Pescetarian - A vegetarian who eats WHAT?!

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"Ummm... so is a fish a vegetable now?"

Hello!

 My name is Lewis, and I am a vegetarian. Almost a vegan, but I sometimes eat chocolate and cake. Sometimes even chocolate cake. Or, my favourite - chocolate and banana cake.

Anyway. I don't eat meat. And I shouldn't need to clarify, but I also don't eat fish. 

Fish as vegetables 

Here is a little snippet taken from a typical conversation someone has with me upon finding out I'm a vegetarian:

Me: Yes. I'm a vegetarian.
Dumbo: Really? So you don't eat meat?
Me: No. I'm a vegetarian.
Dumbo: So what do you eat? Like beans and stuff?
Me: Uhh.. I eat everything that isn't made of meat...
Dumbo: So do you eat fish?
Me: Where did you go to school?! I'm a vegetarian! A fish is not a vegetable!
Dumbo: I know, but some vegetarians eat fish...
Me: Well those people are not vegetarians. They are Pescetarians. They eat seafood but no other meat.
Dumbo: But seriously, what do you eat? Like, if I ordered a ham sandwich, what would you eat? Just bread?!
Me: Oh jeez...
Dumbo: So if you went to a restaurant, what do you order? If they don't have vegetarian stuff? Fish?
Me: Please God Save Me From This Man.

A definition for you to, umm.. sink your teeth into: 

A vegetarian who eats fish? Also known as a Pescetarian.

"Pesco/pollo vegetarianism", "pescetarianism", and "semi-vegetarianism" are neologisms coined to describe certain lifestyles of restricted diet. Most commonly, these include the practice of not eating certain types of meat (most commonly "red" meat such as beef, pork, lamb) while allowing others, such as seafood.

Pescetarians on Wikipedia 

Pescetarians on Wikipedia
Conclusive proof that such creatures exist. Pescetarians. Here they are. They lurk on this page.

Your Comments: 

Does the above conversation ring true with you?!

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  • Reply
    JenL JenL Nov 19, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
    I've only been a pescetarian for about 6mos now, but I am noticing that my taste for fish isn't there anymore and I only eat it when I am forced, but I just ate it last week and threw up so I think my body is telling me to be a vegetarian right? Has anyone else expeienced this?
  • Reply
    Jacinda Jacinda Nov 13, 2009 @ 3:43 pm
    I turned vegetarian at 11 through my own choice. But after only a couple of years i converted to being pescetarian due to doctor reccomendations and lack of choice in the vegetarian market. Admittedly the vegetarian market has come on leaps and bounds in the past 15 years.Living in a meat eatting household vegetarians items are still not appealling enough for them to join me. Diet is a personnal choice and each to there own on what they do or don't eat. I will admit to calling myself vegetarian when dining out for many reasons, firstly it stops a person looking and talking to like you have just arrived from mars often takes more the 10minutes to explain when you say the term pescetarian. Secondly fish choices in resturants quite often content meat, I also feel you are taken more seriously when you question a menu when you say vegetarian I would love to be able to say pescetarian but i feel until vegetarianism is taken more seriously and understood i don't think the term pescetarian has any hope. Pescetarians aren't looking to upset vegetarians we are just trying to keep it easy for the carnivores they get confused easily.
  • Reply
    Shelby Nicholle Shelby Nicholle Nov 12, 2009 @ 11:33 am
    I've been a vegetarian for 2 1/2 years. Kudos to you for showing everyone the stupidity of SOME carnivores! :D
  • Reply
    butterfly butterfly Nov 9, 2009 @ 6:13 pm | in reply to Charlotte
    i agree 100%. ppl say to me that im not a real vegetarian, and why do i eat fish. i tell them that i wouldnt be healthy if i didnt because fish has lots of protine. im 15 and ive been a pescetarian 4 one year, and im happy being one 2. its good that i can find other ppl like me
  • Reply
    Charlotte Charlotte Nov 2, 2009 @ 1:05 pm | in reply to Jade
    i am exactly like you. i eat fish but no meat and people are constantly asking my why fish but not meat? if i didn't eat fish i just don't feel i'd get all the nurtients i need but i do plan on becoming vegetarian some day when i know i'll be able to stay healthy at the same time.
  • Reply
    Pri Pri Oct 25, 2009 @ 10:55 pm
    I'm 14 and have been a Pescetarian for 2 years. My most annoying conversations usually go like this:

    Them- Is it hard to be a Pescretarian?
    Me- No. Why would it be?
    Them- So you don't eat bacon or eggs?
    Me - I'm a Pescetarian. I DON'T eat meat and I DO eat dairy.
    Them- What about fish?
    Me- Yes. Yes I believe I do eat fish.
    Them-Is it hard?
    Me-...(glares, ignores them and walks away)

