MDC stupidist question of the night!!!

[Kailey's mom]

do Vegetarians eat chicken?

[Jane]

Are chickens a vegetable? I'm pretty sure chickens are animals and vegetarians don't eat animals.

Some people who don't eat meat use "vegetarian" to help describe what they do eat because it's easier than saying, "I eat beans, veggies, mushrooms, fruit, and some chicken, if it's free range". It's easier to say, "I'm vegetarian" and people will know what can and cannot go in your food. Whether that's reasonable or honest is another question.

[fresh_veggie]

Nope! They are "meat."

[Maluhia]

nope

[Kailey's mom]

Originally Posted by Apricot

Are chickens a vegetable? I'm pretty sure chickens are animals and vegetarians don't eat animals.

Some people who don't eat meat use "vegetarian" to help describe what they do eat because it's easier than saying, "I eat beans, veggies, mushrooms, fruit, and some chicken, if it's free range". It's easier to say, "I'm vegetarian" and people will know what can and cannot go in your food. Whether that's reasonable or honest is another question.

Ok, that's what it problably was. Somebody told me tonight that they are vegetarian and they don't eat meat, just chicken and turkey. it had me pretty confused since chicken and turkey are of course meat.

Thanks for answering everyone!

[fresh_veggie]

You're welcome! Don't feel stupid! Lol. I've had people tell me that it was ok to eat chicken since it's not meat...seriously, several people on several different occasions. Lol.

[Theia]

Ok, that is too funny. I didn't know it had moved from fish to poultry for the "acceptable parameters" of casual vegetarianism. I admit, I myself am a casual vegetarian or part time vegetarian. But I know that because I do occasionally eat meat, that I'm not a true vegetarian. I think I wanna be, but it's something I'm still working out within myself.

OP, you might want to look into the roots of vegetarianism. It has to do how complex the nervous system is of the different kinds of food sources we consume. So a vegetable has a less complex nervous system than a vertebrate. Fish are generally considered lower than land animals, but I'm not sure myself if that is true or just something we tell ourselves so that we don't have to give up something we don't want to. This of course isn't the whole story by any means. It is something that started way before the '60's and factory farms etc. So I just wanted to throw that out there in case you were interested in understanding some of the roots of this lifestyle so that you can interject if you wish when someone orders a chicken dish right after they declare they are vegetarians. I don't think that casual vegetarianism is right, but then I look at stuff like TF, Paleo, etc and I get confused. Maybe this is where your friend is with their personal dietary beliefs. I think it is OK to be confused as long as you are still seeking. And each person has to be accepting of their own choices, but I don't agree to say one is a vegetarian when they clearly are not. I have many vegetarian days, but I don't abstain completely like true vegetarians. So really I am not vegetarian, I am still an omnivore and so is your friend.

[somegirl99]

I often will say something to people who claim they are vegetarian, but eat poultry and/or seafood.

I don't care what they eat. I care what they call themselves. It leads to this confusion where people think that it's ok to serve chicken or fish to a vegetarian.

I used to work with someone who had to "give up being vegetarian" because of all the mercury contamination in fish.

[nigellas]

FYI - if you eat fish you are not a vegetarian either.

[GoBecGo]

I know a few people who only eat free range chicken and line caught fish and they say they're vegetarian because it saves them from having to decline to eat factory farmed chicken and trawler caught fish at dinner parties. So probably context is important.

[PaisleyStar]

Thanks for the laugh, Kailey's Mom. Not AT you, but at people who eat meat and claim to be vegetarian! I don't get it. I never have. I never will. Meat is meat is meat. Animals, be they mammals, birds, or sealife, are MEAT. Not for vegetarians to consume! LOL. The end.

[lilyka]

In high school I had a friend who was a "vegetarian" all she ate was breads, pastries and chicken. breasts only. which means we got stuck with the cheaper cuts. kinda crappy for a vegetarian to take the best cuts of meat. : I don't think I ever saw her consume a vegetable though.

but yes, contrary to what some people say both chicken and fish count as a meat.

[Purple*Lotus]

I know someone who says she is a vegetarian but I always see her eating meat. Red meat, chicken, turkey, etc. At first I would say "Oh, I didn't know you ate meat." And she would say "Oh, I am a vegetarian, I am just eating meat today!" and I was always so confused

[eclipse]

When I was in Paris, living in the dorm, I once asked for their "vegetarian meal" (they always had one designated vegetarian) at the cafeteria, and was givien a salad with sardine heads on it. Um, 1) YUCK and 2) NOT VEGETARIAN! That's when I found out that in a lot of Europe, vegetarian means no beef, and sometimes no ham.

[es1967]

Originally Posted by PaisleyStar

Thanks for the laugh, Kailey's Mom. Not AT you, but at people who eat meat and claim to be vegetarian! I don't get it. I never have. I never will. Meat is meat is meat. Animals, be they mammals, birds, or sealife, are MEAT. Not for vegetarians to consume! LOL. The end.

Thats my feeling exactly!!

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by eclipse

When I was in Paris, living in the dorm, I once asked for their "vegetarian meal" (they always had one designated vegetarian) at the cafeteria, and was givien a salad with sardine heads on it. Um, 1) YUCK and 2) NOT VEGETARIAN! That's when I found out that in a lot of Europe, vegetarian means no beef, and sometimes no ham.

I got a "vegan" salad with foie gras on it in Toulouse.

[fresh_veggie]

Originally Posted by somegirl99

I got a "vegan" salad with foie gras on it in Toulouse.

That's really sad

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by Bunnyflakes

I know someone who says she is a vegetarian but I always see her eating meat. Red meat, chicken, turkey, etc. At first I would say "Oh, I didn't know you ate meat." And she would say "Oh, I am a vegetarian, I am just eating meat today!" and I was always so confused

Maybe she was claiming to be a vegetarian in an INCLUSIVE way instead of an exclusive way... like "I eat vegetables, thus I am vegetarian" instead of "I don't eat any meat, thus only vegetables, thus vegetarian"...

[russsk]

I bought a "vegetarian sandwich" in Madrid once that turned out to be tuna salad. I also used to work at a diner when I was a teenager, and a waitress sliced herself off a piece of ham an offered me some. "No, thanks. I'm vegetarian." "Oh, cool. Me, too," she said as she walked away, chomping on ham.

I can understand some people who eat pastured chicken, for instance, saying they are vegetarian at a dinner party or restaurant so they don't come off as rude, as long as they know they actually aren't vegetarian and don't try to claim that they are while eating meat.

[lilyka]

Originally Posted by russsk

I also used to work at a diner when I was a teenager, and a waitress sliced herself off a piece of ham an offered me some. "No, thanks. I'm vegetarian." "Oh, cool. Me, too," she said as she walked away, chomping on ham.
.

:

This would explain why Ioften have this conversation:

"are you a vegetarian?"
"yes"
"so do you eat meat?"
"ummm...no. I am a vegetarian"