We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Food

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is a Pescetarian?

By Kris Roudebush
Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 16,675
Share

A pescetarian, or piscetarian, is an individual who eats a vegetarian diet but includes fish or seafood. Their diet may be mostly vegan, excluding all other animal products like eggs or dairy, or lacto-vegetarian and include some animal products. Pisc or pisci, the Latin roots for fish, and vegetarian combine to create a pescetarian, sometimes called a pesco-vegetarian. Other terms include seagan, pesce-vegetarian, and aquatarian. Note that a seagan will not include other animal products in their diet. They are modified vegans who include fish or seafood.

There is some controversy regarding the term pescetarian. A good number of vegans and some vegetarians consider fish to be meat, as fish and seafood are animals. Some vegans find the term pesco-vegetarianism offensive as it implies that the person in question is a vegetarian. Some pescetarians consider themselves to be vegetarian because they avoid land animals. Your personal point of view goes a long way in defining the world around you. In the end, it is important to remember that a pescetarian chooses to eat the way they do for a number of good reasons. Those reasons are varied but include a desire to reduce pollution caused by the raising and butchering of livestock, eating cleaner, and eating less meat overall.

The major problem with eating cleaner and eating pescetarian is that fish, even wild caught, are subject to whatever contamination they are exposed to in the waters where they are caught. In some carnivorous fish higher levels of mercury and PCBs are found. Avoid shark, swordfish, tilefish and mackerel as these fish are known to have high levels of mercury. Check with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for local advisories about fish caught in your area. The EPA and the FDA or Food and Drug Administration recommend eating no more than 12 ounces (340 grams) of fish a week.

Vegetarians and vegans who actively incorporate a wide variety of foods have one of the healthiest diets available. Despite the risk of toxins, a pescetarian diet is not far behind and may soon prove to be even healthier. Fish that are higher in fat like salmon have an advantage over land animals because of high concentrations of heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Shrimp and oysters are also good sources of trace minerals and nutrients that can be hard to find in plant based foods. It is the addition of these fatty acids which recent research is showing that gives some pescetarians an advantage over vegetarians.

Share
DelightedCooking is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Related Articles

Discussion Comments
By anon984935 — On Jan 12, 2015

I think that being vegetarian is a lot healthier.

By anon123192 — On Oct 31, 2010

I have been a pescetarian for a month and I have lost a load of weight ever since I have started. I think I have lost so much weight because I go to the gym twice a week and am running once a week and I am not eating animal fats in meat as there are no animal fats in fish.

By anon90550 — On Jun 16, 2010

Ive been a pescetarian for about eight months. I've lost 12 pounds since then. I'm not sure if its because of ditching the meat.

i do agree I'm not a true vegetarian because I'm still eating living creatures but it is a start. I'll stick to being a pescetarian until I'm ready to drop every meat source.

By anon82893 — On May 08, 2010

i'm a pescetarian but my dad doesn't seem to agree with me. I know i can use this facts to make him agree with me. he has this thinking that all the food, vegetable or not, contains chemicals. but so long as i avoid eating those fishes that contain mercury, i think i'd end up being more healthier than him.

By Jemdude — On May 01, 2010

This is a good article. I believe that a pescetarian diet is healthier than a vegetarian one since omega 3 is best to get from fish.

Share
https://www.delightedcooking.com/what-is-a-pescetarian.htm
Copy this link
DelightedCooking, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

DelightedCooking, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.