    As many people know it isn't hard to do what you believe in. After reading everyone's responses I've decided to try to be a Vegetarian. Everyone on this page knows how annoying most people are about Being a Pescetarian, Vegetarian or a Vegan. So if everyone who reads this will please spread the word of what they mean, we will all be eternally grateful to you and worship the ground you walk on(: Thank ya'll.
  • Reply
    BuffyL BuffyL Oct 15, 2009 @ 5:37 pm
    I am pretty much like Chiso. The only animal product I would eat is Wild Salmon. For the past 2 days, I have tried going completely vegan (yet again). I have done this many times - going completely vegan... so cutting out the Salmon all together. Day 1 was fine. And I was totally psyched about it. But I work out ALOT! My work pretty much requires it. I am in the gym about 4 hours a day - and alot of that is resistance training. And I have alot of dietary concerns and severe food allergies. I have celiac disease, so no gluten for me (bread, oats, rye, etc.). And I am extremely allergic to all dairy products including eggs. And I am extremely allergic to peanuts, which causes me to be severely allergic to soybeans and all other legumes as well (chickpeas, navy beans, peas, etc.). I also have some other allergies - sunflower seeds, oranges, cucumbers, etc. My protein options are limited. Therefore I feel I would be doing harm to myself by staying completely vegan.
  • Reply
    Dev Dev Oct 11, 2009 @ 3:48 pm | in reply to Ben
    im a teenager and im vegetarian, and i havent got a deficiency in protein. in fact, im quite tall for my age and i think that saying "i need it to grow" is just an excuse for people who cant control themselves in eating fish. i also know quite a few people who havent got any deficiencies, and theyve been vegetarians their whole lives.
    you can get protein other ways, like using substitutes - thats what theyre there for!
  • Reply
    Carolyn Carolyn Oct 8, 2009 @ 11:21 am
    I just recently gave up meat along with my husband and in-laws. People seem to be under the impression that because you don't eat meat anymore you give up so much but that couldn't be more wrong. I still enjoy everything I used to without meat, I just use the wonderful substitutes that are available now. I love most of them. I usually will order seafood when we go eat somewhere but having it at home is a rare luxury. I come up with ideas often on how to use the substitutes, like I used Morningstar sausage crumbles to make stuffed peppers last week and they were incredible. My husband loved them! I made meatballs with Gimme Lean Sausage rolled in breadcrumbs and they were terrific too. The Gimme Lean stuff holds up nicely so you can anything with it you want really.
  • Reply
    Chiso Chiso Oct 6, 2009 @ 6:50 pm
    I am a pescetarian.
    Although I did test out the life of being a "proper" vegetarian, and was successful for a long while, I realized that I was not consuming enough protein for my years of adolescence.
    The reason I decided to become a vegetarian in the first place was because I felt bad every time I consumed meat-thinking of how the creature's life had to end so that I could consume it. I have no problem with other people deciding to eat or not eat meat-but what does bother me is the animals (if it was bad) living conditions.
    As horrible as it may seem (or not), I do like the taste of meat, and I still do crave it now and again.
    I grew up in a family of fishers-they always fed me seafood. And so I have decided that I would eat fish-but get this, the only seafood I eat is Salmon.(because it's the only type I care for at all.) So that restricts my seafood intake as well as the fact that I would typically prefer not to eat meat.
  • Reply
    K K Sep 30, 2009 @ 9:46 am
    They only reason that I eat fish and not other meat is because my mum did and I just picked it up off her. It doesn't bother me that animals die because they are meant to be eaten, it's just cruel if they are kept in bad conditions. Plus it's just easier to call yourself a vegetarian so nobody gives you any animal meat, even if you're technically a pescetarian, but I don't see why we should be thought of any less because we eat fish; surely the fact we cut some meat out our diets should be enough to please proper vegetarians.
  • Reply
    Dan Dan Sep 24, 2009 @ 1:37 am
    Being a pescetarian isn't something for "real" vegetarians to get so worked up about lol.

    Its just a diet... not something to start a war about. There's no need to call them "creatures". It just makes you "real" vegetarians seem immature and petty.
  • Reply
    Sarah Sarah Sep 20, 2009 @ 8:03 pm
    I am a pescetarian but I usually just say "vegetarian" if I don't feel like spending 10 minutes explaining it. I use "pescetarian" with people who would understand, but seriously it is not a big deal don't get so worked up about it.
  • Reply
    Ben Ben Sep 19, 2009 @ 3:46 am
    I was fully vegetarian for about 2 years, but then I decided that it was about time I ate some fish, otherwise I wouldn't be getting enough Protein as i'm a teenager. Now I don't eat meat, but I do eat fish.
    I hate the term Pescetarian, it makes you feel like i'm not a proper Vegetarian, and believe me I know i'm not, however I still stand for the same values as I always have.

