Eggs: Vegetarian or Not?

lovesclimbing · April 2015

emmaaa said:
I said yes, vegetarians "can" eat eggs (but really it's up to every person what they can and cannot eat).

Eggs that you eat, yes come from a chick and have the potential to become baby chicks. However, a chicken has to be fed certain a certain type of feed to them to be able to lay eggs. Then, in order for them to become chicks and to be fertilized, there has to be a rooster. So if the chickens laying eggs aren't in the pressence of a rooster, there is so viable way they can be fertilized to become baby chicks.

I voted yes, eggs are vegetarian and the bolded is why.

If it matters, I love meat, cheese and eggs and have never been and will never be a vegetarian or vegan.

photokitty · April 2015

ShesSoCold said:
I like turtles.

Thank you!!

And liking turtles is definitely carnivore.

MollyandD · April 2015

lurkergirl said:

ElcaB said:

pinkrevenge said:
I do think they're vegetarian. Specifically ova-lacto vegetarian.
I thought eggs and dairy is what separated vegetarians from vegans?
Not just eggs and dairy; animal products. Vegans do not consume or use anything with animal products, i.e., Jello, which contains gelatin.
I believe gelatin comes from cows though, so vegetarians would not eat jello, gummy bears, etc...

I say yes, they can do eggs for the other already-stated reasons.

Gelatin comes from pork a lot too, but that's neither here, nor there. I'm a vegetarian, and I don't eat products with gelatin. I do eat eggs and use milk occasionally. I lean toward vegan options when I cook, but I'm definitely not full vegan. I don't eat anything that comes from an animal that had to die. Since eggs are unfertilized, I don't mind eating them.

On a random note, I had a nightmare that I was cracking eggs that I had hard boiled, and somehow a fertilized egg with a partly formed chick was in my carton. I started screaming and crying (only in the dream).

[Deleted User] · April 2015

Like PPs have said, I am a pescetarian, but when people ask I just say I am a vegetarian. People generally know what "vegetarian" means, but when you say pescetarian they just get confused. It's just easier.

I personally believe eggs are okay in a vegetarian diet for the reasons listed above: namely that eggs will never become chickens, as they do not contain fetuses. BUT I don't eat them very often. I chose to become a pescetarian for ethical reasons, and am slowly getting closer to being a full-on vegetarian.

As someone mentioned above, I too see vegetarianism as a line in the sand. There are things I simply refuse to eat: beef, chicken, and pork in any form. But other things I am wibbley wobbly about: fish, crustaceans, eggs, milk. I personally have never liked meat (even as a baby), so after I moved out of my parents' home and did my own grocery shopping, I stopped eating meat. Right now I still eat fish when I go out to eat, simply because it is sometimes hard to eat out if I don't want a salad.

And a note on bird cannibalism - I have a parrot who loves chicken, too. She is a meat and cheese hound. Don't come anywhere near her with fried chicken because she will pry it from your cold, dead hands. It's actually okay for birds to eat meat (and other birds, and eggs). The first time I heard about it, it blew my mind, but apparently it happens in nature quite often and many avian website recommend giving birds baked chicken and scrambled eggs and even eggshells. TBH I don't do that often because I just don't have that kind of stuff around my house, but she loves visiting my parents and getting some chicken.

badbnagdway · April 2015

abcdevonn said:
Like PPs have said, I am a pescetarian, but when people ask I just say I am a vegetarian. People generally know what "vegetarian" means, but when you say pescetarian they just get confused. It's just easier.

I personally believe eggs are okay in a vegetarian diet for the reasons listed above: namely that eggs will never become chickens, as they do not contain fetuses. BUT I don't eat them very often. I chose to become a pescetarian for ethical reasons, and am slowly getting closer to being a full-on vegetarian.

As someone mentioned above, I too see vegetarianism as a line in the sand. There are things I simply refuse to eat: beef, chicken, and pork in any form. But other things I am wibbley wobbly about: fish, crustaceans, eggs, milk. I personally have never liked meat (even as a baby), so after I moved out of my parents' home and did my own grocery shopping, I stopped eating meat. Right now I still eat fish when I go out to eat, simply because it is sometimes hard to eat out if I don't want a salad.

