Pescetarian- Fish Isn't Meat?

I'm honestly not trying to start crap or annoy people, but I've gotta know; I've heard so many people say that being a pescetarian is the same as being a vegetarian, or that vegetarians can eat seafood because fish isn't meat.

I don't understand how someone can justifiably say that fish isn't meat. It's an animal right? Why do people say it's not meat? How does it not count?

I'm not trying to be unfair to pescetarians or say people's opinions are wrong, I just want to understand these reasonings.

You are absolutely correct.

• A VEGAN diet contains no animal products.
• A VEGETARIAN diet contains no creatures of any kind (fish and bugs included).
• A PESCETARIAN diet includes sea animals.

:)

Thanks, but I understand the distinctions between them, that's not what I'm asking.

What I'm asking is that I've heard several people say that fish isn't considered meat, and I don't understand the justifications behind that view point.

I guess people consider fish to be an even lower form of intelligence than a bird or a mammal, and that because of that it's fine to eat? 

Others may do it out of lack of knowledge... I was a pescatarian for four years because I didn't know of other protein sources and didn't know how to cook for myself. Thank god I stumbled upon this site. :3

It's because fish are ugly :D

Well im a vegetarian, and i eat fish. but its not out of choice, i was guied to by my docter, because of something. but i still class myself as a vegetarian because its not of choice whether i eat fish.

Original Post by kookykatlady:

You are absolutely correct.

• A VEGAN diet contains no animal products.
• A VEGETARIAN diet contains no creatures of any kind (fish and bugs included).
• A PESCETARIAN diet includes sea animals.

:)

Not all sea animals. I don't think a person could get away with calling themselves merely a pescatarian if they ate a dolphin. Strictly speaking, a pescatarian would eat only fish, but most will eat molluscs, crustacea and evenoctopoda. I will eat the occasional prawn or mussel on the grounds that I have no objection to killing them (as I would a snail or cricket), so I may have drifted in crustacio-molluscism. I wont eat a fish though, and octopusses can do puzzles, and I object to eating something more intelligent than my co-workers. 

If you intentionally eat any animal on a regular basis, you are not vegetarian.

I think people who make this mistake look at it from a health point of view, not an animal or plant point of view.  I'll try to explain that mess...

Many people see vegetarians as being super healthy.  We all know red meat, pork, etc. is not always healthy, but fish is always touted as some kind of wonder-food.  Therefore, even though it is an animal, people don't see it as meat because they are never thinking of what the animal was when it was alive.  Only what role it plays in diet after it's dead.  I mean, I've even had friends that don't understand why a vegetarian can't eat chicken- it's healthy, right?  ::rolls eyes:: That's just my opinion, based on conversations I've had.

Not to be judgemental, but I do think it's really stupid.  Fish is not a vegetable or mineral, which means it's (you guessed it), an animal.

BTW, I'm a pescetarian, and I have never been under the illusion that I'm a vegetarian, although I do lurk in this forum a lot because I am hoping to be able to fully transition one day.  I tell people that I'm a pescetarian and explain that it means I don't eat any meat except fish. 

::on edit:: I tell a lie- I have in the past told someone I was a vegetarian, simply because they were the type of person that would not be able to comprehend the difference between a pescetarian and a vegetarian (you know those people are out there!), and I only felt semi-justified in doing so because I knew they would never find out I occasionally eat sushi.  Apologies to the vegetarians.

It almost sounds as if you're assuming that all vegetarians refrain from eating meat for ethical reasons.  Perhaps those that eat fish don't consider it the same kind of meat as other animals and so they don't consider it as bad. 

Why might they consider eating fish ok?  A lot of fish aren't grain fed so they may think that it's a better system.  Some people just don't like red meat.  All that being said, by definition, people that eat fish aren't vegetarians.  I'm guessing that a lot of them call themselves vegetarians because the term is closer to describing their eating preferences than anything else is.  Imagine having to explain Pescetarian every time someone asks you why you don't eat red meat.