    People consider it as almost being a competition, but if you really care about animals you'll simply do your best to try and not eat as much meat and fish as you can. When I'm older i'm sure i'll return to not eating fish.
  • Reply
    Beth Beth Sep 12, 2009 @ 11:41 am | in reply to Jade
    I am exactly the same!!
    I reallyyy want to be a vegetarian, but I eat so much rubbish if I didn't eat fish/prawns I would waste away..
    have you had any success in becomeing fully veggy yet??
  • Reply
    Pescetarian Pescetarian Sep 10, 2009 @ 8:45 pm
    I always refer to myself as a pescetarian, but since no one but other pesces, and veg*ns know what I'm taking about, I just tell them I don't eat mammals or birds. When I'm out to eat, I will try to make sure if I order a seafood dish, it is vegetarian friendly other than the seafood itself....or I just order the vegetarian dish.

    I just started a forum for pescetarians at http://pescetarians.lefora.com/ since we have no place on vegetarian forums without ticking off the veg*ns, lol
  • Reply
    kendra kendra Sep 8, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
    yah...i live in the middle of "hicktown" so i have those "dumbo" conversations ALL the time. i have been a pescetarian for 5 years now and rarely eat chicken. i refer to myself as a vegetarian when i don't feel like having a 2 hr. conversation about the food i digest. Alot of people ask me why do i still eat fish, to be honest i don't really have an answer it's just what i choose to do. It's like if a person doesn't want to eat squid, I'm not about to be like "so why don't you eat squid, no i really want to know" lol
  • Reply
    Dan Dan Sep 6, 2009 @ 11:43 pm
    I too have gotten the "oh, but you eat fish right?" It just baffles me every time that people think fish isn't meat somehow. Oh and Dumbo, though yeast is eukaryotic, it isn't an animal.
  • Reply
    Danielle Danielle Aug 30, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
    There are alternatives to dairy and eggs, so you can still eat cake and be a vegan. :)
  • Reply
    ddell ddell Aug 27, 2009 @ 7:46 pm
    I had this conversation but I was dumbo.
    dumbo: so what is a vegetarian?
    vegan: I do not want to go though this again .
    dumbo: I really like to know.
    vegan: ok,go to the book store get a "VEGETARIAN TIMES" then subscirbe for one year. Read the mag from cover to cover.
    I did it, love the food.I found this site because person kelp telling me. they had friends who are vegetarian who eats fish.
    By the way I am not a vegetarian, I am a organic gardener.[in reply to aj2008]
  • Reply
    Jade Jade Aug 27, 2009 @ 2:54 pm
    I'm pescetarian. I have been since the beginning of the year. Occassionally, I refer to myself as a vegetarian depending who I'm speaking to, otherwise I'd have to explain to the dumass I'm speaking to what a pescetarian is.

    I really really really do wish I could become vegetarian properly, but I know that I don't eat enough good stuff to get all the nutrients I need. I'm only 15, so there's time for me to gradually get off fish too :)
  • Reply
    Ener-G Ener-G Aug 18, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
    One of my favorite scenes in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding is when the nongreek son-in-law to-be announces to the Greek family of his fiance that he didn't eat meat.

    "You no eat meat!!??" exclaims the Greek aunt. "Why not?"

    "I just don't like it," responds the white groom-to-be.

