How do you feel about other sea life?

2122 Views 27 Replies 21 Participants Last post by Doktormartini, Sep 19, 2007

sumsums

Discussion Starter · Sep 15, 2007

Now im wondering how everyone feels about sea life this isnt "fish" per say. Dow do you feel about the eating of muscles, clams, crabs, shrimp ect? They are defined as crustations, so do you consider them meat or animal?

At this point i am cutting cow, chicken, turkey, pig ect out, but still eating muscles 3 days per week 9 my job has NO veggie options , we have one veggie on menu and thats it! Im trying not to eat it more then at work....

1 - 20 of 28 Posts

Medesha

· #2 · Sep 15, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumsums

Now im wondering how everyone feels about sea life this isnt "fish" per say. Dow do you feel about the eating of muscles, clams, crabs, shrimp ect? They are defined as crustations, so do you consider them meat or animal?

Meat or animal? What's the difference?

Mussels, clams, crabs, shrimp, etc. are animals. They have a biology, respiratory system, circulatory system, and all the other wonderful things animals have (I recently learned that clams have butts. Who knew?). Because they are animals, I don't eat them.

The term for someone who eats sea life but not mammals is "pescatarian". Good luck on your efforts to eat less meat!

truepeacenik

· #3 · Sep 15, 2007

unless it gets it's own nutrients completely by direct photosynthesis, I don't eat it.

Health wise, sea life gets the same contaminations and ethically, it is still in the animal kingdom and not ours to consume.

karenlovessnow

· #4 · Sep 15, 2007

Good job so far in cutting out what you have already...glad you're 'working on it'!

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tesla

· #5 · Sep 15, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by truepeacenik

unless it gets it's own nutrients completely by direct photosynthesis, I don't eat it.

Health wise, sea life gets the same contaminations and ethically, it is still in the animal kingdom and not ours to consume.

I think thats a pretty rough definition. wouldn't that be veganism without any mushrooms, yeast, tempeh (fertilized with mold), and other stuff?

If your work has one veggie option, try to eat that. if it sucks, write letters.

bluegold

· #6 · Sep 15, 2007

congratulations on your effort to going veg . Maybe you could take a veggie lunch box to work to give you variety .

I suppose the shrimp etc that you describe if you eat them would be "meat of an animal"

starseed13

· #7 · Sep 15, 2007

Meat OR animal?

Meat is animal. Im not sure what you mean by that.

But yeah, of course sea life isnt vegetarian. I dont sea why clams or shrimp or whatever would be different than fish. I see them sorta like the "bugs" of the sea, and I sure as hell wouldnt eat bugs either!

Qwerks

· #8 · Sep 16, 2007

Ha! Sumsums...I love that name. Anyways here's my alternative viewpoint:

I'm an EX vegetarian, having opted for a % of the diet being plants instead of cutting out entire food groups. You don't get a lable this way, so if you're brand new you might want to try some labled lifestyles first to find out where you fit in. Maybe not, I don't know I just found it easier when someone else was telling me what to do.

From an animal rights or environmental standpoint, I would definitely pick the mussels over a cheese omelette. Of course you're the only one who knows what you're comfortable with, but I don't think you're committing any sins by eating mollusks at work.

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Ergodyne

· #9 · Sep 16, 2007

I m just disgusted about sea life as dishes, a lot more than by red or white meat. I ve never ever tasted any and prawns are a huge phobia for me (lol, don t know why but it s always scared me).

What you call meat still is animal, it s not just a muscle from nowhere... If you don t have any alternative at work, why don t you cook yourself a nice veggie lunchbox? Or yes, request veggie meals to your boss.

froggythefrog

· #10 · Sep 16, 2007

Mussels and clams are mollusks. Shrimp and crab are crustaceans. All are animals, and would not be considered vegetarian to eat.

Good on you for starting to cut meat from your diet!

Let me guess: Do you work at a seafood restaurant and the only option is french fries? It would be really tough to try to eat vegetarian at work. Maybe you should start making your own lunch and bring it in with you.

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Smurfbabe

· #11 · Sep 16, 2007

I read "The Ethics of What we Eat" by Peter Singer and he seemed to think mussels and scallops don't have a nervous system like other animals and sea creatures and therefore couldn't possibly feel pain or anything. Also mussels usually come from sustainable fisheries and the way they are caught doesn't tear up the sea bed. Ethically he thought it would be okay to eat them as a vegetarian. I guess it depends on your reasons for going vegetarian, but personally I think you can still call yourself a vegetarian if you eat mussels. I realise others may disagree as they are technically "animals" and not plants.

sumsums

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 16, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by froggythefrog

Mussels and clams are mollusks. Shrimp and crab are crustaceans. All are animals, and would not be considered vegetarian to eat.

