Pescatarians, the almost veg heads?

What does it matter what people think? Why do you feel the need to defend your beliefs and diet choices? If you know that the person only wants to fight and not actually discuss then just drop the subject and enjoy dinner. That is what I do. I will discuss with someone if they are truly interested, but if they only want to push their views and not listen to mine I just let the conversation die with them having the last word. I just shrug their comments off and go on. I am comfortable with my choices and do not feel the need to make others accept them.

Do you really get that much grief for being a pescatarian? I dated a girl who was one and people seemed very accepting of such a diet. Maybe it was all relative since it did not seem as strange as mine being vegetarian.

 

although i am now vegan i was pesco for many years. I too am sick of other vegans/vegs having a go at the pescos. Its their choice. And youre perfectly right, theyre moving in the same direction

Plus you have to remember that while most (me included) people are going veg for the animals sakes, many have their own personal reasons. The op has shown much prethought before decided to be pesco, even if those arent my exact thoughts or the thoughts of many of us

 

Personally, I've never tried to belittle pescos for their choice of diet, or anyone else for that matter. I try to be understanding of the fact that they might not realize that there is a difference between pescatarian and vegetarian or that the term pescatarian even exists. Instead of flying off of the handle and most likely turning them off of a path towards vegetarianism and veganism, I try to help educate them in a polite way and inform them that there is such a term. I know that I enjoy learning from others, so I try to share my knowledge, as well . I do understand why vegetarians and vegans get frustrated at those who refuse to accept the proper terms because it does put an inconvenience when going out to dinner and being offered fish because of the ongoing confusion. I am sure that if any pescatarian was insulted, it was just because of the annoyance from some people that do not accept the proper definitions, but not because of the fact that they are pescatarian. Hopefully that made sense.

 

You guys have been suppotive I'm glad I finally brought it up! Even though it took me being drunk on wine at the time

To whoever said why do you care what other people think... my response? anyone who says they absolutely do not care at ALL what other people think is a liar. You may not care at the momment, but are you gonna tell me that you never care about other people's opinions? I care b/c I have put alot of thought into it. I care because I feel like if I don't defend vegetarianism/pescaterianism than I'm not truely supporting it. I just don't like getting into it b/c I can't sum it up in 3 sentences and I'm usually always asked during dinner, which I want to eat while my food is still hot. I care b/c I want people to understand and support my lifestyle, even though I'm not always up to the task of educating them. Ever hear of Google. But aside from CARING, it's more of an annoyance issue with me. 1) I'm eating and 2) they ask with a half smirk wheather they mean to or not because they already have judgements on the issue!! So there you go.

 

You guys have been suppotive I'm glad I finally brought it up! Even though it took me being drunk on wine at the time

To whoever said why do you care what other people think... my response? anyone who says they absolutely do not care at ALL what other people think is a liar. You may not care at the momment, but are you gonna tell me that you never care about other people's opinions? I care b/c I have put alot of thought into it. I care because I feel like if I don't defend vegetarianism/pescaterianism than I'm not truely supporting it. I just don't like getting into it b/c I can't sum it up in 3 sentences and I'm usually always asked during dinner, which I want to eat while my food is still hot. I care b/c I want people to understand and support my lifestyle, even though I'm not always up to the task of educating them. Ever hear of Google. But aside from CARING, it's more of an annoyance issue with me. 1) I'm eating and 2) they ask with a half smirk wheather they mean to or not because they already have judgements on the issue!! So there you go.

 

uh..i havent even postsed in here...how am i a part of this???.. i was simply voicing a concern of mine in a seperate post and wish to not be confronted in new threads over things i havent even become involved in...other than that....

crystalisatreehugger.....sweetie i was a pescatarian for almost 2 years myself....but i never called myself a vegetarian during this time...different hings can be deciving to some people, and the honestly in the title helps.....if i told someone i was a vegetarian for instance and they invited me over to dinner only to serve fish and some sort of veggie meal and i told them oh but i DO eat fish....somemight raise a brow...its just little helpful thing to help out the omnis in our life

 

Sweetdreadlover I think this thread was split off from the other thread you are referring too as it had become two different issues in the one thread, reads a little bit difficultly at the beginning but it makes sense if that is the case.

 

I find that I just avoid discussing my food choices with most people. Why give myself a definition? I just eat what I eat. Unless you have been invited to eat dinner at someone's house, it seems to me that pesco/lacto/vegan/whatever, you just eat your food and don't get into labels. If you are asked, say as much as you are comfortable with, and leave it at that. If you must use labels, then yeah, it's good to use the correct one. (Although technically those of us who call ourselves "vegetarians" but consume dairy products--isn't that incorrect?? Aren't we lacto-vegs??)

 

In practise I do just get on with it too, activism has it's time & place. But it's still a deeply held conviction so sure I'll speak up if there is a need (after all this time I've got answers for the FAQs prepped). Semantics aside I'm neutral on the labelling thing.

Pretty much every vegetarian I know consumes dairy to some degree, and general consensus of veg literature is that vegetarian refers to abstaining from meat & fish, so I think that is an acceptable definition. I generally take lacto-veg to mean dairy is the only animal product they consume (i.e. no meat, fish, eggs).

 

Off topic slightly...

but once I meet a "vegetarian" she called herself, who ate fish, but apart from that was totally vegan.

There's so many levels of veggie...

 

yes but names can be deciving. what if say a vegetarian came for dinner and u put salad in front of her. and she said oh im a vegetarian but only eat bacon..it makes things difficult for people to understand if you dont use the right terms.

 

I care about my choices but no I don't really care what other people think. I don't need the approval of others to validate my choices. There are lots of people who disagree with me, but that is ok because I respect them to have their own views, whether they respect mine or not. That will get people to accept you and your choices more than giving into their desire to argue. If they only wish to argue then anything you say is only falling on deaf ears anyway, so what is the point? Besides if someone is only wishing to be confrontational denying them an argument can upset them a lot more than fighting with them.