From: marcotte@acsu.buffalo.edu (Brian Marcotte)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Re: the term "vegetarian"
Date: 22 Aug 92 05:18:48 GMT
Organization: UB

In article <oeZNehC00VpNI990Ff@andrew.cmu.edu> dm3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (David F. McWade) writes:
>
>therese@garnet.berkeley.edu writes:
>
>>Hi, I'd like to add my 2 cents worth to the discussion about aspiring
>>vegetarians reading this group and being turned off by rabid veggies here.
>>I wasn't a vegetarian when I started reading this group, either, and like
>>many out there now couldn't understand what the big deal was about referring
>>to myself as a vegetarian even though I occasionally (once or twice a month)
>>ate meat.  But now that I am a vegetarian, I DO see the point - it's really
>>frustrating to tell someone you're a vegetarian and have them assume that
>>you eat meat (chicken or fish).  It's really frustrating to go to a restaurant
>>and ask for vegetarian options and have the waitress point out chicken and
>>fish dishes to you.  It's *really* frustrating to have someone like your
>>mother-in-law tell you a friend of her's is a vegetarian, only *she* eats
>>chicken and turkey and fish (with the implication that you are >unreasonable
>>to call yourself a vegetarian and not eat those things).  This happened to
>>me last weekend.  The problem with referring to yourself as a vegetarian
>>but still eating meat, however occasionally, is that people who know this
>>will think *all* people who refer to themselves as vegetarian do this, and
>>many of us don't!
>
>>Basically, what I'm trying to say is that things look different depending
>>on which side of the fence you're on.  When you jump over the fence and
>>become a vegetarian, maybe you'll see our side more clearly.
>
>>Therese
>
>I recently e-mailed the person who puts together the vegetarian FAQ
>about including such pseudo-terms as "semi-vegetarian",
>"pesco-vegetarian", etc.  I found those terms offensive basically
>because use of such terms perpetuates the situation you describe above. 
>Unfortunately, the FAQ-maker (I forget his name) refused to remove the
>terms on my suggestion (my argument wasn't as coherently stated as yours
>is, however).  
>
>I would, therefore, like to publicly suggest that those terms be removed
>from the vegetarian FAQ, please.  Perhaps we can have some debate on
>this.  (Is the person who makes the FAQ a vegetarian?)
>
>David McWade
>dm3o@andrew.cmu.edu


Yes, I am a vegetarian. I don't eat or use products that come from
dead animals (I am an Ovo-Lacto vegetarian).

The point that David is trying to make is not quite the same as the
point Therese is trying to make.

It seems to me that Therese is trying to suggest that people who call
themselves "vegetarian", but still eat some meat, not call themselves
"vegetarian", as that would confuse people who don't know that much
about vegetarianism.

The second part (from David) tries to suggest that the terms
"Semi-vegetarian" and "Pesce-vegetarian" are causing this confusion.

I'd like to suggest that the terms "semi-vegetarian" and
"pesce-vegetarian" can help PREVENT this confusion.

The prefix "semi" means "to some extent...", or "having some of the
characteristics of...". The prefix "semi" can be put in front of many
words (semi-independent, semicivilized, etc). I got this information,
directly from a US English dictionary.

This means that a person who is a "semi-vegetarian" is NOT a
vegetarian. It merely suggests that this person has _some_ of the
qualities of a "vegetarian".

This is exactly the same as putting "ovo" or "lacto" in front of the
term "vegetarian". Since these are accepted terms, if someone calls
themself a "vegetarian", you don't know if they drink milk, or eat
eggs.

The term "vegetarian" is now vague. It at least means someone who eats
no meat. To some, it may mean someone who eats no animal products at
all but uses other animal products. To others it may mean someone who
uses no products derived from animals (virtually impossible in the
"civilized" world).

Putting modifiers in front of "vegetarian", like "ovo", "lacto",
"semi", "pesce", "pseudo", etc. just serve to try to make it clear
what you are trying to say.

If you want to eliminate the terms "semi-vegetarian" and
"pesce-vegetarian" from the english language, you may as well
eliminate "Ovo and/or Lacto vegetarian".

In the FAQ where "semi-vegetarian" is defined, it says "See also:
pseudo-vegetarian".

That section of the FAQ trys to reflect the overall opinions of
vegetarians (all types).

	Withholding information is NEVER the answer.

--
- Brian Marcotte
marcotte@cs.buffalo.edu
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg