# Explain pescatarianism to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410 "2011-10-03T04:52:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/21 "2011-10-03T14:18:55Z")
Moved thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/22 "2011-10-03T15:51:50Z")
Most fish served in the U.S. is wild-caught, as opposed to raised on a farm. Additionally, fish are less likely to have been injected with hormones. For those who object to these practices, it can be difficult to figure out whether or not the animal you are eating was treated humanely before it was killed. Grass-fed does not mean grass-finished, free range does not necessarily mean free range for the entire life cycle, etc. Pescatarianism makes more sense when your moral viewpoint is that while it is acceptable to eat animals, they should be treated humanely up until their death. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/23 "2011-10-03T16:04:42Z")
> [@](#): > > At first, I, like many others, thought that a “vegetarian” eating fish was a cheap cop-out. Preparing seafood involves killing living creatures; the fact that they live in water and don’t have legs doesn’t change this fact. Then again, eating carrots also involves killing living creatures; the fact that they live in the ground and photosynthesize doesn’t change that. If it’s reasonable to decide that killing carrots is acceptable but killing animals isn’t, why shouldn’t it also be reasonable to decide that killing fish is acceptable but killing land animals isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/24 "2011-10-03T16:15:22Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Lots of people I know are vegetarians not because they care about the ickle furries but because the thought of eating flesh makes them feel queezy, a problem they generally don’t have with fish. So the muscle mass of a dead animal _isn’t_ flesh if the dead animal in question was cold-blooded and lived in the water? :dubious: That’s…an interesting take on things. ---
**Author:** ![Enilno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58f4c7/32.png) [@Enilno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enilno)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/25 "2011-10-03T16:24:12Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Most fish served in the U.S. is wild-caught, as opposed to raised on a farm. Additionally, fish are less likely to have been injected with hormones. While wild fish don’t have the same issues such as hormones and antibiotics and such, it has its own potential risks, such as mercury. It seems to me that it would be easy to have more than the recommended intake of mercury if relying on seafood as the primary source of protein in a diet. I’m sure much of it can be avoided by only eating seafood with low mercury content, but would the average pescatarian be so careful? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/26 "2011-10-03T16:39:17Z")
Fish aren’t cute usually. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/27 "2011-10-03T18:27:35Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > And that’s not a big deal. Describing yourself as “vegetarian” is usually just an easier way of explaining what is probably a complicated relationship between health, ethics, sustainability and culture. Nobody wants to say before a dinner party “I’m mostly vegetarian, but when I travel in Asia I’ll eat a bit of pork, and I’m fine with meat stock, and I really don’t like factory farmed meat but a bit of fish now and then is fine- but not shellfish…that just squicks me out for personal reasons.” So you just say “I’m vegetarian” and then your hosts know what to serve for dinner. Well said. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/28 "2011-10-03T18:35:59Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > one of whom said she was a pescatarian. Sounds like some kind of odd fish based Protestant group. “We honor the fish that Jesus used to feed the masses” ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/29 "2011-10-04T07:56:42Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > As laurasiatherians, horses and dogs (and cats) are genetically closer to cows and pigs than they are to humans. I was thinking more in peoples attitudes. I didn’t add cat, as I’ve read references to consuming “cat” all over the web. 🙂 Besides, no where did I claim they were more appertising than primates ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/30 "2011-10-04T12:48:23Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > No farmed fish, as the pollution produced by the farms is a major problem for the only species regularly available farmed here, entire Scottish Lochs have been seriously polluted; if they were set up along more sustainable lines, I’d be fine with it- I just can’t find any that I think are. There are plenty of ethically and organically farmed fisheries, it’s often a more ethical choice over wild. My partner is a fishmonger who specialises in sustainably sourced fish so I know _something_ of which I speak. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/31 "2011-10-04T12:58:44Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > So the muscle mass of a dead animal _isn’t_ flesh if the dead animal in question was cold-blooded and lived in the water? :dubious: That’s…an interesting take on things. I’ve been told by a couple of people that it’s a texture thing. The thought of a steak horrifies them, although a beefburger sometimes doesn’t for some. Fish isn’t chewy/sinewy to doesn’t attract the same revulsion. I never said it was logical! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/32 "2011-10-04T16:01:33Z")
As I understand it, there are some species of fish for which the farmed option is more ecological, and some for which the wild is. I’m not sure how one is expected to keep track. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/33 "2011-10-04T17:01:25Z")
As the late philosopher Kurt Cobain once sang, it’s okay to eat fish because they don’t have any feelings. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/34 "2011-10-06T04:00:16Z")
Wow! I’m _astonished_ at the variety of responses here! I’m seeing more viewpoints than most of the health boards I’ve seen! (A lot nicer, too. 🙂 ) Disclosure: Being Chinese by parentage and American by how I actually think, I’ve been an unrepentant omnivore my whole life and have never had any desire to be otherwise. I love having variety and can’t imagine doing without. Heck, it’s only been very recently that I’ve largely cut out candy (note I said largely, not completely). I should add, too, that it’s pretty damn hard to be a full-on vegetarian in Hawaii…trust me, kalua pork, mahimahi, beef chow fun, loco moco, spam musubi, fried chicken, baby back ribs, and Costco hot dogs are just the beginning. Filbert - “Don’t feel pain?” Even if that’s true (which I doubt), it’s a pretty flimsy rationale, considering that the end result is no different. I think anyone who actually ponied that up in a message board would get laughed out of the room in short order. Chronos - Oh, I know. Too insensitive to hear a carrot scream, etc. But there’s a clear dividing line between plants and animals (i.e., plants don’t think or have senses). I’m just sayin’ that if you’re going to argue from an ethical standpoint, you need something a little better than “not technically ‘meat’ according to what some really old book said”. Chimera - Heh. Reminds me of this Wizard of ID strip. Interviewer: For your religion, you put down “vegetarian”. Job applicant: Yes. Interviewer: But vegetarianism isn’t a religion. Job applicant: You don’t know us very well, do you? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/35 "2011-10-06T17:35:39Z")
> [@Time\_Stranger](#): > > I’m also a pescatarian. I used to be a pretty strict vegetarian, but it’s a lot easier to eat out with friends and not piss off the family by allowing fish in your diet. Because of some personal preferences, it also makes it a lot easier for me to get protein. (Also, I just really, really love seafood and I’m not concerned if that makes me a hypocrite.) My sister was a fairly strict vegetarian for around 15 years, starting at a time when the it wasn’t a particularly popular or widely known choice. She was never particularly strident and never liked to have people go to trouble to accomodate her diet. However, when she married her rather thoroughly carnivorous husband she realized he was getting anxious about what she would eat when they went out. He’d insist on restaurants he didn’t really enjoy so she’d have more options. So she started eating fish so he’d have more options. The things we do for love. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410/36 "2011-10-06T18:01:12Z")
Here’s another point of view: My sister is allergic to chicken, turkey, pork, and some other miscellaneous things. She doesn’t like beef. She’ll eat hamburger - anything else is too tough, she says :rolleyes: (yes, my sister is a crazy person) The easiest diet for her is pescatarian. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-pescatarianism-to-me/598410.md?page=1)