In the “Are Vegetarians&Vegans Hypocrites” thread, someone talked about people who describe themselves as vegetarians, but who were pretty bad at following the diet.
If you don’t really have it in you to consistently abstain from meat, what’s the point of describing yourself as a vegetarian?
Nobody views vegetarians as superior to others except some other vegetarians, and “holier-than-thou” vegetarians don’t get much respect (not that they deserve any).
While the vegetarian diet may be healthier than the typical American high-fat, high-sugar diet, I have not heard of any evidence that it is the optimum diet for good health, and AFAIK most experts advise you to eat some meat.
Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.
I think, to a certain degree, vegetarianism is trendy (though not as much as it once was), so people might say they’re vegetarians (even if they eat chicken) to look “cool”. It can help with portraying a “healthful”, earth-goddess type of image, too.
As a more practical note, people might call themselves “vegetarians” because it cuts down on explanation time; if you don’t eat beef, pork or chicken, but you do eat fish, and a host asks what she should make for dinner, it’s a lot quicker to just say “I’m vegetarian”–then you know you’ll get something you can eat. Or perhaps the vegetarian backslides a lot, but doesn’t think those laspses preclude the “vegetarian” label. If this person ceased to call himself a vegetarian, perhaps he would lack the motivation to avoid the lapses, so he calles himself a vegetarian to keep himself working towards it. (If everyone knows you’re a vegetarian, you might avoid getting a steak in public, for fear of the stares and comments.)
I have heard quasi-vegetarians claim that after they had avoided eating red meat for a while, they found that it made them sick. Personally, I’m skeptical of such claims.
Why bother calling yourself a Christian if you ever lie? How can you call yourself a heterosexual if there are some women you wouldn’t have sex with? You can’t call yourself black when your great-grandfather was from Finland!
</overreaction>
Come on. You call yourself whatever fits you best. You don’t have to tow the party line 100%. No one’s keeping score.
(I used to say “I’m not a vegetarian - I just don’t eat meat.”)
I can verify that it is true. I am not a vegetarian. But living in S.F. have many friends who are. Meat is quite heavy, very different from other foods. I had a friend who gave up being vege, promptly ate a hamburger and got sick. Now she can have meat in small doses, and has worked her way up to larger and larger portions, but still can’t handle too much.
I agree, up to a point. As hashed out painfully on the veggie thread, even the most strict vegetarian still consumed itty bits of animal product. It’s unavoidable. And I (as a vegetarian) often admit that I know that I consume (as I put it) “animal molecules”. There may be some bit of chicken broth in something I order in a restaurant, and I didn’t know it, the waitress didn’t know it…you just do the best you can. I remember eating some dip at a party once - I thought it was hummus, or some other sort of dip, but after a few bites, I detected a “fishy” taste. Well, I’d obviously eaten something fishy. I wasn’t going to freak out and try to regurgitate it - these things happen. I still considered myself vegetarian after that - come on!
But, as explained on the other thread, it “muddies the water” when non-vegetarians want to take on the veggie label. If they insist that veggies can eat chicken (or fish) then it becomes more confusing for everyone else. I cannot tell you how many times I’d had to clarify, (or even argue with) someone who wanted to feed me some fish or chicken (even after I’d told them I was veggie) because they had been led to believe that veggies could eat fish/chicken.
And, I agree - there is nothing so wrong with eating small amounts of meat - from a dietary standpoint, anyway. So I don’t understand why people who are close to being vegetarian, (but not there yet) so often try to insist that they are. They’re not. I should think “almost vegetarian” or “practically vegetarian” would describe them better. What’s so wrong with that?
Guadere, exactly exactly exactly. I am convinced that this is the motivation behind many people insisting they are vegetarian. They think they look “cool”. But, God Forbid, they don’t want to give up chicken or fish once in a while! They want the “status” of the label (and I guess to some there is status in vegetarianism) but they don’t want to put out the discipline. And yes, I find that annoying.
I compare this to a non-smoker (or non-drinker) being annoyed with someone who claims they don’t smoke, perhaps gets on their high horse about smoking, but still smokes a cig or two a day - because they just can’t give it up entirely. Aw…come on - you don’t expect them to go without, right? I assume that most genuine non-smokers would find such a person annoying. They want the label (and status) of non-smoker, but they don’t want to give all of it up.
Polydactyl Cats Unlimited
“A Cat Cannot Have Too Many Toes”
The problems isn’t that I don’t have enough anecdotal evidence, it’s that the evidence is anecdotal. There is such a thing as a princess and the pea effect. Everybody wants to be a princess, so everybody thinks they can feel the pea.
OK, I’m going to shock the hell out of everyone here, and agree w/ YOSEMITEBABE. People who eat chicken are NOT vegetarians (Babe & I will never agree on the fish thing so I’ll give up on that). I think the CNRC calling those that do “semi-vegetarians” is a good idea.
Originally posted by Johnny Angel:
I have heard quasi-vegetarians claim that after they had avoided eating red meat for a while, they found that it made them sick. Personally, I’m skeptical of such claims.
Red meat doesn’t even smell good to me since I became vegetarian- it seems to have a slightly racid odour to me. Chicken still smells good, though.
Saves time? I take it you’re not a vegetarian or if you are, you’ve never been invited anywhere for dinner. The second one tells a host one is vegetarian, one is subjected to a barrage of questions from the host, the first two of which are “Do you eat chicken?” and “What about fish?”
I am what I would call a vegetarian, more specifically a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and I was motivated by the desire not to have to kill (or have someone kill for me) something that can feel pain in order to eat.
I, too, find myself have been annoyed by people who describe themselves as vegetarian because they don’t eat red meat very often. That’s a rather broad definition that seems like it needs a new word. Like, a non-red-meat-eater, whatever that would be in latin.
And I totally agree that when you say you’re a vegetarian, the next question is invariably “Do you eat fish?” Uh, no. There are no fish plants in my garden.
Anyhoo, my timesaving tip is to say “I don’t eat anything that used to move around on its own.” After thinking about it for a bit, and possibly being grossed out when they settle down to their chicken breast, people can usually figure out what they can serve you for dinner, which is really the only time you’re gonna have a problem.
Since you don’t have to kill the cow to get the milk, or the chicken for the eggs, I still consume dairy products.
I’d be interested in hearing other vegetarians’ opinions on leather shoes - do you wear them? I do, but I kinda think I shouldn’t. What alternatives are there? You can’t wear athletic shoes to the office…
I don’t know what you’re all complaining about. When I was a vegetarian I used to enjoy being asked if I ate chicken/fish. It’s like someone saying “I’m a moron, please say something sarcastic.”
Needless to say, I would always indulge them.
Profanity is the crutch of the inarticulate mother-fucker.
I’ve been a vegetarian for 14 years and if I eat something (unknowingly) that was made with something like lard or whatever, I definitely know it! My stomach cramps up and I get diarrhea.
Okay, okay, I admit it. I’m not completely vegephobic. I will eat spinach once in a great while, and I’m not adverse to a little bit of green pepper on my pizza.
But I still think I’m close enough to begin vegetable-free that I can call myself a “vegephobe” without feeling like a hypocrit.
