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I don't eat beaf,lamb[ meaning red meats],pork or chicken etc but I eat fish[ tuna] every day.I consume animal products[milk,yogurt and cheese]

So am i still a vegetarian? [ I mean can you call me a vegetarian still?]

EDIT Source:Vegan vs. Vegetarian

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  • By definition, vegetarian refers to someone who does not eat any meat. You should add a dictionary link and definition to your question and then any additional explanation or concern.
    – user3169
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 17:32
  • according to diffen.com a vegetarian is someone who never eats meat. My point is fish isnt a meat , so i am a vegetarian. Isnt it?
    – user20636
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 17:59
  • Note that i drink animals milk, yogurt and cheese.
    – user20636
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 18:04
  • @user20636: And how isn't fish a meat? Granted, grocery stores &c sometimes use the term "meat & fish", but that's just an example of why language isn't logical.
    – jamesqf
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 18:11
  • The chart under vegetarian diet says "Do not eat meat or fish." That's it. Consuming milk and egg products seem to be a variable though, possibly acceptable for some because you are not killing animals in the process.
    – user3169
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 18:26

2 Answers 2

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No, fish are animals, and vegetarians do not eat animal flesh. You are a pescatarian. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines:

Definition of PESCATARIAN : one whose diet includes fish but no other meat

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    "Pesco-vegetarian" is also common, M-W notwithstanding. Before I became vegan, I was a vegetarian who ate dairy, eggs, and seafood. I commonly called myself a lacto-ovo-pesco-vegetarian. I prefer it because it follows the pattern and doesn't require altering "vegetarian" to form a neologism. (And you see why I became vegan -- it trips much more easily off the tongue.)
    – Jason Melançon
    Commented Jun 20, 2015 at 19:58
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The quick answer is, some people might agree with you, but others will disagree or be confused if you say things that way.

Vegetarians and meat

"Vegetarian" is used by different people in different ways. A 2003 study of a 1994-1998 survey found that about 64% of the 334 Americans who called themselves "vegetarians" in that survey were eating some meat.

The understanding of the authors of that study was that

Although there is no universally accepted definition for the term vegetarian ... the term is nonetheless used to describe a dietary pattern characterized by an emphasis on plant foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (ie, meat, poultry, and fish).

So there are some people (like me) who consider "vegetarian" to mean never eating any meat, and others who feel one can be a "vegetarian" even without following a strictly vegetarian diet.

Meat, poultry, fish

The word "meat", as a class of foods, can also be ambiguous. Some people (like me) consider it to mean all animal flesh: red meat, poultry, seafood, everything. Others consider it to not include fish, and others consider it to not include poultry (chicken, turkey, etc.).

I suggest, when you speak or write, to try to avoid being ambiguous. Don't just say "meat". In the study I quoted above, the authors often wrote "meat, poultry, and fish", so that they could be sure that everyone would understand they meant all types of meat. If you want to talk about meat that's not fish, you could say something like:

I eat fish, but I don't eat other meats.

Conclusion

If someone never eats meat, poultry, or fish, and say they're a vegetarian, everyone will understand them perfectly.

However, if you simply say that you're vegetarian, without explaining the details, it's ambiguous, because people will have different ideas of what you mean. And many will argue that "vegetarian" is not the right word for your diet.

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  • according to the link i mentioned at diffen.com says a vegetarian is someone who never eats meat but when i switched to find the meaning of the meat Google Dictionary [Oxford Dict] explains it as animal flesh So my quetion was is fish a meat? because some people say fish isnt a meat. I want know what my catagory is - again, i dont eat beaf,lamb,pork, chicken but fish.
    – user20636
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 6:40
  • @user20636 this question is not about the English language. It is about whether you meet the criteria to fit into a certain group, or to be called something. Those criteria differ (including whether fish is considered a 'meat'.) Therefore, choose whatever criteria you want. There is no language question here.
    – user6951
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 9:02
  • @user20636 I tried to answer the "is fish a meat" question in my answer with "different people understand it differently". I'll edit to add some suggestions for how to use the words "fish" and "meat". Like pazzo said, the "truth of what fish is" is off-topic, so I'm answering a slightly different question.
    – Dan Getz
    Commented Jun 21, 2015 at 17:05
  • @DanGetz Thank you very much for appropriate responding and understanding a ELLs mind like me. Thanks Others Too. I have got enough knowledge from you guys answers and comments which i never found at Google Engine.
    – user20636
    Commented Jun 22, 2015 at 16:52

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