And a note on bird cannibalism - I have a parrot who loves chicken, too. She is a meat and cheese hound. Don't come anywhere near her with fried chicken because she will pry it from your cold, dead hands. It's actually okay for birds to eat meat (and other birds, and eggs). The first time I heard about it, it blew my mind, but apparently it happens in nature quite often and many avian website recommend giving birds baked chicken and scrambled eggs and even eggshells. TBH I don't do that often because I just don't have that kind of stuff around my house, but she loves visiting my parents and getting some chicken.

I have similar dietary habits -- I am pescatarian, and I too find this is too confusing as a shorthand for most people so I just tell people vegetarian. I eat dairy and eggs. I do spend more money at the grocery store to buy vegetarian fed, cage-free eggs. In theory that means that the chickens that laid the eggs were not being fed other chickens and that they were not [as] cruelly treated as some of the factory farm chickens that have their beaks cut off and live in tiny cages. In reality I have no idea if that is true. I also don't know about eggs that I eat when I eat out.

I started out as a vegetarian because I felt passionately about the humane treatment of animals. In reality I think there are ways to eat meat responsibly, although they are expensive and difficult and would require a lot of vegetarian meals in amongst the meat meals.

I eat fish because I don't feel bad for fish. I don't know why that is, I know it sounds mean.

On the original question, everyone's diet is different but I think it's reasonable to include those who eat eggs but nothing that has died in the vegetarian mix.

littlepep · April 2015

emmaaa said:

lurkergirl said:
Also, now that I think about it, there are totally "vegetarian eggs" at the grocery store, which means the chickens themselves eat a vegetarian diet...right?
Hm, I never thought of that! LOL.

As someone who grew up on a farm and raised chickens, I can tell y'all that chickens will eat their own eggs. They are cannibals.

WAIT. If the eggs are the chicken period and they eat it...

hellosweetie1015 · April 2015

badbnagdway said:
Like PPs have said, I am a pescetarian, but when people ask I just say I am a vegetarian. People generally know what "vegetarian" means, but when you say pescetarian they just get confused. It's just easier.

I personally believe eggs are okay in a vegetarian diet for the reasons listed above: namely that eggs will never become chickens, as they do not contain fetuses. BUT I don't eat them very often. I chose to become a pescetarian for ethical reasons, and am slowly getting closer to being a full-on vegetarian.

As someone mentioned above, I too see vegetarianism as a line in the sand. There are things I simply refuse to eat: beef, chicken, and pork in any form. But other things I am wibbley wobbly about: fish, crustaceans, eggs, milk. I personally have never liked meat (even as a baby), so after I moved out of my parents' home and did my own grocery shopping, I stopped eating meat. Right now I still eat fish when I go out to eat, simply because it is sometimes hard to eat out if I don't want a salad.

And a note on bird cannibalism - I have a parrot who loves chicken, too. She is a meat and cheese hound. Don't come anywhere near her with fried chicken because she will pry it from your cold, dead hands. It's actually okay for birds to eat meat (and other birds, and eggs). The first time I heard about it, it blew my mind, but apparently it happens in nature quite often and many avian website recommend giving birds baked chicken and scrambled eggs and even eggshells. TBH I don't do that often because I just don't have that kind of stuff around my house, but she loves visiting my parents and getting some chicken.

I have similar dietary habits -- I am pescatarian, and I too find this is too confusing as a shorthand for most people so I just tell people vegetarian. I eat dairy and eggs. I do spend more money at the grocery store to buy vegetarian fed, cage-free eggs. In theory that means that the chickens that laid the eggs were not being fed other chickens and that they were not [as] cruelly treated as some of the factory farm chickens that have their beaks cut off and live in tiny cages. In reality I have no idea if that is true. I also don't know about eggs that I eat when I eat out.

