{{Short description|Including seafood in an otherwise vegetarian diet}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox | name = Pescatarian | bodystyle = | titlestyle = | abovestyle = background-color: #20B2AA; | subheaderstyle = | title = | above = Pescetarianism | subheader = | subheader2 = | imagestyle = | captionstyle = | image = {{nowrap|x106px|<br />x120px<br />x120px}} | caption = Japanese sushi; shrimp cocktail with lettuce; pizza topped with sardines and olives | headerstyle = background:#81D8D0; | labelstyle = background:#F5F5F5; | datastyle = background:#FFFFFF; | header1 = Description | label1 = | data1 = | header2 = | label2 = x | data2 = | header3 = | label3 = | data3 = A diet in which seafood and freshwater fish are the only meat | header4 = Related Dietary Choices | label4 = | data4 = | header5 = | label5 = Related diets | data5 = {{unbulleted list |Vegetarianism, |Veganism, |Pollotarianism, |Semi-vegetarianism, |Plant-based diet }} | belowstyle = background:#20B2AA; | below = Diet classification table }}
'''Pescetarianism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɛ|s|k|ə|ˈ|t|ɛər|i|.|ə|n|ɪ|z|əm}} {{respell|PESK|ə|TAIR|ee|ə|niz|əm}}; sometimes spelled '''pescatarianism''')<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Boston Globe |title=Legal Sea Foods launches 'Pescatarianism' ad campaign |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/06/30/legal-sea-foods-launches-pescatarianism-campaign/rzjIE0kiEHiwhjO50iLP9N/story.html |date=1 July 2015 |last=Luna |first=Taryn |access-date=6 July 2015 |archive-date=7 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707013305/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/06/30/legal-sea-foods-launches-pescatarianism-campaign/rzjIE0kiEHiwhjO50iLP9N/story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> is a dietary practice in which seafood is the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/pescatarianism | title=Pescetarianism | Description, Seafood, Vegetarianism, & Benefits | Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica }}</ref> Other animal products, such as eggs and dairy, may also be included. According to research conducted from 2017 to 2018, approximately 3% of adults worldwide are pescetarian.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2018-09/an_exploration_into_diets_around_the_world.pdf|title=An exploration into diets around the world|date=August 2018|website=Ipsos|location=UK|pages=2, 10, 11|access-date=12 May 2019|archive-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512072037/https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2018-09/an_exploration_into_diets_around_the_world.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Definition and etymology == {{wiktionary|pescetarian}}
"Pescetarian" is a neologism formed as a portmanteau of the Italian word "pesce" ("fish") and the English word "vegetarian".<ref name=m-w>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pescatarian |title=Definition of Pescatarian by Merriam-Webster |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=5 September 2016 |archive-date=9 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609022539/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pescatarian |url-status=live}}</ref> The term was coined in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s.<ref name="mw">{{cite web |date=31 May 2022 |title=Pescaterian |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pescatarian |access-date=29 June 2022 |publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary}}</ref> "Pesco-vegetarian" is a synonymous term that is seldom used outside of academic research, but it has sometimes appeared in other American publications and literature since at least 1980.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgEbAQAAMAAJ |title=Journal of Nursing Care |date=1980 |publisher=Health Science Division of Technomic Publishing Company, Incorporated |language=en |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110140500/https://books.google.com/books?id=rgEbAQAAMAAJ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hanson |first=Liz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQgAAAAAMBAJ&dq=pesco-vegetarian+%22vegetarian+times%22&pg=PA32 |title=How to give a Vegetarian Cooking Class |date=February 1982 |publisher=Vegetarian Times |language=en |access-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110140454/https://books.google.com/books?id=dQgAAAAAMBAJ&dq=pesco-vegetarian+%22vegetarian+times%22&pg=PA32 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== History == {{See also|History of vegetarianism}}
