Meat (via Ann Griggs)

I apologise in advance for this as it may turn out to be some kind of rant.

Today at work we were discussing vegetarianism and I said my usual “I wish I could be a vegetarian, but I just can’t eat meat substitute as I’m intolerant to it and then I would starve” as you have probably heard before. Yes it is a very bad excuse, but hey, I like bacon. In reply to this, someone informed me that he was indeed a vegetarian. He then went on to say that he did NOT eat meat but he did eat fish. I was confused. I asked him to clarify. Again he said that he ate fish. I was then less confused and more convinced that he was more or less stupid or had been brainwashed.

It has come to my attention that there are a good number of people in this country, perhaps even this world, that think the same thing: Fish is not meat. But what is it, if it isn’t meat? It was a live creature, it breathed, ate and defecated like any other living thing. It is an animal, just like a cow or a chicken or a lamb. Vertebrate animals are usually classified into five subsections: mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians and birds (or MR FAB if you were taught Biology the same way I was). Now, if you call eating chicken or beef meat-eating; and I’m sure you’d call eating a crocodile and frogs’ legs meat-eating; then WHY is eating a fish somewhat less meat-eating? This confounds me.

Another thing that I REALLY hate is when these so called fish hating “vegetarians” get on their high horses about how eating meat is wrong (I again clarify that I wish I could get along without eating it- this post is not anti-vegetarian. I very much admire REAL vegetarians because I love animals) but then they EAT FISH! To me, that is worse because that is clearly favouritism within animals. Why, to them, is a cow of more importance than a herring? COD HAVE FEELINGS TOO! And don’t give me that rubbish that a fish has no memory. That is a myth. And how do you know that a fish has no feelings? You cruel and heartless human being.

Oh, I appear to have become the spokeswoman for fish. Go me.

I did warn you it would be a rant.

Sourced from anngriggs.me.uk