does sea food count as meat?

for vegetarians?

i've always wondered that.

if you are vegetarian who eats seafood, you are a pescetarian.

Yes, sea food counts as meat.

If seafood did not count then dolphins would be vegetarians, which of course they are not.

I eat some seafood, but don’t count myself as a vegetarian.

Scott

 

For people who are *becoming* vegetarians, they may drop chicken and beef, but then eventually overtime they drop seafood. They may in error refer to themselves as "vegetarian", and use the term loosely, but like someone pointed out, they are pescatarians until they become vegetarians and drop seafood altogether.

For me personally, seafood was the last (and hardest) type of meat to drop from my diet because many American restaurants serve only sell beef, chicken and seafood ---- so once you drop seafood, you can no longer go to those restaurants.

yep, it's definitely a meat (it's flesh) which is why i guiltily refer to myself as  a "pesca-vegetarian"... i totally agree, it's the hardest thing to drop, and i've been weaning myself off it for the last few months. i've been all over the spectrum from vegan to now in the last 6 years, but it's a lot harder for me to drop fish than any other meat, which i don't miss at all. 

i became a vegetarian in january and maybe a couple of weeks ago, i started to eat tuna fish at work. people made me feel guilty about it and i was like 'WHATVER! i am now a pescatarian!".  in any case, i do feel a lil guilty about it...and whats even worse...i ate chicken last friday. we went to a new restaurant and the buffalo chicken calzone with blue cheese and hot peppers was staring at me on the menu like eaaaaaaaaat meeeeeeeeeee. so, i did :/ but hey...at least i lasted for awhile and i plan on getting myself back up into it. also, i stopped smoking recently so i feel like i need something bad.


time to go watch some utube videos on chicken slaughter.

Yes, seafood is meat because it is animal flesh.

"Vegetarianism" has lots of spin-offs that cater to different food allowances.

Lacto-vegetarians will consume milk; ovo-lacto-vegetarians, eggs and milk; pescatarians eat fish; and I'm sure there are more I haven't heard of.

I always understood that to be vegetarian means you do not consume animal flesh, and those who don't consume ANY animal products are vegan.

I honestly do not care what anyone else eats. I never spend any time thinking about it. You like fish, go ahead, knock yourself out, it's fine with me. I want my choices respected and in turn I always respect your choices. Whatever you eat doesn't impact my diet at all.

Where I have a problem with it is when somebody's wrong definitions do impact my diet. As in: I go someplace and the hostess says, "Since you're vegetarian, I cooked FISH especially for you!" Or even chicken. What gave them that idea, it was all the self-styled "vegetarians" who eat fish and chicken.

What an awkward situation to be placed in! I wonder if Miss Manners could extricate me gracefully from that, because I would not know what to say that wouldn't offend or fluster. So if you eat fish & chicken, please don't call that "vegetarian." It can impact the rest of us. Call it anything else.

Remember the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding-- "He don't eat no meat?! What do you mean, he don't eat no meat?! That's OK... I make lamb." (As if anything other than beef counts as "vegetarian.")

Of course it does.  Flesh of any animal is meat.

The way I see it, if it had a heartbeat, flesh, and a face, it's meat.

Original Post by briarkat:

Of course it does. Flesh of any animal is meat.

Here here! The rule of thumb I use is, "Did an animal die for this/Is it a dead animal? Yes? Then it's meat!" ::stamps "not veggie" on it and asks for more beans:: ;)

i had to introduce the term pescatarian to my weight watchers group. i made sure to explain it though. its still not a widely known term, and like with everything else it'll just take some education/informing. even when i was a vegetarian i would still get the 'well its only got a little bit of chicken in it, but mostly vegetables'.  most people are not out there to get you, they just dont understand. its not like im out there saying im a vegetarian to everyone even though i eat fish. some people just hear what they want to hear, and forget what they don't want to take the time to learn. i have to explain to them that pescatarians are basically vegetarians that eat fish. its the simplest way to explain it.

