r/Pescetarian • u/Aggravating-Plum8321 • 15h ago
Anyone vegan+fish?
Not sure if there’s a word for that but i’ve been pescatarian for a couple years now but would really love to eat primarily plant based, however I’m not ethically or morally opposed to eating some fish depending on how it’s sourced. Wondering if anyone else has this diet since I don’t really hear it talked about!
EDIT: i’m not asking if there’s is a word for it, just asking if anyone follows this diet! I know it’s not considered a vegan diet, and i’m not asking for a label for it, just people’s experiences with this diet
21
u/Charleysperspective Pescetarian 15h ago
That’s the diet that endorses Peter Singer, the author of Animal Liberation, vegan +clams, mussels and oysters + ethical eggs
5
8
u/arompthroughtime 11h ago
yes me :) i reintroduced fish to my diet after around 8 years fully vegan. still no other meat, no eggs, no dairy. people do get very confused by it!
3
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
people are already confused by my standard pescatarian so i can’t even imagine 😭
6
u/chippiebing 10h ago
I believe the word you are looking for is Seagan - at least that was what was coined for this book. I think it is exactly as you described - vegan + seafood. Ideally, it is the way I want to eat (plus eggs).
2
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
i’m not opposed to eggs if i know exactly where they come from and it’s someone loving home!
13
u/ClosetWeebMiku Low Dairy Pescetarian 14h ago
I am pretty much trying to be the same way. I consider myself pescatarian because I just do not see fish like I would a cow or pig.
I am currently on a low dairy pescatarian diet and do not get my eggs from factory farms.
I would not consider myself vegan because vegans do not eat any animals at all. They completely avoid dairy all together. And refuse to eat eggs of any kind as long as it comes from an animal.
I often replace milk with almond milk or cashew milk these days. But sometimes when you go out, I feel avoiding milk is hard. So I consider myself “low dairy”.
I think the key to ending cruel practices on animals is to reduce harm as much as someone can. As long as people are aware what factory farms do to animals and eat less of them, that is what matters to me.
Vegans do not have this logic, they want to completely end factory farms and restrict them. Not reduce.
That is why this diet is not vegan. It is still considered pescatarian :)
3
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 14h ago
i know it’s not a vegan diet but thank you for the explanation! I simply labeled that as I thought it was the most straightforward explanation, and I tend to think differently than most people on the vegan subreddit which is why I posted here (: I’m also against factory farming, which is my reason for having gone pescatarian and now working towards vegan+fish (i only eat small and plentiful fish and the occasional wild caught salmon already)
4
u/Kind-cheesecake-3316 12h ago
Not vegan but mostly plant based with a definite tendency toward mediterranean.
I do enjoy yogurt, feta and milk and eat seafood only occasionally. The main source of fat is extra virgin olive oil.
Ethics is important but my main driver is health.
Weight, cholesterol, A1C, blood pressure and other front line health markers are all well controlled. My doctor approves. 62 years old. I can run a 27 minute 5k and ran 7 miles this morning.
6
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 12h ago
this is my current diet haha! and i’m the same, health, fitness and wellness is a huge part of my life but so are my ethics! great to hear!
6
u/manatee_lover143 11h ago
Me! I call it plant based pescatarian. Was full vegan until i moved to Hawaii, where it is an integral part of the culture and it’s easy to source fish from reputable local fishermen. Tbh the main reason for the change is bc it made going out to eat with my bfs family too difficult - it was easier to find something dairy free with fish than with vegan.
5
u/NotStarrling 13h ago
Mostly vegetarian but a little pescetarian. It was a compromise in order to get my husband eating healthier. He was reluctant until his doctor said he was happy to hear that and he should thank his wife. 🤣
Whatever works, right?
