly, Flexitarians are people who attempt to cut-back on meat by upping the number of meatless dishes they eat and sidelining meat in the non-veggie dishes they do eat.

Hmm, that strikes me as a rather lax definition. It could refer to all sorts of different eating habits, e.g. people who, for the most part, avoid meat with the occasional slip, or the above mentioned. With regard to the latter case, the line between "omni" and "flexitarian" seems a bit blurry.

One person's idea of cutting back might seem quite seem quite normal to another person. I was raised by parents who simply couldn't afford meat more than once a week while growing up and my mother still hardly buys it and fed us spelt patties, spaghetti with soy "mince", veggie burgers, hummus and suchlike on a regular basis.

 

[GhostUser]

I think its stupid.

Meat eaters just want a way of feeling less guilty withoout having to do anything about thier eating habits.