23-12-2021, 01:25 AM
I started out as a veggie almost 35 years ago, at a time when veggies were still thought to be more than "a little odd" and where it was incredibly hard just to get a simple, vegetarian meal. One thing that was clear though was what a vegetarian was. The word "vegetarian" was made up and defined by the Vegetarian Society to describe someone who refrained from eating all meat and fish (including shell-fish). Very simple.
Since then vegetarianism has come into and gone out of fashion on a regularly basis. Pop stars embracing it one moment and then, within a few years, turning into advocates of the hunting, shooting and fishing lobby. Thankfully the range of vegetarian and vegan options has expanded enormously and you can pretty well guarantee to get at least one veggie choice in most restaurants. Strangely, though, at the same time, the word "vegetarian" seems to have been hijacked!
Nowadays, the majority of the people I know who call themselves shimano trolling rods vegetarians aren't. They eat fish. Fish-eating does not equal vegetarianism. A fish is an animal too. So why are fish-eaters so reluctant to use the appropriate word - pescetarian? Okay I know it doesn't roll off the tongue that well but perhaps that's partly because its a bit unfamilair - like "vegetarian" was when it was first invented.
Another explanation is that they want to be aligned with the vegetarian movement without quite going the whole way! (Which is a bit like saying I'm a tea-totaller as I only drink wine! Nice try)
So for all you want to-be vegetarians who can't quite bring yourselves to go the whole way here are my top-ten reasons to leave the fish alone.
Since then vegetarianism has come into and gone out of fashion on a regularly basis. Pop stars embracing it one moment and then, within a few years, turning into advocates of the hunting, shooting and fishing lobby. Thankfully the range of vegetarian and vegan options has expanded enormously and you can pretty well guarantee to get at least one veggie choice in most restaurants. Strangely, though, at the same time, the word "vegetarian" seems to have been hijacked!
Nowadays, the majority of the people I know who call themselves shimano trolling rods vegetarians aren't. They eat fish. Fish-eating does not equal vegetarianism. A fish is an animal too. So why are fish-eaters so reluctant to use the appropriate word - pescetarian? Okay I know it doesn't roll off the tongue that well but perhaps that's partly because its a bit unfamilair - like "vegetarian" was when it was first invented.
Another explanation is that they want to be aligned with the vegetarian movement without quite going the whole way! (Which is a bit like saying I'm a tea-totaller as I only drink wine! Nice try)
So for all you want to-be vegetarians who can't quite bring yourselves to go the whole way here are my top-ten reasons to leave the fish alone.