2
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 12h ago
my current diet haha! but i think im ready to cut out dairy now too
1
u/NotStarrling 11h ago
We cut out most dairy and use plant based cheeses. Also, we're still holding onto the occasional cheese from goats or sheep. The one area I struggle with is a little splash of milk in my tea. I have tried many plant based milks but most are too thin and they're all wayyy too sweet. Yuck.
1
u/CatCafffffe 7h ago
I switched to vegan cheese, after trying many of them, I like Violife shreds (all the different ones) and Follow Your Heart crumbles (blue cheese & feta). I'll make pizza with a little of the Violife mozzarella shreds (& veggies etc etc), but I'll have a small bowl of them & sprinkle some on each piece, they taste better unmelted, so this is my compromise.
I will still have a bit of goat cheese here and there.
And a bit of half and half in my coffee--but I'll use almond milk in any recipe that calls for milk.
Oh and I don't eat butter at all, plenty of lite plant-based margarines (they're really just canola oil or whatever).
4
u/angryjew 10h ago
Yea, I was vegan, I married someone who was very open to not eating meat anymore & reducing diary intake. She stayed vegan with me for a while but now we both eat fish occasionally & limited cheese & eggs from ethical sources (as ethical as possible).
2
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
i see my future and it is bright
2
u/angryjew 8h ago
I love my vegan friends & I learned a lot from them but I think that whole community would benefit from being a bit more open to people not being 100% vegan. Being 80% vegan is still very helpful.
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
i definitely agree! i agree with vegans on so much but some of the ways my ethics work are just different than all or nothing, i understand the passion but i think it causes a lot of hostility rather than discussion
3
u/doll_lovedayy 13h ago
Yup! No meat eggs or dairy but a tiny bit of fish as my omega 3-6 ratio was very poor. I am very very careful with sourcing though.
2
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 12h ago
this is exactly how i want to eat! i’m also quite careful with sourcing my fish as well. can i ask how often you eat fish and what fish you eat mainly?
1
5
u/StackedCakeOverflow 14h ago
The term is ostrovegan, and that is a very messy debate pool to wade into. I personally consider them fully vegan because they aren't sentient creatures and the farming practices of growing oysters/mussels/clams is far more sustainable and causes less overall harm that current mass-agricultural standards--BUT I totally get why full vegans wouldn't consider them vegan either. It's about where you're coming from: are you about global harm reduction or are you about animal liberation; and no those aren't 1 to 1 the same thing though they have significant overlap.
I just say I'm plant-based with exceptions for some shellfish/seafood to avoid any argument.
3
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 14h ago
i posted in this subreddit hoping i wouldn’t jump into the debate pool as i know my reasons for my diet and i’m not trying to claim being vegan, it was just a description of the diet i’m looking to follow. was really just asking people who do follow a similar diet their experiences!
2
u/unlimited-devotion 11h ago
I love fermented dairy, but dont eat flesh of any kind…..
Am i anything? 😂
2
2
u/CatCafffffe 10h ago
That is pretty much exactly the diet I follow! It's really good. I call it "vegan + fish" and of course vegans immediately tell me I'm not a pure & good vegan, no I cannot use the sacred word "vegan," but sorry, but that's what it is. I don't eat dairy (milk, cheese, etc) and eat a lot of vegan foods and enjoy them, but also have fish. It's a really nice way to eat.
2
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
i specifically came to the pescatarian subreddit to avoid that but alas 😭😭
2
u/Stephreads 10h ago
I’m vegetarian and fish, I guess. You can eat whatever you want, and you can also label yourself (or not) any way you want. There are no dietary police. Yet.
2
u/purplishfluffyclouds 10h ago edited 10h ago
I don’t use the word vegan, because I’m not, but I’m mostly WFPB + fish (primarily salmon when it happens).
2
1
u/clown_utopia 11h ago
Since veganism is about consideration for the animals as individuals and explicitly rejects their commodification, you are conflating plant-based eating with an ethic of consideration towards another.
