# I'm A Vegetarian But I Eat Chicken And Fish **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 6, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190 "2010-04-06T20:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/41 "2010-04-07T08:13:50Z")
[Kangatarianism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangatarianism) ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/42 "2010-04-07T08:35:57Z")
I’m an ovo-lacto-invertebrato-pesco-pollo-bovino-ovino-porcino-vegetarian. I mean, I don’t actually eat _people_. Under normal, non-famine circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Seamack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@Seamack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seamack)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/43 "2010-04-07T08:43:37Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > I was raised in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Hindu tradition, in which “vegetarian” is far, far more strict than it is for almost anybody except vegans, I imagine. No animal flesh of any kind, no fish, no eggs, no chickenses (this despite the fact that a dispassionate examination will reveal that chickens are in fact vegetables), and no spiders. Even garlic and onions were prohibited for reasons I am still not sure I understand! I had a Hare Krshna friend explain to me that ‘Garlic and Onions warm the blood and create unwanted desires’. He further explained as that he only practiced ‘procreative sex’ that warming of the blood could make his life more complicated. Could this be a similar explanation for the exclusion of Garlic and Onions fro the Gaudiya Vaisnava Hindu tradition? ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/44 "2010-04-07T12:10:43Z")
I used to be vegan, then went to lacto-ovo vegetarianism, then to pescetarianism, then I started eating white meat poultry, then the occasional hamburger. I still don’t eat any pork (yuck!) and I only eat hamburger for red meat. I don’t like the texture of steak or roast or any of that red meat and I have yet to eat a pork product that (a) tasted good to me - and not all like fat and salt - and (b) agrees with my digestive tract. I had some sausage on a pizza once and I got so sick. Another time, I agreed to eat some ham (ew!) and I had the shits for the rest of the day. There are more incidents, but every time I eat pork, I always experience gastrointestinal distress. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/45 "2010-04-07T12:47:13Z")
Here’s a vegan who eats oysters: [It's OK for vegans to eat oysters.](http://www.slate.com/id/2248998/#add-comment) Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/46 "2010-04-07T15:19:43Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > No, because then some smarty-pants will try to feed you pork, the other white meat. > English needs a word for _I don’t eat quadrupeds_. Hmm. We use “vegaquarian” (which I think I first read here on the SDMB) because we were finding, no matter how diligent we were with food combining, given the level of physical activity we were doing, we just weren’t getting enough protein. But fish and chicken… let’s see… “Nonmammaliavore”? ETA: They eat lizards too, right? ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/47 "2010-04-07T15:24:29Z")
I’m reminded of an old Far Side cartoon where a cow is cooking burgers on a grill in the pasture. Two other cows are staring and one points and says, “You’re sick, Larry. Sick, sick, sick!” 😃 In any event, vegetarianism is currently cool, and a lot of people want to identify as such without having to make serious life changes. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/48 "2010-04-07T16:09:33Z")
My wife is a vegetarian (I’m not) and it is so surprising how many people ask whether she eats fish…or chicken. In fact, we have gone to dinner where the person prepared chicken because she thought it was OK for my wife to eat. (BTW, my wife has no problem eating with meat-eaters). It’s just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/49 "2010-04-07T16:21:46Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > In any event, vegetarianism is currently cool, and a lot of people want to identify as such without having to make serious life changes. “Currently cool”? I stopped eating meat about 20 years ago and seemed to meet scads of fellow “vegetarians” back then who supplemented their diets with hotdogs. It was always the kids who’d surprise their parents at the table for Sunday’s potroat, with “Oh, I won’t eat this. I’m a vegetarian now.” And you’d ave to remind them that Hotrods weren’t vegetarian. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/50 "2010-04-07T16:22:56Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Bacon? > > (IMHO, the Human Animal has eaten meat for 65 million-odd-years…at least. I’m not gonna buck the trend.) No…I inhale bacon.😃 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/51 "2010-04-07T16:24:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > My philosophy is - love me, love my meat. My husband would definitely agree with you on multiple levels. (I laughed so hard when I saw that that my steak almost came out my nose. Ow, ow, ow. ) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/52 "2010-04-07T16:29:33Z")
> [@Toejam](#): > > =I just tell people “I don’t eat beef.” > > It works wonders, and most people understand it… except for the random people who then try to offer me veal. > [@Odesio](#): > > I eat beef and in my entire life I’ve never been offered veal. Seriously. And I love veal. (I love lamb, too. Pass me those baby animals.) > [@Stealth Potato](#): > > I was raised in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Hindu tradition, in which “vegetarian” is far, far more strict than it is for almost anybody except vegans, I imagine. No animal flesh of any kind, no fish, no eggs, no chickenses (this despite the fact that a dispassionate examination will reveal that chickens are in fact vegetables), and no spiders. Even garlic and onions were prohibited for reasons I am still not sure I understand! I have heard of the garlic and onions thing and my opinion is, fuck that noise. I only get to live once and you are going to take away one of the things that makes food palatable? But…spiders? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/53 "2010-04-07T16:38:25Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I have heard of the garlic and onions thing and my opinion is, fuck that noise. I only get to live once and you are going to take away one of the things that makes food palatable? Well, there’s asafoetida, but that’s kind of a pain because you absolutely have to saute it in oil or something before it tastes good. But still, what a loss! Ovo-lacto vegetarian here (non-proselytizing, and I happily cook meat for my omnivorous\* husband), and I hate the “I’m a vegetarian (but I eat chicken and fish)” types because then way too many people assume that I eat those too. - Well, omnivorous in that he doesn’t eat US-raised veal because of how poorly the lil’ baby cows are treated, but otherwise happily eats many kinds of meat **and** “weird” vegetarian-friendly foods. He has even, willingly and knowingly, eaten a variety of cooked/prepared/chocolate-dipped insects, so I think he’s pretty good at really claiming this term. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/54 "2010-04-07T18:03:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Here’s a vegan who eats oysters: [It's OK for vegans to eat oysters.](http://www.slate.com/id/2248998/#add-comment) > > Seriously. Veganism: ur doing it wrong. :dubious: (His argument is that because oysters can’t move or make noise, they’re not really an animal or, if they are, they can’t feel pain? There are logic holes you could drive a truck through there.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/55 "2010-04-07T18:18:28Z")
> [@Lazz](#): > > I have a running joke with some (vegetarian) friends that I’ve decided I am a carno-vegetarian: I’ll eat veggies, beef and pork, but not chicken and fish. Since in my mind I don’t see why it’s any different than calling yourself vegetarian while doing the reverse (the size of the animals killed maybe?) Maybe. When I was in college a number of my friends referred to themselves as “beady-eye’d vegetarians”, meaning they’d eat critters that had beady little eyes, like chickens and fish; but not animals with big, soft eyes like cows and sheep. Some people won’t eat the types of animals that you’d encounter in a petting zoo. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/56 "2010-04-07T18:25:00Z")
I’m pretty lax about the words people use. Some of the more self-righteous vegetarians out there will chastise pescatarians for calling themselves pescatarians, but then they’ll eat cheese made with animal rennet, or they’ll drink milk, or they’ll eat eggs, or they’ll eat honey, and it’s very clear that they’re operating from pure self-righteousness, not from a consideration for definitions. I also know vegetarians who refuse to eat fish, but who love Thai food. I don’t call them on it because it’s not my business, but I do wonder… ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/57 "2010-04-07T18:41:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > ISome of the more self-righteous vegetarians out there will chastise pescatarians for calling themselves pescatarians, but then they’ll eat cheese made with animal rennet, or they’ll drink milk, or they’ll eat eggs, or they’ll eat honey, and it’s very clear that they’re operating from pure self-righteousness, not from a consideration for definitions. Um. Sorry to tell you this, but that _is_ the correct definition of a vegetarian. It’s the vegans that don’t eat those things. Either way, I’m not sure who would yell at a pescatarian for calling themselves that, unless they’re not doing it right? (Eating chicken or some such?) Usually they’d only be yelled at if they called themselves vegetarian, like in this thread. Are you sure you have the story straight? ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/58 "2010-04-07T19:20:27Z")
I’m not that surprised by the OP’s online profile cite, really. People think it’s “hip” to say they’re a vegetarian. My SO is a former vegetarian of 10 years, and anytime it comes up in conversation, the surrounding people get all “oooh” “how cool” and reverential. It’s really bizarre; vegetarianism as of late is almost glorified with the likes of Michael Pollan running around proselytizing. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/59 "2010-04-08T17:55:42Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > So are all round fruits and veggies banned or just to two tastiest ones? 🙂 For me it was always just the two that rolled off the pile. And again, my family certainly eats plenty of them, but just not on certain religious festivals. Also, I’m fascinated by all the others out there w/ their own explanations of why they cannot eat these two guys. I do love Hinduism for that clusterfuck of awesomeness that is my religion and culture. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190/60 "2010-04-08T19:38:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Which is goofy in its own right, since pescetarians don’t \*only \*eat fish. 😉 > I wish you were making this up, but even if you were, somebody else would be saying it for real. This is ridiculous. We don’t need special words for these things, and like the OP said how in the hell are you a vegetarian if you eat “multiple meat categories?” If you don’t want to eat a lot of meat or don’t want beef or veal but like fish, fine- I don’t disapprove and you won’t hear a word about it from me if we’re at dinner. But don’t call yourself a freaking vegetarian or imply you’re sort of a vegetarian. I am cracking up at ‘imply you are some sort of vegetarian’. Haaa! I understand why some people feel they gotta have a label, though…because folks always want to put you in a box. But if one just doesn’t like to eat any meat except fish and seafood, there just really isn’t a well known box label for us. Ok, 15 years ago or so, I decided to forego all meat except fish and seafood. For my own reasons. Not for diet reasons (I find plenty of non meat or fish foods to overeat), not for religious reasons, but for my own reasons. I have found that the best way to convey this to others (when I have to) is to just say, “No thanks, I don’t like meat that much”. Perfect. It stops the onslaught of offers, challenges, games of ‘gotcha’ and so forth. “You mean you are a vegatarian? Because you know, fish is meat” “Nope, not a vegetarian, I just don’t like meat that much” “Well, the gravy on your rice has meat, so if you think you are a vegetarian or something…” “Oh, I’m fine with gravy…I just don’t like meat _that much_.” “Here, have some chicken…it’s kosher” “No thanks, I don’t really like meat or chicken that much” "I notice you pulled the pepperonis off your pizza…the grease still lingers on the cheese! I thought you said you were vegetarian! “I’m not. I just don’t like meat that much.” …and so on. I taught this technique to my best friend, who also decided to go no meat except fish and seafood. It is working like a charm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-vegetarian-but-i-eat-chicken-and-fish/535190.md?page=4)