Good on you for starting to cut meat from your diet!

Let me guess: Do you work at a seafood restaurant and the only option is french fries? It would be really tough to try to eat vegetarian at work. Maybe you should start making your own lunch and bring it in with you.

i work at a Greek place, where everything is pork, fish, or chicken. we have 2 veggies on the whole menu, i don't mean veggies meals, i mean broc and baked potato, both of which sit all day and are gross. In my works area ( Baltimore city, very poor, very "we love meat" ) there are not very many vegetarians so i think this is part of the problem. I am thinking im goign to just eat salad, but again, i did this with an eating disorder and im very scared to get myself onyl eating salad again for 3 whole days, i know some people may not understand, but its very hard for me to make sure i eat, i really have to work at it, so to let myself start slipping, i may keep slipping and i do not want to be 95 lbs again, and i need at least 2000 calories a day when im NOT working out, and 2300 when i do ( i have a really fast matab.) I was thinking of taking some of the morning star chicken strips to work with me, and just throwing them on the salad. I could maybe take my own veggies and whine till they cook them.

I almost got sick last night when i ate the muscles, like i really didnt feel good. I spend the whole night looking at huge amounts of beef. yuck.

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Iria

· #13 · Sep 16, 2007

If you can't cook your own food while at work, you could still bring in cold meals that aren't salad. Off the top of my head, sandwiches and veggie wraps would work well. I know there is a thread somewhere on here about packing lunchboxes. You might want to check that out for ideas.

rabid_child

· #14 · Sep 16, 2007

I feel it's still a dead animal and is not a vegetarian food.

Pack a meal.

Kona

· #15 · Sep 16, 2007

sumsums, I just want to congratulate you on your growth and encourage you to keep at it. The answer to your question is not so simple, or else you wouldn't get five different opinions on a vegetarian discussion board. I have my opinion, of course, but your ultimate decision will be whatever you are comfortable with, with regards to both your health and your ethics. Hugs to you.

Tofu-N-Sprouts

· #16 · Sep 16, 2007

Wow. It sounds like things are pretty tough. I definitely would pack a lunch, along with a lot of high-protein snacks to hold you over.

Does the Greek Restaurant you work at serve any rice dishes? eggplant? chick-peas/garbanzos? tomatoes or peppers? dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)? Those are all traditional Greek foods, so I'd be surprised if they don't have some of them...Explore the menu. The restaurant may serve these with meat, but you may be able to get them to fix some combination of them without meat for you...

Also: Are you referring to "muscles" as the muscle part in animal meat? or "mussles" the sea critter?

sumsums

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 17, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tofu-N-Sprouts

Wow. It sounds like things are pretty tough. I definitely would pack a lunch, along with a lot of high-protein snacks to hold you over.

Does the Greek Restaurant you work at serve any rice dishes? eggplant? chick-peas/garbanzos? tomatoes or peppers? dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)? Those are all traditional Greek foods, so I'd be surprised if they don't have some of them...Explore the menu. The restaurant may serve these with meat, but you may be able to get them to fix some combination of them without meat for you...

Also: Are you referring to "muscles" as the muscle part in animal meat? or "mussles" the sea critter?

the sea critter. They do have some versions of what your taking about, but they are all very high in fat and bad for you, so its a double edge sword. I ate a baked potato with broccoli for lunch today

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Bios

· #18 · Sep 17, 2007

A quick meal option would be to bring a small container of good baked potato topper -- salsa with black beans in it comes to mind... microwave the container and dump it on the baked potato they give you. Less work than bringing a full meal; and it's real food.

Make sure you take care of yourself. I don't think eating shrimp and such is vegetarian either, but I think a low-meat diet with those things is way better than a high meat diet with other kinds of meat as well. We do what we can.

Tofu-N-Sprouts

· #19 · Sep 17, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumsums

They do have some versions of what your taking about, but they are all very high in fat and bad for you, so its a double edge sword.

I understand about the highfat=bad but don't immediately dismiss something just because it has fat - dispite the strong aversion you may have to anything "fat", remember that a little fat is NOT "bad for you".

A very small, controlled portion would probably be OK and would add variety to your diet, since you were saying that the "baked-potato-brocolli" routine is getting old... Just a suggestion.

juno

· #20 · Sep 17, 2007

Sea creatures are still animals. I'm a pescetarian myself, but I avoid seafood as much as I can. I'm aiming to cut it out of my diet completely in the future.

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