Are you a vegetarian if...?

[votoshka]

You occasionally eat meat!

I ask this because in another thread it came up where a couple of people said that it's okay for vegetarians to eat meat when they're socialising.

I also read in a blog somewhere about a guy who's 100% vegan at home, but eats meat when he goes out.

I don't know if I'm too black and white... but if I ate meat "occasionally" I wouldn't call myself vegetarian. I'd just say I eat a mostly vegetarian diet.

I tried being 100% vegan, but after a couple of situations where I ate foods that weren't completely vegan, I re-definied myself as vegetarian, even though the vast majority of the time I don't eat animal products at all. I felt like I was kidding myself to give myself a "vegan" label, if I'll go out to a restaurant and eat something with a bit of cheese in it.

I'm not saying either point of view is right or wrong... Just curious as to what others think! Am I being too black and white in believing that a vegetarian eats NO meat, and a vegan eats NO animal products??

[aelle]

I agree with you, and I think misusing the label causes prejudice to those who don't. If I call myself a vegan but will eat cheese when it's in front of me, whoever serves the cheese will expect the same of everyone who calls themselves vegans. That's just not cool to them.

[Firefly101]

"mostly" vegetarian is appropriate and truthful.

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by aelle

I agree with you, and I think misusing the label causes prejudice to those who don't. If I call myself a vegan but will eat cheese when it's in front of me, whoever serves the cheese will expect the same of everyone who calls themselves vegans. That's just not cool to them.

Yes, and then they lose any respect for the label actually MEANING something.

I was reading a blog the other day where an ex-vegan said he really offended someone because he refused to eat something she'd cooked (that had ham in it), and he felt really bad about it (retrospectively as an ex-vegan he felt he should have eaten it ). He also felt that she didn't understand his refusal to eat it, but that she would have been more understanding had the dish been refused by someone for cultural reasons (ie. a Jew or Muslim who couldn't eat ham).

I honestly don't think being a "vegetarian" and refusing meat is any different to being a Muslim and refusing to eat non-halal... it's an ethical choice for most people, and an ethical choice should be as valid as a cultural or religious choice.

For Vegetarian or Vegan to have meaning, those who follow them should abide by that meaning, or it starts to lose its value.

Like "Vegetarians" who don't eat red meat, but eat fish or chicken... If you eat chicken you ain't a vegetarian, sorry!

My 10 year old son had an argument with his teacher the other day because she said vegetarians ate fish. He said pescetarians ate fish and vegetarians don't. They ended up Googling it to see who was right!!

[goldberg]

Originally Posted by votoshka

You occasionally eat meat!

I ask this because in another thread it came up where a couple of people said that it's okay for vegetarians to eat meat when they're socialising.

I also read in a blog somewhere about a guy who's 100% vegan at home, but eats meat when he goes out.

I don't know if I'm too black and white... but if I ate meat "occasionally" I wouldn't call myself vegetarian. I'd just say I eat a mostly vegetarian diet.

I tried being 100% vegan, but after a couple of situations where I ate foods that weren't completely vegan, I re-definied myself as vegetarian, even though the vast majority of the time I don't eat animal products at all. I felt like I was kidding myself to give myself a "vegan" label, if I'll go out to a restaurant and eat something with a bit of cheese in it.

I'm not saying either point of view is right or wrong... Just curious as to what others think! Am I being too black and white in believing that a vegetarian eats NO meat, and a vegan eats NO animal products??

I would go with the label mostly vegetarian. It is all a spectrum anyway, vegetarians are still killing animals (e.g. field animals when the combine harvester goes over them for wheat).

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by goldberg

I would go with the label mostly vegetarian. It is all a spectrum anyway, vegetarians are still killing animals (e.g. field animals when the combine harvester goes over them for wheat).

hehe Only if they eat grains

But yes, it's true... all anyone can do is try to minimise the amount of damage they do.

But yes, it makes more sense to say "I'm mostly vegetarian" if you occasionally eat meat than call yourself "vegan" or "vegetarian" and then go and eat meat anyway... Or say "I'm vegetarian but I eat chicken".

[secondevolution]

No, you're an omnivore.

[goldberg]

Originally Posted by votoshka

hehe Only if they eat grains

But yes, it's true... all anyone can do is try to minimise the amount of damage they do.

But yes, it makes more sense to say "I'm mostly vegetarian" if you occasionally eat meat than call yourself "vegan" or "vegetarian" and then go and eat meat anyway... Or say "I'm vegetarian but I eat chicken".

I tried to reduce my meat intake, so that I was a vegetarian for 6 out of 7 days of the week, but it was strangely unfullfilling.

[metamorph]

I guess it depends what the label vegetarian means to you. Often I feel as perceived sense of superiority towards others in vegetarians. Like with so many other labels people get high from, it then becomes more about the label than about health or other aspects.

Speaking of which: can you acutally call yourself a vegetarian if you have oral sex with your male partner?

[Andrew Gubb]

@OP

I think if you "very rarely" eat animal products / meat you could be called a vegetarian/vegan. But if it happens more than once a month I would start questioning the use of the term.

[aelle]

Originally Posted by metamorph

Speaking of which: can you acutally call yourself a vegetarian if you have oral sex with your male partner?

Yes. At least the way I do it, no one dies.

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by aelle

At least the way I do it, no one dies.

Good to know. I was always scared dating a vegetarian for that reason

[secondevolution]

Originally Posted by Andrew Gubb

@OP

I think if you "very rarely" eat animal products / meat you could be called a vegetarian/vegan. But if it happens more than once a month I would start questioning the use of the term.