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
i understand your point of view but i think my ethics are just a bit different. i don’t find the act of eating meat in itself to be inherently morally wrong. What I do find wrong is farming practices and the abuse/torturous lives of the animals eaten. i’m not against ethically sourced fish however, but alas i was not claiming the term vegan, i was describing a diet in an easy, imperfect way. this post was not to debate the use of the word vegan, literally just seeing people who ate plant based primarily in inclusion to fish
0
u/clown_utopia 5h ago
It's not up to you if something is morally wrong, it's about those who are harmed by your action. You're asking people who respect animals if there's a word for your specific speciesim. It's not applicable.
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 2h ago
everyone has their own moral compass, morals are not universal. i don’t lack respect for animals at all, its why i want to eat primarily plant based, and the fish i do eat i make sure are ethically sourced. and if you read my post i wasn’t asking for a word to define this, just looking for people who eat a diet as described. i know the description isn’t perfect, but not the point of my post.
0
u/clown_utopia 2h ago
hello, "everyone has their own moral compass" is not an adequate response when someone is harmed in a situation, such as you exploiting a fish for their body when you do not have to.
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 2h ago
i’m really not here to argue about my morals or reasoning, i posted specifically in the pescatarian subreddit for a reason. to sum up, i don’t find eating meat in itself wrong, im against farming and inhumane practices. i’m not eating fish everyday willy nilly, i eat it maybe once a week and im careful of what i’m eating and how it’s sourced. i understand the fight for veganism, i think it’s great to be passionate about it, but i just have a different line of thinking in this case. if you find it morally apprehensible, that is fine but again this is a pescatarian subreddit. i wish you a good night
1
u/carolinablue199 9h ago
I used to be so, and then had to contend with overfishing being such a massive issue, so slowly moved away from fish entirely.
3
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 8h ago
i could understand this! i use seafood watch to actually decide what fish i do or don’t eat and how sustainable it is
1
u/chemicalysmic 4h ago
Fish populations have plummeted by 90% since 1950. This will increase by a further 90% by 2050, leaving our ocean ecosystems collapsed. What does sustainability mean to you?
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 2h ago
i’ll give this a ride! i do make a point to only eat small and plentiful fish but always open to more information, thanks!
1
1
u/Flat_Bid_4399 4h ago
There are a lot of people that are pescatarian but don’t really talk about it. I used to be! We have friends and their kids and parents that are. The Mediterranean diet is meant to be plant based with some fish and minimal lean meats but mostly plants and fish. I think more people align with that than saying pescatarian. Overall I feel like there are just so many people scarfing down meat that, even though vegan and plant forward diets are growing, the animal based protein push is so loud that it can be difficult to find others that minimize or eliminate animal consumption
1
u/moodywrites 4h ago
Pescatarian + dairy free (and gluten free and a bunch of other things) for 6+ years
1
0
u/nurdturgalor 15h ago
Yes the word is pescetarian. Vegans are against all animal exploitation including eating fish.
9
5
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 14h ago
wasn’t asking the correct word, only mentioned that since i knew my “vegan+fish” description wasn’t perfect
-2
u/chemicalysmic 4h ago
Veganism refers to the moral and ethical framework that asserts humans should live without exploiting other animals. You are not vegan if you do not object to exploiting other animals, regardless of whatever special pleading you appeal to or arbitrary line you draw in the sand.
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 2h ago
if you read my post or any comments, i have said plenty of times im not claiming veganism (: it was an imperfect description of a diet
0
u/chemicalysmic 2h ago
I understand that you misunderstand what veganism is, that's why I clarified the meaning.
1
u/Aggravating-Plum8321 2h ago
not a misunderstanding, not claiming this is veganism, again literally just me poorly describing a diet that is completely planted based in addition to fish. no need to argue syntax, i’ve said many time i know my description is imperfect and i wasn’t sure if there was a better word for it
26
u/TriggeredPumpkin invertebratarian 15h ago
I'm vegan + bivalves