My friend wants to go vegan/vegetarian, but...

[illinoisemakerr]

So, I have a friend who is thinking about going vegetarian.(she's lactose intolerant, so she'll be an accidental vegan.) I'm happy for her, but the thing is that she thinks that there are certain types of vegetarians that eat fish and/or seafood. I spent a good amount of time in class today explaining to her that vegetarians eat no meat, and a fish

Comments

[violet_flames]

I would tell her first that the correct word for what she's going for is pescatarian. I would just encourage her, because she's making a huge and positive life change. Life changes often happen in smaller steps, so I would only rarely mention the fish thing, just enough to keep it in her mind, but not bug her.

My boyfriend went veggie, then briefly pescatarian, then back to veggie and then vegan. The whole time he said he could never give up milk, until one day he did. People have to make their choices for their own reasons, so just try to be supportive even if it bugs you ;)

[itsnotfairlaika]

I agree about letting her wean off the food. It was an overnight thing for me but for some people it is not.
Also explain that whether or not they can feel pain it is still incredibly horrible and inhumane! I think fishing is almost worse than hunting- you stick a hook through a fish's mouth and pull it out of water before it's even dead (which is basically the same as putting a human underwater or in space where they have no oxygen, at least to me.) If not being able to breathe doesn't hurt, then I don't know what does!

"did it have a face? then it's meat and vegetarians dont eat meat"

[bizwac]

vegetarian: person who does not eat the flesh of any animal
fish: an animal

she can think that fish dont feel pain all she wants, but this doesn't change the fact that a fish is an ANIMAL and thus CANNOT be eaten by a vegetarian.

If she insists on eating fish, tell her she is a pescetarian.

I dont understand how it's so hard to comprehend. Sure, she can eat fish if she chooses. she can be weaning herself of. But if she still eats meat she isn't a vegetarian. I weaned myself off, first getting rid of red meat. I still ate chicken and fish, but I didn't call myself a vegetarian. then I got rid of fish and only ate chicken. still I didn't call myself a vegetarian. finally I gave up chicken - I was a vegetarian.

Also, she may not be an accidental vegan, cos she could still eat eggs and honey.

[pearlmaster8]

I am the only one that doesn't care? Let me be clear. I care that she chooses to eat fish and is making the decision to eat it or not, but I don't care if she wants to call herself a vegetarian or not.

Who cares what you call yourself? It is what you do that matters. I try and do what I do logically and if someone told me that eating fish is not "vegetarian" that would make no difference to me. Call me what you want, I don't choose to be vegan to get the title, I do it because it makes sense. So talk to her more in terms of whether it makes sense for her to eat fish or not (according to whatever reasons she is choosing not to eat cows, chickens, etc.)

I guess I have just seen this a lot and it really doesn't matter to me what people decide to call themselves. I, personally, wouldn't consider someone who eats gelatin a vegetarian but there are a lot of people who do. Don't not do things JUST because they are non-vegan, abstain from them because you find them wrong.

Okay I have rambled long enough.

[vgnwtch]

I am one half of a transatlantic marriage. We've been wed for over a decade - since before either of us realised just how environmentally damaging air travel is. But we've flown once every two years across the Atlantic and back since 1994. In that time, we have only once had two vegan meals provided for us, even though we always made it clear on booking, 3 weeks before flying, 2 weeks before flying, 1 week before flying, 2 days before flying, and at the check-in desk. At best, we get one vegan meal to share between us. Usually, we get a vegetarian meal offered to us, in which almost everything contains dairy products. And, often, we get offered tuna or chicken sandwiches, because the cabin crew have vegetarian friends who eat fish and chicken, so it makes sense to them to offer them to us as alternatives. We now pack snacks so that we don't starve in the 6 hours on the plane plus the 2-3 hours at the airport ahead of time, and the hour or so on arrival, or the journey to/from the airport

[pearlmaster8]

What airline are you flying? I have gone on British Airways and Lufthansa on longer flights and they always have vegan options.

I suppose that is one aspect of people mistakingly calling themselves vegetarian that could cause problems. But it seems that more people are just concerned for some reason that they don't "deserve" that title. Like they are frustrated because they are "REAL" vegetarians and don't want someone else calling themselves that if they are not exactly the same way.

[vgnwtch]

I've flown BA, Lufthansa, AA, and others - and they've all screwed up. Yes, they've all had vegan options, but they haven't delivered.