Unless I'm mistaken, a vegetarian is someone who DOESN'T eat meat, not someone who eats meat "very rarely". It makes a mockery of the culture when people say that kinda thing. I used to be a veggie myself, and even when I started gradually eating meat again I was still classed as a vegetarian by some people. It was annoying to say the least.

[James81]

Originally Posted by secondevolution

Unless I'm mistaken, a vegetarian is someone who DOESN'T eat meat, not someone who eats meat "very rarely". It makes a mockery of the culture when people say that kinda thing. I used to be a veggie myself, and even when I started gradually eating meat again I was still classed as a vegetarian by some people. It was annoying to say the least.

You are very mistaken!

A vegetarian is someone who believes in holding their own mental awareness about the footprint they make in the world they live in.

Whether they eat meat or not is irrelevant.

[MidasGirl]

Originally Posted by metamorph

Speaking of which: can you acutally call yourself a vegetarian if you have oral sex with your male partner?

Only if he's also vegetarian.

[secondevolution]

Originally Posted by James81

You are very mistaken!

A vegetarian is someone who believes in holding their own mental awareness about the footprint they make in the world they live in.

Whether they eat meat or not is irrelevant.

Someone better get onto Webster's then.

[James81]

Originally Posted by secondevolution

Someone better get onto Webster's then.

Get onto Webster's what? His back? Car? Mailing list?

[Hemlock]

He means dictionary definition, if everyone has a different meaning for one word the word means nothing. So yeah, when you say you're vegan and there is egg in your food, its that confusion of meaning. Why confuse people about something they're already confused about, just use the common definition instead of taking your way to be the best way.

If you want a word for being conscious about how you effect the world make your own term. I am mostly vegan, and I only buy vegetarian, but if people offer me food I don't refuse it no matter what it is. I don't call myself vegetarian or vegan, if anyone asks I just say. "I'm someone who shops vegetarian."

[moonrambler]

People are always calling me a vegetarian, but I'm really a pescetarian. But what I call myself is an unprincipled vegetarian, because I'm not vigilant about checking to see whether a soup base in a restaurant is made from chicken broth, for instance, and I will also eat something that contains meat at a relative's house -- for instance, if these people had no idea I don't eat meat and I had no idea we were going to be having a lunch.

I think I got the term 'unprincipled vegetarian' from Lou Gold, a guy who used to live in the Pacific Northwest wilderness about half the year and the other half of the year toured around the country advocating for radical environmentalism. He stayed at people's homes and said he wasn't going to try to make people design menus just for his sake.

[Federer]

I am 100% pure veg.

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by James81

You are very mistaken!

A vegetarian is someone who believes in holding their own mental awareness about the footprint they make in the world they live in.

Whether they eat meat or not is irrelevant.

Sorry, I disagree with that

The definition of vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat...

I'm sure if you're someone concerned about the footprint you leave in the world, and yet you eat meat, you could call yourself something else But, for example, even if you hunt for your own food, and do it only when you need to, and do it with great awareness, you still couldn't call yourself vegetarian. That'd make no sense!

My definition is a reasonably strict one, but I'm not high handed about being vegetarian or whatever. I just like to call a spade a spade

I don't go running around and telling the world I'm vegetarian, I only tell people when they need to know. So, if someone invited me to their house for a meal, I'd tell them I was vegetarian so they didn't go to all this trouble to cook a lovely meat dish only to have me turn it down!

My kids eat meat, my family all eat meat, my friends mostly all eat meat... so yeah, I'm a veg living in a non-veg world

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

People are always calling me a vegetarian, but I'm really a pescetarian. But what I call myself is an unprincipled vegetarian, because I'm not vigilant about checking to see whether a soup base in a restaurant is made from chicken broth, for instance, and I will also eat something that contains meat at a relative's house -- for instance, if these people had no idea I don't eat meat and I had no idea we were going to be having a lunch.

I think I got the term 'unprincipled vegetarian' from Lou Gold, a guy who used to live in the Pacific Northwest wilderness about half the year and the other half of the year toured around the country advocating for radical environmentalism. He stayed at people's homes and said he wasn't going to try to make people design menus just for his sake.

Ahh, I would never ask people to design menus for my sake either However, I still wouldn't eat meat. I'd just ask not to be given a serving of the meat (and if I was a bit hungry, so be it!).

I actually feel uncomfortable with my in laws a bit since becoming veg... I generally bring my own vegie burger and stuff so they don't have to make me anything. But the other day my MIL was making sandwiches, all with ham and salami, and I felt really intrusive asking if I could just have one without the meat! Then again, she knows I'm veg, and didn't bother making any meat free ones... It's not really putting yourself out to leave the ham or salami OUT of a sandwich

[russianrocket]

Wait, I thought we were people? WHY do we need these labels, if not to tell someone? We sure as hell don't need them for OURSELVES.

[metamorph]

If I eat only vegetables today, can I call myself a vegetarian for a day?

Why don't vegetarians simply say "at this time in my life I prefer not to eat meat".

"I am vegetarian" in contrast opens up the debate we are having. You are not born a veggie, and quite likely you may not die as one. Avoids all these labels "I am smoker!; "I am a Republican!"...)

[Lauxa]

Heehee, reminds me of something my ex-boss said about the hippies he hung out with in the 60's being all "hippier-than-thou". "Veg*ner-than-thou" anyone?

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

[Indiana]

Being vegetarian seems to be like being pregnant to me - you either are or you aren't. You can't be 'partially vegetarian'. That's called being an omnivore.