I have a confession to make. I… am a Pescetarian. No, that’s not some religious sect or political party! It’s a way of eating (or a way of life, as some would call it). A Pescetarian is a person that doesn’t eat any meat, other than fish. To give you a clearer definition, this is what WikiPedia has to say on the subject: ‘Pescetarianism, also called pesco-vegetarianism, is the practice of a diet that includes seafood and excludes other animals. In addition to fish and/or shellfish, a pescetarian diet typically includes some or all of vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans, eggs and dairy. The Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the origin of the term “pescetarian” to 1993 and defines it to mean: “one whose diet includes fish but no meat”’ Many people can’t understand why someone would willingly give up the consumption of meat. I get questions, funny looks, and generally the phrase “Pesce-what?” repeated back to me. I try to explain the diet, what I eat, and my reasoning for doing so, but it always seems lost on these people.

I suppose the best way to explain my journey, and how I ended up a Pescetarian, is by stating that I wanted to get healthy. I had been overweight to obese nearly all of my life. When I graduate from high school, I was the heaviest I had ever been. I had also just fallen in love, and was determined to do something about my body, for both myself and my newfound partner. I joined a popular internet forum that caters to those trying to lose weight. There were different diets and their followers there, success stories, and some much needed support. In general, it was an awesome place that I found at an opportune time in my life. I began wading through all of the information available at my fingertips, and eventually ended up reading several topics by those following a Vegan diet. I started looking into the treatment of animals at slaughterhouses and other such facilities, health concerns about the consumption of meat, and disgusting evidence of animal abuse and neglect (I know, it’s weird to talk about ‘animal abuse’ when we’re killing them). Cancer-ridden animals kept in roach infested hovels being sent to the production line & then delivered straight to your local grocery store. I was sickened and disturbed by everything I found. I also learned a very important fact while conducting my research: Humans are herbivores. Now before you start arguing with me, please, let’s looks at the evidence. Carnivores, such as those from the cat, dog, & T-Rex family all have sharp, pointed teeth for shredding meat. Let me ask you, do you have pointy knives stowed away somewhere in your jaws? No, you do not. You have flat, blunt teeth to aid you in gnashing up fruits and vegetables.  Carnivores have acid saliva, perfectly designed for breaking down the flesh of another animal. Do you have acid saliva? No, you do not. You have alkaline saliva. You also do not have enough hydrochloric acid being released into your stomach to properly digest animal fat. Carnivores’ stomachs have 10x more hydrochloric acid than yours. Also consider the fact that your intestines are a long, winding labyrinth, whereas any other carnivore’s intestines are much smaller. Watch your cat (or your neighbor’s cat, if you have to). Just—do it. 30 Minutes after they eat that dry crap you call “cat food”, you know they’re going to go take a dump. Carnivores, REAL carnivores that is, quickly pass food through their digestive system. But we, on the other hand, have food rotting, decomposing, and fermenting in our intestinal tracts and colons. We are not carnivores, or even omnivores, and we were never meant to eat meat.

This information came as some kind of revelation to me. I took in the knowledge of what I actually was (an herbivore), along with the ill-effects of going against my genetic nature and eating meat. It was then, and only then, that I decided to make the change. I had seen videos of cows getting their throats slashed & being bled dry while they were still alive; of baby chicks being tossed in huge dumpsters because they were male, and thus incapable of producing eggs; of pigs having their hair and skin burned off of them with acid, most times while they were still conscious. I heard the stories; I saw the travesty committed. And I felt for these animals, I really did. But in the end, I didn’t do it for the animals. I did it for me. And I’m left wondering if that makes me a horrible person, or just a person? I did it for my own health and well being, not the suffering of thousands of innocent beings. And isn’t that such a predictable human reaction? It’s not a problem until it becomes your problem. The issue doesn’t exist until it affects you. I feel a bit guilty, to be honest. I can say with some certainty that 47% of me wanted to do it for the animals. But by itself, that wouldn’t have been enough. The dedication came when my own health was put into play; when I realized that eating these diseased, cancerous, hormone-pumped animals would very likely kill me, or at the very least shorten my lifespan. I convinced my partner to make the change with me through use of a video documenting these horrible acts of violence. It’s actually a little ironic… I told him about the health issues, and it wasn’t enough for him. He still balked at the idea of giving up meat. He looked like I’d run over his puppy, slashed his tires, and told him he couldn’t eat meat ever again. Oh wait—I did do that last part. Anyways, he didn’t crumble until I showed him the video. The visual evidence, the suffering of the animals, was what did it for him. It made me feel even more horrible that I’d made the decision for completely different reasons. I’m a sympathetic, emotional person. However, I also know how to stay calm under duress and let the grisly details that would make most swoon just roll off my back. I think if my friends & I all found a dead body, I’d be the coolest cucumber in the room. Does this make me cold, or just collected? In any case, our eating habits drastically changed from that moment on.
For that first year, we were Vegan. No dairy, eggs, meat, etc. Eating during that period was the hardest damn thing I ever had to do, mostly because at the time I had an aversion to anything leafy and green. A Vegan who didn’t like vegetables? The jokes could practically write themselves. Then we got in a bad car accident. We lost our jobs due to an inability to work, & lost our apartment due to a lack of jobs. Moved in with my sweetheart’s parents and endured another full year of HELL. Not because of the diet, mind you, but because of my sweetheart’s parents. During that time, we slipped casually from Vegan to Vegetarian. Living with two avid meat-eaters was hard enough, but they were always bringing home milk chocolate, and pie, and ice-cream. It was torture! Given time, anyone would’ve caved… Or so I’d tell myself while enjoying a delicious slice of Swiss, or an egg salad sandwich. Our determination slipped as my sweetheart’s mother tried passing off pork and chicken broth and all variety of meat on us. But we were strong, we relented. The final cave-in occurred when she brought home Wild caught Alaskan Salmon fillets for the umpteenth time. She’d been poking & prodding for months, and finally that was the end of it. She offered to make us each a hunk of that gorgeous salmon for dinner, and I couldn’t resist the taunting anymore. From all I’d read, fish wasn’t quite as horrible for you as other meats. As long as you didn’t eat farmed fish, you were in the clear. So I gave in. The rest, as they say, is history. We fell into a Pescetarian diet, still continuing our old vegetarian routine, just with the added bonus of fish (and many more vegetables).
I look back on that regression, that lack of self-discipline, and sometimes I’m upset that I let myself give in; but only sometimes. 53% of this decision was made for me, for my health. 47% of this decision was made for the animals. I feel like I’ve failed a bit, in both regards. Like being a Pescetarian is to be a huge hypocrite. To say, “Eating Animals Is WRONG… Unless they’re fish.” Still, I don’t regret how my eating has progressed, and all the little benefits I gained along the way. There are too many to remember or recount, but my favorite side effect would definitely be the 65lbs lost in the process.  I like my diet. I take pride in the food I buy and eat, and will not allow anyone (alleged omnivore or Veg*n fanatic) to shame me for it. I think I had to write this article to realize that fact for myself. I didn’t write this to get all preachy, to guilt you, or convert followers to my way of eating. I wrote this article to share my experience, and help me accept myself. To admit some guilt, and discover some pride. So I confess. I’m a Pescetarian, and I’m no longer going to be embarrassed or ridiculed because of that fact.