I can't believe we're having this discussion again.

Original Post by pilotkita:

I can't believe we're having this discussion again.

 well, believe it.  because that is another problem that I've encountered.  people who choose to live by restrictive lifestyles and expect everyone else to automatically know all about it but aren't willing to put in the educational legwork.

while it is true that some people just "don't get it", at least there are some people out there (like the OP) who ARE trying to educate themselves, and no one should EVER be berated or put down for trying to expand their knowledge base.

if you eat a restricted diet and you don't want to discuss it with anyone, then when you go somewhere as a guest you should advise the host ahead of time DO NOT cook for me, and then just bring your own.  that's what most of my vegetarian friends do anyway.

Original Post by stellajo:

Original Post by pilotkita:

I can't believe we're having this discussion again.

well, believe it. because that is another problem that I've encountered. people who choose to live by restrictive lifestyles and expect everyone else to automatically know all about it but aren't willing to put in the educational legwork.

while it is true that some people just "don't get it", at least there are some people out there (like the OP) who ARE trying to educate themselves, and no one should EVER be berated or put down for trying to expand their knowledge base.

if you eat a restricted diet and you don't want to discuss it with anyone, then when you go somewhere as a guest you should advise the host ahead of time DO NOT cook for me, and then just bring your own. that's what most of my vegetarian friends do anyway.

point taken, for everyone i hope. a person who does not eat any other meat, but eats fish is a pescatarian. i cannot call it 'anything else', ms_joanna, but pescatarian. i would like it very much for everyone to recognize this as well as you would like to be recognized as a vegetarian. the simplest way to deal with this is just to inform people.

Original Post by stellajo:

Original Post by pilotkita:

I can't believe we're having this discussion again.

well, believe it. because that is another problem that I've encountered. people who choose to live by restrictive lifestyles and expect everyone else to automatically know all about it but aren't willing to put in the educational legwork.

while it is true that some people just "don't get it", at least there are some people out there (like the OP) who ARE trying to educate themselves, and no one should EVER be berated or put down for trying to expand their knowledge base.

if you eat a restricted diet and you don't want to discuss it with anyone, then when you go somewhere as a guest you should advise the host ahead of time DO NOT cook for me, and then just bring your own. that's what most of my vegetarian friends do anyway.

I have no problem with people asking questions. Thats fine, I'm glad that there are inquiring minds out there.  But how many times has this EXACT same question been asked in this forum alone. 

FISH IS NOT A VEGETABLE! Fish are a member of the animal kingdom and therfore their flesh is considered meat.

So, what constitutes seafood?  Is seaweed a seafood?  I'm pretty sure seaweed is a vegetable...

Okay, now I'm just being difficult.  I've just always thought "seafood" was a funny term. 

...but now that we are talking about what is a meat, here is a question I have always wondered about: is bacteria meat?  Are fungi vegetables? Are vegetarians really "anything-but-kingdom-animalia-tarians?"

Okay, okay...off topic, I know!!

Back to the task at hand: Yes, fish are meat, swimming mammals are meat, crustaceans are meat, molluscs are meat...cnidarians and annelids and stuff are also probably meat, but I don't think they are usually served at seafood restaurants.

Original Post by vegan_rachel:

FISH IS NOT A VEGETABLE! Fish are a member of the animal kingdom and therfore their flesh is considered meat.

Yes, thank you.  If it didn't come from a vegetable it isn't vegan. Vegetarians eat dairy and possibly eggs. A fish is not a dairy product or vegetable thus it can't be vegetarian. **rips out hair**

Original Post by vegan_rachel:

FISH IS NOT A VEGETABLE! Fish are a member of the animal kingdom and therfore their flesh is considered meat.

Yes, thank you.  If it didn't come from a vegetable it isn't vegan. Vegetarians eat dairy and possibly eggs. A fish is not a dairy product or vegetable thus it can't be vegetarian. **rips out hair**