I started out as a vegetarian because I felt passionately about the humane treatment of animals. In reality I think there are ways to eat meat responsibly, although they are expensive and difficult and would require a lot of vegetarian meals in amongst the meat meals.

I eat fish because I don't feel bad for fish. I don't know why that is, I know it sounds mean.

On the original question, everyone's diet is different but I think it's reasonable to include those who eat eggs but nothing that has died in the vegetarian mix.

The bolded is, in fact, not true. This is the second time I've seen it, and I asked FI about it last night to be sure. At no point in its life does a laying hen lose its entire beak.

The beaks get trimmed, yes - to prevent the chickens from pecking and, eventually, completely cannibalizing each other. It's a step to protect the chickens' welfare. They are not cut off completely. It's admittedly still pretty hotly debated about the humaneness of the procedure itself and which methods are the most / least humane and most / least effective. But, essentially, it's the difference between accidentally cutting Mr. Snuggles the Cat's nails just a little too short (actual debeaking) and having him completely declawed at the knuckle (what it seems people think debeaking is).

ETA: I'm 100% behind ethical eating. I said before that there are ethical considerations to be made in our food system that I don't think a lot of people take into consideration. I just think it's good to be truly informed, instead of listening to "propaganda" (which both the PETAs of the world and the Tysons are capable of creating).

ETAx2: I didn't comment on cage size because I feel that "tiny" can be subjective. I've seen working chicken houses, and I didn't feel the cages were too tiny myself, but my perception is not necessarily the same as anyone else's, and I certainly don't think my perception of "tiny" is any more or less valid than anyone else's.

badbnagdway · April 2015

hellosweetie1015 said:
Like PPs have said, I am a pescetarian, but when people ask I just say I am a vegetarian. People generally know what "vegetarian" means, but when you say pescetarian they just get confused. It's just easier.

I personally believe eggs are okay in a vegetarian diet for the reasons listed above: namely that eggs will never become chickens, as they do not contain fetuses. BUT I don't eat them very often. I chose to become a pescetarian for ethical reasons, and am slowly getting closer to being a full-on vegetarian.

As someone mentioned above, I too see vegetarianism as a line in the sand. There are things I simply refuse to eat: beef, chicken, and pork in any form. But other things I am wibbley wobbly about: fish, crustaceans, eggs, milk. I personally have never liked meat (even as a baby), so after I moved out of my parents' home and did my own grocery shopping, I stopped eating meat. Right now I still eat fish when I go out to eat, simply because it is sometimes hard to eat out if I don't want a salad.

And a note on bird cannibalism - I have a parrot who loves chicken, too. She is a meat and cheese hound. Don't come anywhere near her with fried chicken because she will pry it from your cold, dead hands. It's actually okay for birds to eat meat (and other birds, and eggs). The first time I heard about it, it blew my mind, but apparently it happens in nature quite often and many avian website recommend giving birds baked chicken and scrambled eggs and even eggshells. TBH I don't do that often because I just don't have that kind of stuff around my house, but she loves visiting my parents and getting some chicken.

I have similar dietary habits -- I am pescatarian, and I too find this is too confusing as a shorthand for most people so I just tell people vegetarian. I eat dairy and eggs. I do spend more money at the grocery store to buy vegetarian fed, cage-free eggs. In theory that means that the chickens that laid the eggs were not being fed other chickens and that they were not [as] cruelly treated as some of the factory farm chickens that have their beaks cut off and live in tiny cages. In reality I have no idea if that is true. I also don't know about eggs that I eat when I eat out.

I started out as a vegetarian because I felt passionately about the humane treatment of animals. In reality I think there are ways to eat meat responsibly, although they are expensive and difficult and would require a lot of vegetarian meals in amongst the meat meals.

I eat fish because I don't feel bad for fish. I don't know why that is, I know it sounds mean.

On the original question, everyone's diet is different but I think it's reasonable to include those who eat eggs but nothing that has died in the vegetarian mix.

The bolded is, in fact, not true. This is the second time I've seen it, and I asked FI about it last night to be sure. At no point in its life does a laying hen lose its entire beak.

