[Dwan W.]

To all the so-called 'vegetarians' out there: How can you call yourself vegetarian if you eat fish, poultry or eggs? Is the great white shark that eats tuna considered a vegetarian? Is the tree python that eats a parrot considered a vegetarian? Is the mongoose that eats crocodile eggs considered a vegetarian? These are all carnivores, so why is the meaning of carnivore different for humans?

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Name : Dwan W., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 27, City : Tallahassee, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Sarah-C]

I admit to being a hypocritical vegetarian. I haven't eaten beef or chicken since I was about 14, yet when I decided to give up red and white meat, I realized I loved sashimi way too much, and decided to just go ahead and eat seafood in all forms. But then, this is why we have terms like pesco-ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian and vegan. Most people just call me a vegetarian anyway, and I'm not particular about the term.

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Name : Sarah-C, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Amy31569]

I eat poultry and fish but not pork or beef, so I don't call myself a vegetarian. I don't know any people who do eat chicken or fish that do call themselves vegetarians. I call myself a 'semi-veg' or just say that I don't eat beef or pork.

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Name : Amy31569, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, 

[Carter32382]

Vegetarian in modern vernacular means you don't eat meat products. A vegan is someone who doesn't eat any animal products, and there are various degrees in between. I am a vegetarian due to a belief that factory farming is evil because of the treatment of the animals, and is rotten for the environment. Depleting the oceans of fish is also bad for the environment. I do eat animal products such as cheese, eggs and milk, although I do buy organic when possible, (in the case of eggs, free-range, non-factory farmed chicken eggs). If I were an Eskimo hunting in the wild, I would have no issue with eating an animal I killed, but in the United States, very few people have any idea how the meat on their table gets there, and I suspect most people would throw up if they knew. I recommend reading Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. It's only worse now - not to mention that often it is illegal immigrants who are exploited to skin and kill animals, etc.

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Name : Carter32382, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, 

[Redeemed-One30097]

I'm what's referred to as a 'vegan,' meaning I eat neither animal flesh nor dairy. However, I do partake of fish. My reasons are strictly for health purposes. Meat has a high concentration of fat and has absolutely no fiber. For this reason, the human body has a difficult time digesting it and getting rid of the waste. Heavy meat eaters are usually constantly constipated because the meat just sits in the intestines until something forces it out (usually a laxative). Also, cow's milk is for calves. What happens when a newborn baby is given cow's milk? Its body initially rejects it (they vomit it out) because the body has a hard time processing it. However, if the baby is continually fed cow's milk, the body will eventually get used to processing it.

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[Vince]

It could be that semi-vegetarians consider fish and birds to be much lower forms of life. Someone who may feel uncomfortable eating a pig (a mammal) might still eat fish or chicken. And some people stop eating red meat for health reasons, not because they are concerned about animals. I became a semi-vegetarian in March. Hearing about the way animals are treated on big factory farms horrified me. At first, I still ate fish and poultry. I felt like a hypocrite, so I quit eating all meat. By the beginning of April, I was a vegetarian. I tried to be a vegan over the summer. I found myself unable to stick to a strict vegan diet though, so now I am somewhere between vegetarian and vegan.

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[Dwan-W]

My original question covered vegans before they edited it out, and I have some expertise in nutrition so I know what a vegan is. I know the so-called levels vegetarians have come up with to justify calling themselves vegetarians when they still eat animal products. A vegan is the only true vegetarian. A true vegan will eat no animal products. So Redeemed One, you are not a vegan. The last time I checked, fish belonged to the animal kingdom, and therefore are animals.

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Name : Dwan-W, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 29, City : Tallahassee, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[John29175]

I agree. Let's say you were a fish that was dragged out of the water, suffocated on oxygen and put on some crushed ice. Later someone eats you. Wouldn't you want your killing to be considered carnivorous?

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Name : John29175, Gender : M, City : Chestnut Ridge, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Me]

If you are a true vegan, you wouldn't eat fish. You should not refer to yourself as such, as you are not. Period.

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[Jay31301]

I'm a veggie - don't eat red meat, poultry, or fish. I do however consume dairy produce - but its not 'flesh' so I don't consider that carnivorous/omnivorous.

