defining vegetarianism
As some of you may know I went vegan back in March. Before going vegan I called myself a vegetarian. But I ate water dwelling members of the animal kingdom (I called it "seafood") And now I look back and wonder how in the world i thought of myself as a vegetarian. Am I so stupid as to think that fish are plants?
But then a while back, I was checking out the recipe books at the local used book store with my mom and I was totally annoyed to see vegetarian cook book after cook book include fish and crabs and other crustaceans in the ingredients. NO WONDER I THOUGHT I WAS VEGETARIAN!!!
If someone had said to me"zealia, eat fish your not a stickin' vegetarian..." I'd probably have thought to myself:Myself, They have a point. I do eat fish. I am not a vegetarian...I should remedy this situation if I want to be a vegetarian
So I have committed to being the vegetarian police...hahaha. If I have somebody tell me they are a vegetarian but eat fish Ill inform them that they are a pescatarin...I think I also want to urge the book store to classify those cookbooks as pescatarian.....
Don't get me wrong- pescatarian is better than the typical American diet...but fish re still animals...This is totally not a "holier-than-thou" thing...its about being clear and factual...and hopefully pushing people to examine their beliefs a little more thouroughly...
and vegans who eat honey....watch your backs cause you're next on my list!!!! ::)
For jeanacorina and operachic -- I would agree that "vegan policing" is stupid if misuse of the term truly were harmless, but it's not. As people in this very thread have attested, and as has happened to me and probably to you as well, often times one can tell a server or host that one is vegetarian or vegan only to be served fish, chicken or honey. That's the harm -- we NEED these words. We need them for communication. And people who misuse them are taking the words from us, and making us get served fish. And not only is that extremely annoying for us humans, it even kills the fish.
Put down the hot dog and nobody get's hurt--that's right back away slowly--I'm afriad this infraction will cost you your veg*n licence and you will be on perminant tofu probation untill you can be trusted with other types of protien!
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/igonz16534/M1.jpg
Put down the hot dog and nobody get's hurt--that's right back away slowly--I'm afriad this infraction will cost you your veg*n licence and you will be on perminant tofu probation untill you can be trusted with other types of protien!
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/igonz16534/M1.jpg
LOL! Capture, you crack me up!
Cephi, I totally get what you're saying, and I agree that a restaurant should be careful and know that when a person asks for veg*n food, that they adhere to the strictest sense of that word. Honey and sugar are still up in the air, for many vegans. (And yes, I say vegans.) If a restaurant has vegan food labeled as such, it should be clear about it's sugar sources and if the food contains honey. Animals flesh of any kind should never be labeled as vegetarian. There are groups that help restaurants find veg*n menu options and educate chefs about dietery restrictions. Unfortunately, there will always be people in the world (especially low-pay, low-ed wait staff) who are ignorant.
(When I go to a restaurant, I am very clear about what I won't eat and ask if there is meat broth, etc....if I get the sense that the server doesn't know or understand, I order something else or ask to speak with someone else.)
They're just covering their asses in case someone with uberallergies explodes when their potato chip happens to have a few molecules of milk on it.
haha :) I mean if someone where to blow up it really wouldnt be funny...but its such a funny image...I picture charlie and the chocolate factory.
Oh, man..while working as a waitress a few years ago, I had a lady come in who claimed to be "vegetarian" and asked me to point out a few entrees that she could choose from. I told her that, honestly, other than salad and peanut butter and jelly *uncrustables*, we didn't have much. She then proceeded to tell me "Oh, I eat chicken..I'll have the chicken quesadilla."
Because chicken is a vegetable that grows right beside my tomatoes. ::)
LMAO! ;D
The Food Network also doesn't seem to understand that fish and seafood are meat, about 50% of what came up when I typed "vegetarian" included fish, crab, or shrimp. Even the "mock crab cakes" were made of tuna....I think it's just people thinking fish don't feel pain so no one should have a problem with killing them (even if it were true, that wouldn't make it right)
You know, like if you were paralyzed and how you wouldn't mind if people kicked you in the shins all the time
Okay...i feel I need to clarify---I'm not trying t slam anybodies dietary choices. I'm merely observing that the reason people think its okay to say something like "I'm vegetarian but I eat fish" is because veg media is telling them it so okay.
When i say veg police - its kinda tongue in cheek-- I (begrudgingly) praise even the smallest effort to go cruelty free. Ive had people tell me that they give up red meat and instead of saying "you know chickens are more abused than cows..." I say "Wow, good for you, thats a step in the right direction...are you finding it difficult to eliminated that from your diet, have you tried this product, etc...." So i,m really not tearing ppl down.
Maybe "police" is too strong a word....more like "safety monitor" ::)
Also I feel the needs to confess that i still have a pair of leather shoes that will just NOT DIE...so that I can stop wearing leather (but they are too old looking to donate at this point) Thank you, that is all. :P Oh yes... i also ust admit that my intetnions behind teh honey comment were purely sh!t-stirring! So, :P again...