The beaks get trimmed, yes - to prevent the chickens from pecking and, eventually, completely cannibalizing each other. It's a step to protect the chickens' welfare. They are not cut off completely. It's admittedly still pretty hotly debated about the humaneness of the procedure itself and which methods are the most / least humane and most / least effective. But, essentially, it's the difference between accidentally cutting Mr. Snuggles the Cat's nails just a little too short (actual debeaking) and having him completely declawed at the knuckle (what it seems people think debeaking is).

ETA: I'm 100% behind ethical eating. I said before that there are ethical considerations to be made in our food system that I don't think a lot of people take into consideration. I just think it's good to be truly informed, instead of listening to "propaganda" (which both the PETAs of the world and the Tysons are capable of creating).

Like you said though, the trimming thing is hotly debated. Some sources say it is very painful to even "trim" it, like someone trimming off your lips or your finger. I don't know the right answer I just know I'd prefer to eat eggs from farms that are at least seemingly more humane.

redoryx · April 2015

Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?

Me: No. Fish is an animal.

A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.

Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.

A: But they say --

Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.

ashley8918 · April 2015

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.

Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.

PrettyGirlLost · April 2015

JCbride2015 said:
By definition, vegetarians do not eat meat. Eggs are not meat. Therefore, eggs can be eaten by a vegetarian.

Vegans would not eat eggs, because eggs are an animal product like honey or milk.

And cheese!

Which is why vegans are nuts because they don't eat cheese!!! O.o

More for the rest of us I guess ;-)

hellosweetie1015 · April 2015

badbnagdway said:

hellosweetie1015 said:
Like PPs have said, I am a pescetarian, but when people ask I just say I am a vegetarian. People generally know what "vegetarian" means, but when you say pescetarian they just get confused. It's just easier.

I personally believe eggs are okay in a vegetarian diet for the reasons listed above: namely that eggs will never become chickens, as they do not contain fetuses. BUT I don't eat them very often. I chose to become a pescetarian for ethical reasons, and am slowly getting closer to being a full-on vegetarian.

As someone mentioned above, I too see vegetarianism as a line in the sand. There are things I simply refuse to eat: beef, chicken, and pork in any form. But other things I am wibbley wobbly about: fish, crustaceans, eggs, milk. I personally have never liked meat (even as a baby), so after I moved out of my parents' home and did my own grocery shopping, I stopped eating meat. Right now I still eat fish when I go out to eat, simply because it is sometimes hard to eat out if I don't want a salad.

And a note on bird cannibalism - I have a parrot who loves chicken, too. She is a meat and cheese hound. Don't come anywhere near her with fried chicken because she will pry it from your cold, dead hands. It's actually okay for birds to eat meat (and other birds, and eggs). The first time I heard about it, it blew my mind, but apparently it happens in nature quite often and many avian website recommend giving birds baked chicken and scrambled eggs and even eggshells. TBH I don't do that often because I just don't have that kind of stuff around my house, but she loves visiting my parents and getting some chicken.

I have similar dietary habits -- I am pescatarian, and I too find this is too confusing as a shorthand for most people so I just tell people vegetarian. I eat dairy and eggs. I do spend more money at the grocery store to buy vegetarian fed, cage-free eggs. In theory that means that the chickens that laid the eggs were not being fed other chickens and that they were not [as] cruelly treated as some of the factory farm chickens that have their beaks cut off and live in tiny cages. In reality I have no idea if that is true. I also don't know about eggs that I eat when I eat out.

I started out as a vegetarian because I felt passionately about the humane treatment of animals. In reality I think there are ways to eat meat responsibly, although they are expensive and difficult and would require a lot of vegetarian meals in amongst the meat meals.

I eat fish because I don't feel bad for fish. I don't know why that is, I know it sounds mean.

On the original question, everyone's diet is different but I think it's reasonable to include those who eat eggs but nothing that has died in the vegetarian mix.

The bolded is, in fact, not true. This is the second time I've seen it, and I asked FI about it last night to be sure. At no point in its life does a laying hen lose its entire beak.