I eat fish very occasionally, and I'm finding it harder to do so having seen the way fish are killed on TV programmes etc.

But I have to say there are some strange people out there. Some colleagues once told me they were going to do a Burger King run for the office what would I like (as the boss was paying). My reply was nothing thanks I'm vegetarian (I was then completely) the response I got was Oh don't worry about that they do Chicken Burgers too!

SO vejitarian I completely agree with your comment about refusing to eat anything more intelligent than your colleagues :o)

You might be getting confused by the Catholic religion.  Catholics don't eat "meat" at certain times for religious reasons but on those occasions they do eat fish.  I don't know how their definition of meat was arrived at but I know of no other group that doesn't consider fish to be meat.

Thanks everyone. :)

I just always thought it was weird that some people said that fish wasn't considered meat.

Like one time I was grocery shopping and there was some kind of grilled fish they were putting out as a free sample. After I explained I was a vegetarian and wouldn't eat it, the guy kept saying that fish isn't considered meat so I'm fine. I explained the difference between pescetarian and vegetarian, but the guy just WOULD. NOT GET. IT. He kept saying "Well fish isn't meat so you can eat it fine." or something like that.

And that's just to name one such instance. I also can't even tell you the number of times people have said "well if you're a vegetarian how come you're drinking milk?".

Oh my gosh it makes my brain hurt.

Along the lines of kisteel's comments, even if one is a veggie or pescie for ethical reasons, those ethical reasons may differ from person to person.

In my more idealistic, less jaded days, I used to be a pretty strict vegetarian.  I was opposed to animal cruelty and any killing of animals (including fish).  I eventually became a pescetarian, when my focus became more of the treatment of animals while they are alive as opposed to the killing of animals.  I deplore the industrialized farming methods associated with livestock and poultry.  I am sure, if looked into it, I'd probably be revolted by the fishing industry (e.g., the harvesting of cavier).  But, like I said, I've sadly become more jaded and cynical, so I might overlook it.  I still try to eat mostly wild-caught seafood, although I am sometimes lazy in this regard as well (i.e., don't ask don't tell)

i've never heard anyone say that fish isn't meat.  where do you find these people?

Original Post by pgeorgian:

i've never heard anyone say that fish isn't meat.  where do you find these people?

Well, since you asked- I find many of them in Central Pennsylvania. =)

Believe me they're all over the world :o)

Original Post by pgeorgian:

i've never heard anyone say that fish isn't meat.  where do you find these people?

"It's okay to eat fish, because they don't have any feelings."  - Kurt Cobain

Original Post by haunted000:

"It's okay to eat fish, because they don't have any feelings."  - Kurt Cobain

Rolf. i agreee :]

Some not-so-strict Roman Catholics eat fish on Fridays.  Friday was determined to be a day of abstinence as a form of penance.  Since meat was a luxury and a staple of the diet in the days of yore, that was abstained from on Fridays (the day the Savior was killed).  In Acts 15:29 it says that "you must abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from unchastity."  So perhaps by those rules fish would be out to the strict, but I think that fish were low on the totem pole of sacrificial items to idols. *shrug*

Also battered around is an economic theory that made fish alright to consume on this day of abstinence, thereby making it "not 'meat'"...the fishing industry was having trouble competing in the food market so to help the fishermen out, every Friday was "eat fish day."

I think that if you think about how the raw flesh looks, that might be a reason as to why some people think of fish as ''not meat." I don't know.  I eat meat and vegetables and grains and am quite happy doing so.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

i've never heard anyone say that fish isn't meat.  where do you find these people?

 I was wondering the same thing.

Original Post by trhawley:

You might be getting confused by the Catholic religion.  Catholics don't eat "meat" at certain times for religious reasons but on those occasions they do eat fish.  I don't know how their definition of meat was arrived at but I know of no other group that doesn't consider fish to be meat.

 Fish isn't considered meat by Jewish kosher laws. Red meat and poultry may not be consumed with dairy products in a kosher meal, but fish can. That's why cream cheese can be served wiith lox.