    "No problem," says the same Greek aunt, "I'll fix you some lamb."
  • Reply
    daniela daniela Aug 14, 2009 @ 9:38 am
    hi! by the way i'm plannining to be a vegan but it took me so hard to try or even think it cause i can't stop eating fish....hmhmh by the way i'm a pescetarian would you give me advice how to stop it .....
  • Reply
    christopherrr christopherrr Aug 4, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
    well i was a pescetarian before college but now i am mostly vegan. about once a week i will eat something with dairy or egg in it, but i never eat geletin or wear leather or anything like that. when i was a pescetarian i did it because i thought fish didn't have feelings and emotions or really feel pain on the level of cows and chickens, but now i realize that there is hardly any difference (though i do wonder about shrimp, clams, crabs, and lobsters sometimes.) honestly, if you want to live a cruelty free life, why not cut it all out just to be safe. i mean you can get enough protein (sometimes too much) with a vegan/vegetarian diet.
  • Reply
    Veganwannabe Veganwannabe Aug 3, 2009 @ 3:11 am
    I was vegan for about a year then I recently began eating seafood again...so I guess I am a pescetarian or whatever. I want to be vegan but it is just too difficult living here in Japan. 99.9% of Japanese do not have any concept of veganism/vegetarianism as you can see from hoshi87's completely ignorant comments below.
  • Reply
    aj2008 aj2008 Jul 29, 2009 @ 5:51 am
    Your conversation with "Dumbo" made me chuckle!
  • Reply
    hoshi87 hoshi87 Jul 28, 2009 @ 5:52 am
    Well as someone living in japan I can tell you the definition of vegetarian here includes eating fish. If you ask for a dish without meat (as some I studied abroad with did) it will contain fish. And that's true for Buddhist monks that are vegetarian too. Seriously you vegans and vegetarians need to get off your high horse and just realize you are human and are an omnivore which therefore should consume meat. You can still respect and work towards humane lives while consuming animal products.
  • Reply
    NAGEV NAGEV Jul 27, 2009 @ 11:43 pm
    listen, its quite simple really. DONT DO IT. Its not hard to be Vegan, Ive been vegan for three years, and I had a vegan pregnancy...yes...even with all the cravings...there is an alternative to just about everything.

    I work at a bar...and live...in TEXAS...dont preach to me about how hard it is. Our main food source in this state is the cattle in the back yard.
    I usually end an argument like this..
    Person:God put animals here for us to eat
    Me:No, animals were adam and eves companions...BEFORE SIN.
    Person:so....
    Me:It wasnt untill after sin, our punishment was to eat our companions...
    BEFORE SIN we were vegetarian. Your simply embracing life after sin.

    for the record, Im atheist and an individual anarchist.
  • Reply
    bubbles bubbles Jul 27, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
    I am a pesectarian. I've been one for almost 2 years. I only eat farm-raised fish...nothing wild. Being a pesectarian is a great way to transition to a vegetarian. I'm not happy to kill fish to eat them, because they are living organisms who have lives, feelings and souls, but by rule of my meat-eating parents i am not allowed to become a vegetarian till I'm no longer living in their house....therefore....when i got to college I'm free to be the vegetarian i want to be!!!
  • Reply
    whocars2 whocars2 Jul 26, 2009 @ 6:32 am
    -continued: so you can't change that in a couple of decades. the other problem with vegetarians and fish is people don't seem to see the link between fish and your regular meat dish and even the so-called 1st vegetarian 'aristotle' used to eat fish occasionally so in theory the origins of vegetarianism is pescetarianism. the canadian vegetarian society used to regard pescetarianism as a 'variant' of a vegetarian diet till recently when that was change due to protests from the always angry vegetarians. and by the way fish are scientifically-proven not to feel pain because they lack the pain receptors in their nerve system..do your research first. that doesn't matter anyway because the pescetarian morale is either health or environmental. it seems in recent years vegetarianism has become a romanticism swoony emo teens club more than health/or animal welfare concerns. finally vegetarianism is not a natural choice..here;s your proof: http://news.nbbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8161616.stm
  • Reply
    whocares whocares Jul 26, 2009 @ 6:20 am
    pescetarians normally do not refer to themselves as vegetarians but sometimes on occasions they do refer to themselves as such to ensure their food does not contain animal byproducts like chicken stock or gelatine, bovine products or rennet-based cheese.. it's not that they are telling people vegetarians eat fish, it's just making sure they get proper food and the reason for that is because not people know what a pescetarian diet really is. the 'pescetarian' term is quite new even though the dietary practise is ancient and even before 'vegetarianism' existed as several ancient communities embraced that diet whether for cultural/religious reasons or simply geographical reasons.one of the other reasons eating fish is not considered as meat consuming is due to cultural and religious beliefs where fish was not regarded as meat - christian fasting for instance. people over centuries for various parts of the world have just come to accept fish as a non-meat product. -continued:
  • Reply
    Pondspider Pondspider Jul 21, 2009 @ 4:59 pm
    Most vegetarians don't hate pescetarians. They respect other people's rights to eat the diet of their choice. Most vegetarians become exasperated with pescetarians who claim they are vegetarians or vegetarians who eat fis.

    The reason is simple. Vegetarians often have a very limited choice of menu items. Sometimes the choice is further limited by the fact that a fish dish is offered as a vegetarian option. I have had many versions of the following conversation....

    Me: Excuse me, but your baked trout is not a vegetarian option.
    Waiter: Yes it is, my sister/girlfriend/wife is a vegetarian and she eats fish.
    Me: Sorry, but your sister/girlfriend/wife is not a vegetarian because vegetarians don't eat meat or fish.
    Waiter goes off disgruntled thinking me a stroppy cow.