The beaks get trimmed, yes - to prevent the chickens from pecking and, eventually, completely cannibalizing each other. It's a step to protect the chickens' welfare. They are not cut off completely. It's admittedly still pretty hotly debated about the humaneness of the procedure itself and which methods are the most / least humane and most / least effective. But, essentially, it's the difference between accidentally cutting Mr. Snuggles the Cat's nails just a little too short (actual debeaking) and having him completely declawed at the knuckle (what it seems people think debeaking is).

ETA: I'm 100% behind ethical eating. I said before that there are ethical considerations to be made in our food system that I don't think a lot of people take into consideration. I just think it's good to be truly informed, instead of listening to "propaganda" (which both the PETAs of the world and the Tysons are capable of creating).

Like you said though, the trimming thing is hotly debated. Some sources say it is very painful to even "trim" it, like someone trimming off your lips or your finger. I don't know the right answer I just know I'd prefer to eat eggs from farms that are at least seemingly more humane.

Absolutely. Some say it's extremely painful, some say it's like cutting your nail into the quick, some say it's not painful at all. And people tend to think it varies with the method used.

It's absolutely up to you and your specific ethical feelings as to whether you choose to eat eggs from wherever vs. eggs from humane farms vs. eggs from your own chicken house in the back yard. I just think those decisions should be made based off information with some reliability to it. Not info put out by PETA or Tyson (to use the two examples I had). Both of them have dogs in this fight, and as such their info is going to have a bias.

novella1186 · April 2015

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.

My sister used to call herself a vegetarian, but the only thing she didn't eat was red meat. She ate chicken, turkey, etc. But she was a vegetarian.

I hate when people say nonsense like that.

In fact, I was telling my friend at work that I made a really good vegan recipe for dinner and I felt the need to specify, "I'm not vegan or anything. I just like the recipe," because I didn't want to be confused with one of those assholes who claims to be a thing that they're not.

hellohkb · April 2015

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.

This! I know it's easier but it makes it so much harder for us vegetarians. We don't eat chicken or fish and for some reason people consider fish and chicken vegetarian.

PrettyGirlLost · April 2015

ElcaB said:
First of all, eggs are animal matter. That's an immature chicken in there, folks. Chickens = meat. Meat = not vegetarian.

Newp.

Tome for basic biology:

An egg is not animal matter whether we are talking chicken eggs, human eggs (ova), manatee eggs, etc- an egg is an ova. Ova are organic matter. . . same as any carbon based thing on this earth. Ova contain half of the genetic material needed to produce life.

An ova is not an immature chicken. . . a fertilized egg is an immature chicken. A fertilized egg is animal matter.

We don't typically eat fertilized eggs.

LadyMillil · April 2015

novella1186 said:

redoryx said:

My sister used to call herself a vegetarian, but the only thing she didn't eat was red meat. She ate chicken, turkey, etc. But she was a vegetarian.

I hate when people say nonsense like that.

In fact, I was telling my friend at work that I made a really good vegan recipe for dinner and I felt the need to specify, "I'm not vegan or anything. I just like the recipe," because I didn't want to be confused with one of those assholes who claims to be a thing that they're not.

EDIT CRAZY BOXES

I think we have the same crazy sister. My BSC sis did the same thing, a vegetarian that ate poultry because chicken/turkeys are "dumb".

amelisha · April 2015

Is this the time to add that old joke?

"How do you find the vegan in any room?"

"Don't worry, they'll tell you..."

[Deleted User] · April 2015

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.

I'm just saying this usually doesn't come up with proper timing for a teaching moment. It's usually during a work lunch order, or something similar like, "What do you want on your meatball sub?" "I'm going to skip out, actually. I'm a vegetarian." And I don't think that causes any confusion for them in the long run because I'm not ordering salmon at work. They don't even know I eat fish.

lovegood90 · April 2015

novella1186 said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
My sister used to call herself a vegetarian, but the only thing she didn't eat was red meat. She ate chicken, turkey, etc. But she was a vegetarian.

I hate when people say nonsense like that.

