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7.23.2006 ||> Things people say to vegetarians, the argument
Fish dishes bother me. Not on a visceral level, but on the way people treat them.
A fish is an animal. It breathes, it swims, it breeds. Meat is a product made of animals. Therefore, fish dishes are meat. It's not a difficult concept. So why is it such a polarizing issue with people?
I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian which means that I eat eggs, dairy, caviar and honey. I eat animal by products but not animals. I also firmly believe (along with 99% of all vegetarians) that if you eat animal flesh, you are not a vegetarian. Call yourself whatever you like: flexatarian, pectotarian, fishatarian. If it makes you feel better to label yourself with a -tarian, go for it. But let's not confuse the issue. Just because the Pope said that fish is not meat doesn't mean it's true. Infallability, my ass.
People that either know one of these pseudo-vegatarians or are one themselves get very upset with this fact. I'm sure they get it all the time, and find it annoying. They also are never interested in debating the fact. They simply want everyone to believe that fish is not meat and let it go at that. The most frequent conversation goes like this:
"Well, so and so is a vegetarian and they eat fish."
"No, they're not. If you eat meat, you aren't a vegetarian."
"Fish isn't meat."
"Yes it is. It's certainly not a plant."
"Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree."
My inner feelings? So and so is a poser. The actual so and so would never engage in a conversation like this, prefering to huff about as indignantly as possible.
If you or someone you know is like this, please stop the insanity.
Labels: vegetarianism
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