    I respect people'swishes to eat what is right for them BUT ask that those who are pescetarians don't call themselves vegetarians because it makes vegetarians' lives more difficult.
  • Reply
    Felix Felix Jul 17, 2009 @ 1:05 pm
    I am currently converting to pescetarianism and I agree with this article, a pescetarian is a pescetarian and not a VEGETARIAN fish is a meat, and fish do feel. If you eat any kind of meat you are not a vegetarian. Therefore, I am a pescetarian and not a vegetarian. I hope that other pescetarians will stop calling themselves vegetarians so that vegetarians don't feel hostility towards pescetarians. And that's all. :)
  • Reply
    Home-Interior-Designer Home-Interior-Designer Jul 15, 2009 @ 8:11 pm
    I'm a vegetarian which means as you correctly pointed out, I don't eat meat or fish. However, I consume dairy products, so not a vegan, that would be difficult.

    In my home country of England, it's very easy to be a vegetarian but I found it more difficult when living in Germany.

    The conversation snippet rings very true. I have often had to explain that fish is just another meat. However, this is not helped by those pesky Pescetarians.
  • Reply
    Tamara Tamara Jul 14, 2009 @ 11:32 pm
    I am a pescetarian, but my diet closely resembles that of a gluten-free vegan. No eggs, no dairy of any sort, but I also don't do soy, or gluten. The only meat I eat is fish/sea food, and mostly in raw form. I guess there isn't a name for how I eat, since I am not quite vegan, and not quite pescetarian.
  • Reply
    legit legit Jul 14, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
    i was vegetarian for awhile and i'm currently a pescetarian. it's ludicrous how hostile vegetarians are to pescetarians. "The Vegetarian Society, which initiated popular usage of the term vegetarian as early as 1847, condemns the association of semi-vegetarian diets as valid vegetarianism; the organisation points out that the consumption of fish is not vegetarian." from wikipedia. i eat fish but only on occasion, doesn't that make me a semi-vegetarian? isn't semi-vegatarian diet a valid vegetarian diet? doesn't that still make me a vegetarian?
  • Reply
    VeganGirl VeganGirl Jul 8, 2009 @ 10:21 am | in reply to SOMEONE
    Yeah they do. Sharks, especially, have complex social networks and ties to other sharks. Something as small as a Lake Trout also has a social order of some kind. Just because the fish can't reach up, unhook it's mouth from your fishing pole and say "OUCH!" doesn't mean it can't feel.

    Grow a brain, already, SOMEONE.

    VEGANS RULE!
  • Reply
    MrLewisSmile MrLewisSmile Jul 2, 2009 @ 1:03 pm | in reply to Dumbo
    You should read the intro again. You seem to have misunderstood!
  • Reply
    Squidoo_girl Squidoo_girl Jul 2, 2009 @ 10:24 am
    I'm a pescetarian for about 10 years now, started when I was a teenager.
    I know that guy you spoke to, by the way, I meet dumbo all the time...lol.
    Most of my friends are meat eaters and I get so much interrogations into my eating habits that it used to annoy be big-time, but by now I'm used to it.
  • Reply
    Dumbo Dumbo Jul 1, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
    Um chocolate cake is not a vegetable buddy sorry, eggs, milk, and cake

    oh yeah even the yeast is an animal so ummm.....get off your high horse
  • Reply
    SOMEONE SOMEONE Jun 26, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
    FISH DON'T HAVE FEELINGS....
  • Reply
    seamus seamus Jun 25, 2009 @ 5:47 am
    [iin n reply to Swisstoons] is someone who eats chicken and fish called a cacklepescetarian?
  • Reply
    Reira Reira Jun 7, 2009 @ 10:23 am
    I'm a pescetarian.. it sounds like you hate them or something... I only eat fish because they are killed more humanely- I don't eat farmed fish, only caught wild fish who were killed instantly so they didnt suffer,and I only eat them because I cant get essential omega oils in other ways as I'm allergic to flax seeds.
  • Reply
    Swisstoons Swisstoons Jun 4, 2009 @ 8:03 am
    Had I read your next module before posting my last comment, I probably would not have posted it. I had assumed you were a vegetarian for health reasons and didn't consider the other possibilities.
  • Reply
    Swisstoons Swisstoons Jun 4, 2009 @ 7:58 am
    I was a vegetarian for about a year and a half in the 1980's. I still only eat red meat once or twice a year...steaks grilled outside on a couple of summer holidays. Mainly, I eat fish three or four times a week (pescetarian) and chicken once or twice a week (cackletarian).
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