In fact, I was telling my friend at work that I made a really good vegan recipe for dinner and I felt the need to specify, "I'm not vegan or anything. I just like the recipe," because I didn't want to be confused with one of those assholes who claims to be a thing that they're not.

Yeah, I'm definitely not trying to be an asshole or SS by saying vegetarian instead of pescetarian.

I just figured it's quickest to say vegetarian because I don't like getting into long discussions about my diet, which it always turns into when I say pescetarian. Then I get weird looks as though I'm trying to be "special" and condescending questions like "oh so why do you think it's more humane to kill fish and not mammals? What are your reasons??" etc etc. And I have quite moderate social anxiety that I'd rather just avoid the comments and questions.

So I've found that's what works for me, sorry if people out there think this makes me a dick.

[Deleted User] · April 2015

lovegood90 said: ashley8918 said: redoryx said:Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:
A: But you eat fish, right?Me: No. Fish is an animal.A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish. Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.A: But they say --Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.
And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.

Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.

My sister used to call herself a vegetarian, but the only thing she didn't eat was red meat. She ate chicken, turkey, etc. But she was a vegetarian.
I hate when people say nonsense like that.
In fact, I was telling my friend at work that I made a really good vegan recipe for dinner and I felt the need to specify, "I'm not vegan or anything. I just like the recipe," because I didn't want to be confused with one of those assholes who claims to be a thing that they're not.

Yeah, I'm definitely not trying to be an asshole or SS by saying vegetarian instead of pescetarian. I just figured it's quickest to say vegetarian because I don't like getting into long discussions about my diet, which it always turns into when I say pescetarian. Then I get weird looks as though I'm trying to be "special" and condescending questions like "oh so why do you think it's more humane to kill fish and not mammals? What are your reasons??" etc etc. And I have quite moderate social anxiety that I'd rather just avoid the comments and questions. So I've found that's what works for me, sorry if people out there think this makes me a dick.

ETA: Boxes hate me

Bolded because that is also my exact reasoning. If I was having a conversation with someone about my actual diet (which I have only had about 1 time in my life), then of course I would say I am a pescetarian because I AM, but if it is in passing, I just say vegetarian. Not trying to be an asshole.

lovegood90 · April 2015

abcdevonn said:
lovegood90 said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
My sister used to call herself a vegetarian, but the only thing she didn't eat was red meat. She ate chicken, turkey, etc. But she was a vegetarian.

I hate when people say nonsense like that.

In fact, I was telling my friend at work that I made a really good vegan recipe for dinner and I felt the need to specify, "I'm not vegan or anything. I just like the recipe," because I didn't want to be confused with one of those assholes who claims to be a thing that they're not.

Yeah, I'm definitely not trying to be an asshole or SS by saying vegetarian instead of pescetarian.

I just figured it's quickest to say vegetarian because I don't like getting into long discussions about my diet, which it always turns into when I say pescetarian. Then I get weird looks as though I'm trying to be "special" and condescending questions like "oh so why do you think it's more humane to kill fish and not mammals? What are your reasons??" etc etc. And I have quite moderate social anxiety that I'd rather just avoid the comments and questions.

So I've found that's what works for me, sorry if people out there think this makes me a dick.

ETA: Boxes hate me

Bolded because that is also my exact reasoning. If I was having a conversation with someone about my actual diet (which I have only had about 1 time in my life), then of course I would say I am a pescetarian because I AM, but if it is in passing, I just say vegetarian. Not trying to be an asshole.

Yeah, and on top of some social anxiety issues, I have had (like a lot of other people, I'm sure) body image issues and am very self-conscious about discussing food/weight/etc. So the last thing I want to do is talk about my diet with other people.

It sounds ridiculous I know, but I'm just trying to point out that not everyone with dietary restrictions/dietary choices feels the need to advertise it/use it as a label to say they're special or something.

MollyandD · April 2015

hellohkb said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
This! I know it's easier but it makes it so much harder for us vegetarians. We don't eat chicken or fish and for some reason people consider fish and chicken vegetarian.

