# It's meat. Get over it. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 21, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144 "2013-07-21T23:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/41 "2013-07-22T14:20:27Z")
Yeah, but is lobster meat? “I don’t eat friggin’ lobster or anything like that. Because they’re alive when you kill it.” ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/42 "2013-07-22T14:24:35Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > (This was back before pyramids were invented, obviously!) Dude! How old ARE you? The pyramids were invented back, like, AGES ago! By aliens! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/43 "2013-07-22T14:40:55Z")
Poultryhead ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/44 "2013-07-22T15:11:00Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Proof that if you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat most anything. Sort of like those Ham and Lima Beans c-rations. Or maybe even Dwarf Bread. I read a book about the Korean War (_The Four Deuces)_ in which those c-rations were called “Ham and Motherfuckers”. Still makes me laugh out loud thinking about it! As far as the OP goes, people have cognitive dissonance about all sorts of things. I worked with an Indian guy who was a vegetarian. Except he ate chicken. And pepperoni on pizza. Sometimes BBQ ribs. But if you asked, he was a vegetarian. Maybe we need a new forum - Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Bitch About (MPSIMBA). Kelevra ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/45 "2013-07-22T15:15:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Look, I understand what you’re saying, and I agree that any living animal flesh is meat in the broad sense, but \*\*that’s not how a lot of people talk. \*\* Quoted (and bolded) so the OP has another shot at it. When people talk about meat and fish it’s an accepted convention. The point of language is communication clarity. If convention is to call bird meat “poultry” and everyone agrees, then it’s clear and those definitions are doing their jobs. When someone tells me, ‘I can’t eat meat, but I love fish’ I don’t assume they are writing some scientific treatise, I figure that the superstitions associated with their creation myth prevent them from eating some meat but not all. Meat and fish are clear ways to communicate the difference between walking meat and swimming meat. Simple, clear. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/46 "2013-07-22T15:20:55Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The OP does _sort of_ have a point though - people seem to set rules for themselves (or accept rules being imposed upon them), then try hard to break the rules without actually breaking them - saying “yeah, but this doesn’t really count” is something humans just have a weakness for - whether it’s religious observance, a diet plan, or extramarital sex in the Oval Office. If you’re talking about [Catholic fasting or abstinence days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_and_abstinence_in_the_Roman_Catholic_Church), fish was never included in the term ‘meat’. So eating fish wasn’t a work around, but claiming that barnacle geese were fish was. The word ‘meat’ original meant food, or something eaten as a meal. So specifying that it only means the muscles of animals is already narrowing the definition, and everyone has adjusted to that. [Per wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat): > [@](#): > > Most often, “meat” refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as offal.[1]:1 Conversely, “meat” is sometimes also used in a more restrictive sense – the flesh of mammalian species (pigs, cattle, lambs, etc.) raised and prepared for human consumption, to the exclusion of fish and other seafood, poultry, and other animals. Yes, having the word refer to more than one category can be annoying. But both categories are well known. You consider your audience and make your choice, clarifying as necessary. Although if you’re creating a menu, you’d either have categoies for meat, fish, and poultry; or you’d have a single category of entrées (or dinners, lunches, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/47 "2013-07-22T15:31:05Z")
“They think with meat.” ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/48 "2013-07-22T15:34:48Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > It actually turns out that [beaver are fish.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver#In_dietary_law) According to [_Rasputina_ rats are fish](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nqWECQz-GY) also. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/49 "2013-07-22T15:36:01Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > “They think with meat.” mmmm, electron plasma brain. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/50 "2013-07-22T15:55:56Z")
“Fishing is for sport only. Fish Meat is practically a vegetable.” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V6c7Vw6R33E/hqdefault.jpg "Pyramid of Greatness") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6c7Vw6R33E) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/51 "2013-07-22T16:22:13Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > If you’re talking about [Catholic fasting or abstinence days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_and_abstinence_in_the_Roman_Catholic_Church), fish was never included in the term ‘meat’. So eating fish wasn’t a work around, but claiming that barnacle geese were fish was. Agreed - and rabbit fetuses, beavers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/52 "2013-07-22T17:46:43Z")
> [@Tacit\_Knowledge](#): > > No, I actually mentioned a few posts back that I understand the existence of different uses of the word. I’m referring to people who don’t comprehend that those meats are, in fact (the literal sense), meats. Not all snack cakes are Little Debbie Devil Cremes. But all Little Debbie Devil Cremes are snack cakes. So you’re saying that not all meat is meat. But all meat is meat. That’s quite true when thought of this way. I’m not really sure that I’ve ever met anybody who literally doesn’t comprehend the difference between the set and the subset of meat. I’m assuming they’re just using the subset. I’m probably not a good data point though because I’ve mostly never challenged their initial statements and have never asked them if they knew the difference and which definition of meat they meant. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/53 "2013-07-22T17:58:13Z")
Had lunch at Godfather’s Pizza today. On my second trip up, this long haired hippy freak is yelling at the manager. He’s holding a piece of their [Cheeseburger Pizza](http://www.godfathers.com/wfdata/frame423-1041/baccb2.jpg) (pic in link) and keeps repeating “No, YOU need to be more careful about what you put under the ‘cheese pizza’ sign, because _some of us don’t eat meat!_” The manager (nice guy) is very confused, because this pizza is very obviously about 50% hamburger by weight. He’s trying to explain that it is still early in the buffet (@11:10am) and they don’t have all of their pizzas out yet. I’ll note that there are more little signs than there are pizzas. Guy gets all huffy and storms out. Manager walks over to his wife and two kids, who are very happily eating their pizza (with meat). Wife just shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. Attitude was more like ‘oh gee darn’ and not bothered by it. Three minutes later he comes back in, demands a refund, then walks out again. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/54 "2013-07-22T18:06:13Z")
You know what you call the part of a piece of fruit that is neither stems, seeds,nor peel? The meat. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/55 "2013-07-22T18:46:19Z")
And yet children are sometimes referred to as ‘Crotch Fruit’. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/56 "2013-07-22T19:08:17Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > What about the muscle of snakes and lizards, and other “evil” animals. Also meat? You can live on them but they taste like shit. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/57 "2013-07-22T19:29:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If somebody tells me they’re a vegetarian, I assume they don’t eat any living creature, and quite possibly products of living creatures. They’re vegetarian, not breatharian. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/58 "2013-07-22T20:05:58Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > They’re vegetarian, not breatharian. Sorry, I’m slow today. What’s the joke? That vegetables are products of living creatures as humans harvest them, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/59 "2013-07-22T21:59:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Sorry, I’m slow today. What’s the joke? That vegetables are products of living creatures as humans harvest them, or something? Plants are living creatures… What did you think they were, rocks? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144/60 "2013-07-22T22:12:55Z")
An intellectual carrot. The mind boggles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-meat-get-over-it/664144.md?page=4)