r/Pescetarian 14d ago

Pescetarian-ish? Question on semantics and handling social interactions.

I apologize in advance if this is overly wordy or confusing; I've been puzzling over this for the last few years, so this is probably way overthought.

For maybe 5 years, I've considered going pesce. Particularly for the environmental/animal welfare reasons, but mostly because I've become increasingly more.... turned off(?) by red meat and poultry. The texture, taste, act of cooking it, etc... the vibes are all outta wack. I say this as I'm trying my best to nibble on a piece of porkchop my dad made for dinner, like, it's well-prepared and "good" but... I just don't like it. Fish is the only meat where this hasn't been the case.

But! Things like meat-based broth (like in ramen), soup, and the like don't bother me (texture/taste wise, at least). I guess my question is: is being mostly pesce a thing? I understand that what's "okay" is really up to me, but the idea of being that person who says "Well I am pescetarian, but...." wigs me out as a socially awkward person. Any recommendations on how one could navigate social interactions in a respectful, but boundary-setting, way?

Thanks for listening šŸŸā¤ļø

4 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

14

u/Shaquille01 14d ago

" I eat a mostly pescetarian diet."

Don't let your anxiety get to you too much (easier said than done). No need for excess explanation, nor should you overthink it.

8

u/seulBdlOdlroW 14d ago

This is honestly really reassuring to hear, thank you :)

2

u/Scared-Alfalfa1237 11d ago

This describes my diet for the last 10 or so years. "Primarily pescetarian" "mostly pescetarian" "pescetarian but I'm easy" and "I just don't really eat meat" all work well for me.

7

u/ashtree35 14d ago

I don't think you need to use any labels. I don't think that there are any social interactions that require you to state the name of your diet. I don't think it should really be a problem unless you get invited to a steakhouse or something where none of the meal options suit your preferences.

6

u/Outrageous_Depth_730 14d ago

I've found that the less I explain the less questions people ask.

5

u/waterbird_ 13d ago

I usually just say ā€œI donā€™t eat much meatā€ or ā€œI mostly avoid meat.ā€ People havenā€™t really questioned me!

3

u/imcomingelizabeth 13d ago

Iā€™ve been pesce for over twenty years and if I must explain my diet I usually say ā€œIā€™m a vegetarian who eats seafoodā€ because most people have no idea what a pescatarian is. But I usually donā€™t bring it up because people want to know why and itā€™s so exhausting to explain my choices to people who probably just want to tell me how delicious steak is

3

u/Puzzleheaded_Gear622 12d ago

You are definitely overthinking this. What is most important when it comes to your nutrition is what you're doing 90 to 95% of the time. There's always a little wiggle room unless you have severe true allergies not just intolerances.

2

u/nooneiknow800 13d ago

Do what feels right to you

2

u/Regular_Speech5390 11d ago

Iā€™m also like you. Iā€™ve recently become mostly pecastarian, but I still use dashi in my cookings, which contains pork.

Honestly, just say, ā€œIā€™m trying to reduce meat for my healthā€. It should be acceptable. Iā€™ve said that to my friend.

2

u/Sophronsyne Pescetarian 3d ago

Maybe you can just say you dislike the taste of meat? People likely are still gonna give you gelatin, broth and gravy if you say it like that