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Name : Jay31301, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jessica]

I consider myself to be a vegetarian. I originally 'converted', if you will, for a number of reasons, among them included the fact that I learned of the horrid, horrid manners in which animals were kept and then killed to supply us with meat foods, only to have most of their bodily products discarded because they were deemed unfit for human consumption (either by health codes or by cultural practices - generally in the West we don't eat chicken's feet or pigs brains or the like). I won't describe here some of the things I've heard, as I think it would seriously disturb some of the readers. But the accounts I've heard have brought me to tears. It is my understanding that the taxonomy of selective dieting goes something to this effect (and I know I'm leaving some categories out): vegetarians are those who eat anything but meat (that means cow, pig, chicken, fish, and any other animal), but will eat eggs and dairy products; lacto-vegetarians are those who, in addition to meat, exclude dairy products (cheese, milk, butter, yogurt, etc.) from their diets; ovovegetarians are those who exclude meat and eggs; lacto-ovovegetarians are those who exclude meat, eggs, and dairy products; fruitarians are those who will eat only fruit, and/or will eat plant products if and only if the whole of the plant is not killed (i.e. strawberries are ok, because the strawberry plant continues to live and produce more strawberries, but carrots are forbidden because the whole carrot plant dies when the carrot is pulled from the ground and eaten). And finally, vegans are those who exclude from their diets anything that came from an animal - meat, eggs, dairy, animal fats, etc. I tried going vegan once, and found that I was literally starving myself, because so much of the food we eat in our society contains animal products that we simply are not aware of. (Perhaps I am simply too lazy to make sure that my diet consists of only truly vegan foods.) After a month, I went back to consuming eggs and dairy. I still consider myself a vegetarian, and I make the distinction between vegetarian and vegan. If we are to argue semantics, then alright, you may say that I'm not a true vegetarian. The arguement is, really, only over the label. Whatever one wishes to call me, I am still 'one who eats no meat, but doesn't mind eggs and milk.'

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[mary]

To put the matter to rest, vegetarians are people who do not eat meat. Plain and simple. Many people pose as vegetarians. They are not. A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat. When you are a vegetarian, you do not eat fish, you don't eat poultry. YOU DO NOT EAT MEAT.

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[Nathan20132]

They're not 'so-called' vegitarians at all. There are varrying degrees of vegitarianism. Lacto, ovo-lacto, vegan... all down the line. In college I was a defacto-vegitarian. I would have eaten meat if I could afford it, but I was dirt poor. Even now, I don't buy it much. In the store I don't even know what a good price is. I eat chicken and seafood. I don't like chicken eggs and never did. I stay away from red meat because of the dangers of bovine growth hormones and mad cow disease. Dairy foods make me sick. I might have ice cream once every other blue moon, but I get start to feel sick and am reminded why I don't eat it.

I'm a biologist, and in nature, the shape and length of the intestine determins a carnivore, hebivore and an omnivore. The human intestine is built to process meat and plant matter, making humans omnivores. The distinction being that humans can choose what they eat for the most part.

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[Jayme]

I am a vegetarian (aspiring to be a vegan, but currently unable to commit to that lifestyle and maintain a healthy diet.) I don't eat fish, poultry, eggs, red meat, white meat, or green meat. Although technically eggs are not always considered to be meat. Eventually, I will cut out dairy, and any other products associated in any way with animals - however, i can only to commit to what I can go through with safely, it can be a step-by-step process for some people and a cold turkey things for others. Also, there are oils and healthy fats in fish that aren't in beef or chicken, and there is less unnecessary cholesteral and fat in fish. If people are doing it to be healthy, that might be an issue as well. Before you criticize people who are trying to change their lifestyle, maybe you should look at yourself and the hypocracy that lies in eating meat and killing innocent animals when you are perfectly capable of surviving healthily without it.

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Name : Jayme, Gender : F, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 18, City : Salt Lake, State : UT Country : United States, 

[Tristen24901]

I am not a vegitarian I like steak and bacon to much I have thought about the way animals are treated but the thing is if i go to the store and choose not to buy that t-bone or pound of bacon someone else will anyway and if they don't that animal died for no reason. So i dont see any point in being a vegitarian for problems with the way they are treated can't argue with the health aspect though

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Name : Tristen24901, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 18, City : Nowhere, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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