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The average American who may not care that much is one thing. But it's even more mind-blowing how many vegetarians believe fish can't feel pain, so while they

The average American who may not care that much is one thing. But it's even more mind-blowing how many vegetarians believe fish can't feel pain, so while they reject eating pork, beef or chicken because the poor animals suffer, they still find it fine to eat fish. Those are the informed people! If they don't understand, why should the uninformed ones? At least cows are not close to extinction.

hutzlibu 5y ago
"But it's even more mind-blowing how many vegetarians believe fish can't feel pain, so while they reject eating pork, beef or chicken because the poor animals suffer, they still find it fine to eat fish." I know this trope, but I have actually never met a vegetarian who think like this. I know vegetarians who eat fish, because it is further away, from humans, DNA wise. Or in general they just feel fine with eating fish and they do what they feel fine with, which makes sense to me. But I never actually met a person who believe fish (or animals in general) can't feel pain. I met many who are ignorant of pain of others, yes, but I never met one who actually believe that. Is this a US thing?
- dreen 5y ago
  IMHO if you eat fish youre just not a vegetarian but pascaterian. There are strong roots for this behaviour in the Catholic faith, which prohibits eating non-fish meat on certain days. Funnily enough that doesn't include beavers, platypuses and some other water-dwelling animals [1]. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/once-upon-a-time-the-catholic-church-decided-that-beavers-were-fish/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/once-...
  - viciousvoxel 5y ago
    Additionally, fish are not considered meat in Kosher law
- wildmanx 5y ago
  Most people I've met who are of those "but those can't feel pain" views are from North America. US and Canada. How DNA-closeness is relevant to this is even more beyond me.

hutzlibu 5y ago

"But it's even more mind-blowing how many vegetarians believe fish can't feel pain, so while they reject eating pork, beef or chicken because the poor animals suffer, they still find it fine to eat fish." I know this trope, but I have actually never met a vegetarian who think like this. I know vegetarians who eat fish, because it is further away, from humans, DNA wise. Or in general they just feel fine with eating fish and they do what they feel fine with, which makes sense to me. But I never actually met a person who believe fish (or animals in general) can't feel pain. I met many who are ignorant of pain of others, yes, but I never met one who actually believe that. Is this a US thing?

dreen 5y ago
IMHO if you eat fish youre just not a vegetarian but pascaterian. There are strong roots for this behaviour in the Catholic faith, which prohibits eating non-fish meat on certain days. Funnily enough that doesn't include beavers, platypuses and some other water-dwelling animals [1]. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/once-upon-a-time-the-catholic-church-decided-that-beavers-were-fish/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/once-...
- viciousvoxel 5y ago
  Additionally, fish are not considered meat in Kosher law
wildmanx 5y ago
Most people I've met who are of those "but those can't feel pain" views are from North America. US and Canada. How DNA-closeness is relevant to this is even more beyond me.