This happens all the time to me too. Someone got it in their mind that fish is a vegetable, I guess. It's annoying when people want to argue with me about it. They say I can still be a vegetarian and eat fish. Sorry, but no, I can't.

novella1186 · April 2015

lovegood90 said:

novella1186 said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
My sister used to call herself a vegetarian, but the only thing she didn't eat was red meat. She ate chicken, turkey, etc. But she was a vegetarian.

I hate when people say nonsense like that.

In fact, I was telling my friend at work that I made a really good vegan recipe for dinner and I felt the need to specify, "I'm not vegan or anything. I just like the recipe," because I didn't want to be confused with one of those assholes who claims to be a thing that they're not.

Yeah, I'm definitely not trying to be an asshole or SS by saying vegetarian instead of pescetarian.
I just figured it's quickest to say vegetarian because I don't like getting into long discussions about my diet, which it always turns into when I say pescetarian. Then I get weird looks as though I'm trying to be "special" and condescending questions like "oh so why do you think it's more humane to kill fish and not mammals? What are your reasons??" etc etc. And I have quite moderate social anxiety that I'd rather just avoid the comments and questions.
So I've found that's what works for me, sorry if people out there think this makes me a dick.

lol I seriously just came back to specify that when I said "asshole" I mean the people like my sister who eat all kinds of meat but for some reason say they're vegetarian. I was NOT referring to the knotties here who are pescetarian but just say vegetarian to keep things simple. I'm sorry, ladies! I really was not trying to call you assholes!!!

I definitely understand just wanting to keep things simple. It's really hard to explain my weird stomach to people and try to explain what I can and can't eat, plus sometimes it's embarrassing cuz people will start asking all kinds of questions about it, so I try to just say something like "I just have a weird stomach." Or "I have a super sensitive stomach." and just leave it at that.

emmaaa · April 2015

abcdevonn said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
I'm just saying this usually doesn't come up with proper timing for a teaching moment. It's usually during a work lunch order, or something similar like, "What do you want on your meatball sub?" "I'm going to skip out, actually. I'm a vegetarian." And I don't think that causes any confusion for them in the long run because I'm not ordering salmon at work. They don't even know I eat fish.

I honestly don't know how hard the conversation would be.

You: No, I'm a pescatarian.
Them: What is that?
You: That means that the only "meat"/animal I eat is fish.

littlepep · April 2015

Molly&Domenic said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
This! I know it's easier but it makes it so much harder for us vegetarians. We don't eat chicken or fish and for some reason people consider fish and chicken vegetarian.

This happens all the time to me too. Someone got it in their mind that fish is a vegetable, I guess. It's annoying when people want to argue with me about it. They say I can still be a vegetarian and eat fish. Sorry, but no, I can't.

Couldn't resist this haha.

[Deleted User] · April 2015

emmaaa said:

abcdevonn said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
I'm just saying this usually doesn't come up with proper timing for a teaching moment. It's usually during a work lunch order, or something similar like, "What do you want on your meatball sub?" "I'm going to skip out, actually. I'm a vegetarian." And I don't think that causes any confusion for them in the long run because I'm not ordering salmon at work. They don't even know I eat fish.
I honestly don't know how hard the conversation would be.

You: No, I'm a pescatarian.
Them: What is that?
You: That means that the only "meat"/animal I eat is fish.

I'm not saying it's a hard conversation. It is just more complicated. That is all. I don't think that means I am posing as a vegetarian, or making it harder on vegetarians, because, as I've said, I rarely eat fish and when I do it is usually with people who already know that I am, in fact, a pescetarian. I don't think I am confusing their sensibilities when they already know. I also don't ever lead with "Hi, I'm abcdevonn and I am a vegetarian!" It almost never comes up in my life unless someone is asking what I am ordering to eat.

ETA: Grammar

hellohkb · April 2015

But if someone asks if you want meat on your meal, why not just say "No thanks"? When servers ask if I want meat I don't explain I'm a vegetarian unless specifically asked. I just say "no thank you". If someone were to press me on why I didn't want meat I would just say I don't want any. If they're gonna be a dick and keep asking or make some stupid joke about it I would ignore it.

redoryx · April 2015

hellohkb said:
But if someone asks if you want meat on your meal, why not just say "No thanks"? When servers ask if I want meat I don't explain I'm a vegetarian unless specifically asked. I just say "no thank you". If someone were to press me on why I didn't want meat I would just say I don't want any. If they're gonna be a dick and keep asking or make some stupid joke about it I would ignore it.

Or if you feel the need to explain, just say "I don't eat meat."

I know nobody is trying to be a dick or an asshole and I certainly wasn't intending to call anyone that if it came off that way. I also know it seems like nitpicking but words have meanings and vegetarian and pescatarian are two different things.

[Deleted User] · April 2015

redoryx said:

hellohkb said:
But if someone asks if you want meat on your meal, why not just say "No thanks"? When servers ask if I want meat I don't explain I'm a vegetarian unless specifically asked. I just say "no thank you". If someone were to press me on why I didn't want meat I would just say I don't want any. If they're gonna be a dick and keep asking or make some stupid joke about it I would ignore it.
Or if you feel the need to explain, just say "I don't eat meat."

I know nobody is trying to be a dick or an asshole and I certainly wasn't intending to call anyone that if it came off that way. I also know it seems like nitpicking but words have meanings and vegetarian and pescatarian are two different things.

Yes, what I am trying to say is I do usually just say, "No. No thanks. I don't eat meat." etc. Which is I guess what I was trying to get to when I said it doesn't usually come up. But I have said "Yes" to "Oh, are you a vegetarian" or similar situations.

badbnagdway · April 2015

abcdevonn said:

emmaaa said:

abcdevonn said:

ashley8918 said:

redoryx said:
Okay, as a former vegetarian, I'm just going to ask that if you're Pescatarian, call yourself Pescatarian. I get that most people don't understand what that means and that's because nobody has taken the opportunity to explain it to them, so see it as an opportunity to educate. Otherwise, vegetarians have to have the following conversations:

A: But you eat fish, right?
Me: No. Fish is an animal.
A: But my vegetarian friend eats fish.
Me: Your friend isn't vegetarian.
A: But they say --
Me: Yeah, no, they are Pescatarian. They eat fish but no other animal. Vegetarians don't eat any kind of animal.

And now the vegetarian becomes the bad guy for calling their friend a liar.
Yes, this happens to me a lot too. Everyone is convinced that I do, in fact, eat fish. I FUCKING DON'T. STOP. I do no eat any dead things, kthxbye.
I'm just saying this usually doesn't come up with proper timing for a teaching moment. It's usually during a work lunch order, or something similar like, "What do you want on your meatball sub?" "I'm going to skip out, actually. I'm a vegetarian." And I don't think that causes any confusion for them in the long run because I'm not ordering salmon at work. They don't even know I eat fish.
I honestly don't know how hard the conversation would be.

You: No, I'm a pescatarian.
Them: What is that?
You: That means that the only "meat"/animal I eat is fish.
I'm not saying it's a hard conversation. It is just more complicated. That is all. I don't think that means I am posing as a vegetarian, or making it harder on vegetarians, because, as I've said, I rarely eat fish and when I do it is usually with people who already know that I am, in fact, a pescetarian. I don't think I am confusing their sensibilities when they already know. I also don't ever lead with "Hi, I'm abcdevonn and I am a vegetarian!" It almost never comes up in my life unless someone is asking what I am ordering to eat.

ETA: Grammar

Yeah, agree. People understand vegetarian better than pescatarian. It's not impossible to explain but it is challenging. Plus, frankly, I live inland. Although I like some fish and crustaceans I hardly ever eat them here unless at a very good restaurant, and would rather that someone having me for dinner at their house know that I don't eat meat than that I eat fish. It is nearly impossible to buy good fish at the grocery store where I live and I have had people feed me bad fish before. There is nothing worse to eat than bad fish.

Eggs: Vegetarian or Not?

Re: Eggs: Vegetarian or Not?

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