I see nothing wrong with continuing to wear/use leather stuff that you had before you went vegan. or buying leather wallets, belts, shoes etc. from a thrift store - you're not supporting killing animials. whether or not you're comfortable with using/wearing leather - well, that's up to you.
I know alot of Jewish friends who call themselves vegetarians, and ALL of them eat fish, dairy and eggs. I think the fish thing goes back to religious vegetarianism, as someone else said. It's not just a Christian thing, it's a Judeo-Christian thing (maybe even more religions!) While nowadays, we understand that fish and other sea creatures are animals, and therefore to eat them is not veg*n, we still have this history floating out there... I wonder if it's because of a root confusion between Judeo-Christian (Western) culture and Buddist, Hindu (Eastern) culture...hmmm ???
I know alot of Jewish friends who call themselves vegetarians, and ALL of them eat fish, dairy and eggs. I think the fish thing goes back to religious vegetarianism, as someone else said. It's not just a Christian thing, it's a Judeo-Christian thing (maybe even more religions!) While nowadays, we understand that fish and other sea creatures are animals, and therefore to eat them is not veg*n, we still have this history floating out there... I wonder if it's because of a root confusion between Judeo-Christian (Western) culture and Buddist, Hindu (Eastern) culture...hmmm ???
True that! My cousins husband (my cousin in law?) and two of their kids have this strange, deathly allergy to proteins from animal flesh...except poultry and some fish...So they call them selves vegetarians....the bad thing about thatisi they say "we're vegetarians!" and eat the turkey my aunt makes- and then she says, "zealia, even GEORGE and the boys are eating the Turkey and THEY are vegetarians too....why won't you eat my Turkey???" it get a messy but I can understand why they call themselves that even though they are NOT vegetarians.
Also, their allergy is strange...its not like a normal reaction where the person swells and gets splotches...it cause es their digestive systems to become paralyzed. George had to have surgery once after getting beef broth in some food at a restaurant once...freaky- huh? anyone ever heard of this?
I have a couple of friends with IBS who get horribly ill if they eat red meat or pork. Chicken and fish seem to be OK for them to eat.
The whole terming/defining of "veg*n" thing reminds me very much of the terming/defining for Kosher. lol...maybe we need a veg*n rabbi association to certify our food! teehee!
8)
I also understand why someone with a severe allegy to mammal flesh might CALL themselves veg*n and not be strictly veg*n. It might help keep someone from slipping bacon or something into your food. Although, I think saying you have an allergy would have a stronger effect.
Okay...i feel I need to clarify---I'm not trying t slam anybodies dietary choices. I'm merely observing that the reason people think its okay to say something like "I'm vegetarian but I eat fish" is because veg media is telling them it so okay.
When i say veg police - its kinda tongue in cheek-- I (begrudgingly) praise even the smallest effort to go cruelty free. Ive had people tell me that they give up red meat and instead of saying "you know chickens are more abused than cows..." I say "Wow, good for you, thats a step in the right direction...are you finding it difficult to eliminated that from your diet, have you tried this product, etc...." So i,m really not tearing ppl down.
Maybe "police" is too strong a word....more like "safety monitor" ::)
Also I feel the needs to confess that i still have a pair of leather shoes that will just NOT DIE...so that I can stop wearing leather (but they are too old looking to donate at this point) Thank you, that is all. :P Oh yes... i also ust admit that my intetnions behind teh honey comment were purely sh!t-stirring! So, :P again...
Hey VHZ! I'm sure nobody thought you were tearing them down! You know--if we in the veg*n community did have some safty monitors I bet we would have a lot more options for ourselves! And I think it's good that we all kind of watch each others backs! You know if I posted something about loving something like marshmellow (I don't) I would totally want someone to tell me that it's not veg*n! I think you brought up a really valid point about people who think they are vegetarians but still eat fish/seafood, and you're right--our media has a hand in that! Just they other day I was looking at a vegetarina times expecting to see a lot of vegan recipes--but they all had dairy in them--that wasn't so bad--but many of them had eggs! I don't think there was a single vegan recipe in the issue! Keep up the good work officer!
Yeah, Vegetarian Times has mostly ovo-lacto recipes, although they DO have vegan recipes, and they label them as such.
Edit: There's a chart in the back of each VT magazine with all of the recipes in that issue listed. They are labeled as to whether they are vegan or contain dairy or eggs (or both). I've been subscribing to the magazine for a year or so and have never seen a magazine without at least a couple of vegan recipes. :)
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat seafood, poultry or any kind of meat (beef).
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat seafood, poultry or any kind of meat (beef).
Here's a link that covers a whole range of vegetarians--they really are grouped like levels--oh well--you can only do what you can!
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/tp/TypesofVeg.htm
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