Ah yes, pescatarians - the bastard step-child of the vegetarian world. I can already hear all the 'real' vegetarians out there groaning, because there is no one they love to hate more than the I'm-vegetarian-but-I-eat-fish set. I get it. I know that fish is not a vegetable. But let me take a moment to defend the pescatarians.
First of all, pescatarian is a really terrible word. It's ugly, and outside of veggie/foodie circles, not everyone knows what it means. So, as a pescatarian, you often have to default to calling yourself vegetarian. It's just easier. If you are going to a wedding or you're traveling in a foreign country or going to someone's house for dinner, you can just say you are vegetarian and you get to have something to eat that won't have bacon in it. Simple.
Second, I believe, as most pescatarians do, that there are higher and lower life forms. If I remember correctly from 5th grade biology class, it goes something like this ... algae-plants-mollusks-crustaceans-fish-reptiles-birds-mammals. I do not for a moment believe that a clam is anywhere near the equivalent of a dog/cow/pig/human on the life form chain and while I did feel the slightest twinge of guilt the first time I steamed up a batch of live clams for linguine, I got over it really really fast.
Anyway, if I should accidentally refer to myself as 'vegetarian' at some point in this blog, I do apologize to all the real vegetarians out there.
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After 17 years of not eating meat, I have officially crossed over to the dark side. Join me as I continue my journey back to the top of the food chain and discover the joy of tasting so many things for the very first time.
1 comment:
Considering how badly we do at caring for the land we can see, it's a little worrisome to think how poorly we must be treating our oceans. But there is hope: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx
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