It did at one time, though, prohibiting dairy and eggs on days of abstinence, though this hasn’t been the case for the past few hundred years.
The big difference between the Eastern and the traditional Western disciplines of abstinence is that in the East, fish is considered halfway between shellfish and flesh meat, so it is prohibited on days of strict fasting, while in the West it has always been allowed on fast days. Even the pre-Roman Celtic monks, who were known for the extreme severity of their fasting, permitted fish to be eaten.
Aren’t fish held in some special regard? Fishes with fins, anyway.
As examples, the “loaves and fishes”, and the symbol of Jesus. There are more, I think, but the old synapses refuse to bring them to the front right now.
Oh yeah, Jonah’s whale*. Or should I say “the whale’s Jonah”? And, of course, all the fishes during The Flood.
*The sillies didn’t know that a whale is a mammal. (I know. “Big fish”)
mangeorge
In my opinion, eggs are meat, because they are counted as a protein source, just like chicken or tuna or beef. And while the dairy products also have protein, they are valued more for their calcium content. So when I sit down to eat a meal, and I know I need so much protein for the day, if an egg is on the plate it gets counted in that category. If cheese is on the plate it could go either way, but usually toward my dairy quota.