Why do so many people ask vegetarians if they eat fish?

It boggles my mind at times. I have literally been forced to debate and argue the point that fish=animal!

LOL, I know. It's amazing that any of those people even graduated high school. When did we learn about fish...I think it was 6th grade.

Because they are fish heads. DMML (new lol)

I don't get it either. They has flesh doens't it? I would consider that meat. It still suffers like every other animal. Fish are actually very intelligent creatures and do NOT want to die.

The Catholic Church. When people gave up "meat" for Lent, they were still permitted fish.

People keep asking because of the people who eat fish and call themselves vegetarian. I have no problem with someone choosing to eat fish, but it's the mislabeling and all the fallout from it that I have a problem with.

because some people are brought up to eat fish but no meat..i was brought up this way but am now totally vegetarian.
fish are scary

I also wonder about this, seeing fish very much as animals in that they have a face, internal body organs, movement, etc.

I have two possible explanations, however, for why some people think fish is not meat. These are just my ideas.

1) There is the term "red meat," which includes beef, pork, etc. but excludes poultry, fish, and seafood; and I think sometimes the word "meat" is used when the subject of discussion is really "red meat", so that not eating meat and not eating red meat would mean the same thing, according to this usage of the word "meat", and therefore fish would not be meat.

2) I think fish as animals are considered by some people to be so lowly, lacking intelligence and/or physical feeling, so as not to be considered/treated as animals.

some people consider fish ok to eat because its not a mammal.. I don't eat fish and when I tell people i'm vegetarian, I still get served fish a lot.

I think its because a lot of 'non meat eaters' call themselves 'vegetarian' when they are not actually veggie (in their "a fish is not a vegetable" campaign the veg soc calls these people pescatarians).

This has confused a great many people with limited experience of meeting veggies (they have assumed that if the few 'so called' vegetarians that they know eat fish then that must be what all vegetarians eat). The only thing that we true veggies can do is patiently re-educate them, so being asked to debate the point is a good thing, it gives you the perfect chance to correct their misconception, you just need to make sure you know your facts.

This is what the vegetarian society say on the subject;

'Vegetarians don鈥檛 eat fish and they never have. Many things have changed since The Vegetarian Society was founded in 1847 but two important definitions haven鈥檛:

鈥?VEGETARIAN鈥?鈥?someone who doesn鈥檛 eat animals
鈥?FISH鈥?鈥?cold-blooded, water-dwelling animal

Fish may not appear as cute and cuddly as young lambs, however they do feel pain and they do suffer. '

because there is such thing as a pescatarian, one who only eats seafood, but no poultry, game or red meat.
Peopel often confuse thes with vegetarian. Anyway not eating meat should not be about the label, i do not eat meat but i do eat fish but i don not call my self anything,. f people ask, i say i dont eat meat, thats it they smugly say "well how can you be a vegetarian and eat fish?" and i say, im not a vegetarian, i just dont eat meat

I think it's because a lot of people say I'm a vegetarian, I only eat fish!

You get a hell of a lot of them in here!

fish=flesh=non-vegetarian!!

To the answer that said their friend was a vegan and only ate fish twice a year, sorry but you will have to tell them that they are not a vegan!

because some ppl do still eat fish even tho they r vegetarians. idk y. they r animals.

I don't eat a lot of meat, and I don't have all the info on vegetarians, vegans, etc. Some people do not eat meat, and some don't eat meat, but they eat fish. Some don't eat any dairy products. Who cares. Eat what you want and not what you dont' want. No explanations are needed. I don't know why people have to make such a fuss. You get to eat what you want. Who cares what it is called!

I agree, But teh nagain most vegetarians and even soe vegans eat srimp because its basically a 'bug'


I think its crazy.

but hey to each thier own right?

I can see your argument. For some reason people do not associate red with with being a vegetarian, but do associate fish (maybe because fish is much healthier for you?). People tend to sometimes get vegetarians and pescatarians (those who are vegetarians but also eat fish) confused. Maybe in describing what pescatarians eat as opposed to vegetarians, you can help your friends understand. Good luck.

Because some vegetarians, do eat fish. They have another name though, but I have forgotten it..