===Early history=== The first vegetarians in written western history may have been the Pythagoreans, a title derived from the Greek philosopher Pythagoras. Though Pythagoras loaned his name to the meatless diet, some biographers suspect he may have eaten fish as well at some points,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mark |first1=Joshua J. |title=Pythagoras |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Pythagoras/ |website=World History Encyclopedia |date=23 May 2019 |access-date=19 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref> which would have made him not a vegetarian but a pescetarian by today's standards.<ref>{{cite web|last=Avey|first=Tori|date=28 January 2014|website=PBS|title=From Pythagorean to Pescatarian – The Evolution of Vegetarianism|url=https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/evolution-vegetarianism/|access-date=4 August 2020|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004203512/http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/evolution-vegetarianism|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of Pythagoras's philosophies inspired Plato, who advocated for the moral and nutritional superiority of vegetarian-oriented diets. In Plato's ideal republic, a healthy diet would consist of cereals, seeds, beans, fruit, milk, honey and fish.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Republic Of Plato: An Ideal Commonwealth by Jowett, Benjamin (Translator): Very Good Hardcover (1901) {{!}} Back Lane Books|url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Republic-Plato-Ideal-Commonwealth-Jowett-Benjamin/6878261306/bd|access-date=11 February 2022|website=www.abebooks.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Skiadas |first1=Panagiotis K. |last2=Lascaratos |first2=John G. |date=July 2001 |title=Dietetics in ancient Greek philosophy: Plato's concepts of healthy diet |journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |volume=55 |issue=7 |pages=532–537 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601179 |pmid=11464226 |s2cid=1916679}}</ref>
In 675, the consumption of livestock and wild animals, with the exception of deer and wild boar,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ishige |first=Naomici |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203357903 |title=History Of Japanese Food |date=2014-06-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-60255-9 |pages=53–54 |doi=10.4324/9780203357903}}</ref> was banned in Japan by Emperor Tenmu, due to the influence of Buddhism and the lack of arable land.<ref>Hisao Nagayama. 「たべもの江戸史」 新人物往来社, 1976. {{ISBN|4309473105}} p. 66. 『、「牛馬犬猿鶏の宍(肉)を食うことなかれ」の殺生禁断の令は有名拍車をかけたのが仏教の影響である。』</ref> Subsequently, in the year 737 of the Nara period, the Emperor Shōmu approved the eating of fish and shellfish. During the 1200 years from the Nara period to the Meiji Restoration in the latter half of the 19th century, Japanese people ate vegetarian-style meals, and on special occasions, seafood was served.<ref>Mitsuru Kakimoto. International Vegetarian Union, http://www.ivu.org/news/3-98/japan1.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311165937/http://www.ivu.org/news/3-98/japan1.html |date=11 March 2016}}</ref> Exceptions were wild fowl served amongst the Heian nobility,<ref>Ishige, The History and Culture of Japanese Food, pg 73-74</ref> and when Europeans arrived in Japan in the 15th century, the Japanese diet included boar meat.<ref>Shimizu. Akira, Meat Eating in the Kojimachi District of Edo, 2010. in Japanese Foodways, Past and Present, University of Illiois Press, Assman, Stepanie and Rath, Eric C eds. 2010</ref>
Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons, but none of them abstained from the consumption of fish; these monks were not vegetarians, but some were pescetarians.<ref>Lutterbach, Hubertus: ''Der Fleischverzicht im Christentum'', in: ''Saeculum'' 50/II (1999) p. 202.</ref>
Marcion of Sinope and his followers ate fish but no fowl or red meat.<ref name="May 2013">May, Gerhard; Greschat, Katharina. (2013). ''Marcion und seine kirchengeschichtliche Wirkung / Marcion and His Impact on Church History''. De Gruyter. pp. 213–216. {{ISBN|978-3-11-017599-8}}</ref> Fish was seen by the Marcionites as a holier kind of food.<ref>Fontaine, Petrus Franciscus Maria. (1994). ''Gnostic Dualism in Asia Minor During the First Centuries, A.D. II''. Brill Academic Publishing. p. 84. {{ISBN|978-90-5063-346-8}}</ref> They consumed bread, fish, honey, milk, and vegetables.<ref name="May 2013"/><ref>Tyson, Joseph B. (2006). ''Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle''. University of South Carolina Press. p. 35. {{ISBN|978-1-57003-650-7}}</ref>
The "Hearers" of the ecclesiastical hierarchy of Manichaeism lived on a diet of fish, grain, and vegetables.<ref>Spencer, Colin. (2002). ''Vegetarianism: A History''. Four Walls Eight Windows. pp. 135–136. {{ISBN|1-56858-238-2}}</ref> Consumption of land animals was forbidden, based on the Manichaean belief that "fish, being born in and of the waters, and without any sexual connexion on the part of other fishes, are free from the taint which pollutes all animals".<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Asceticism |volume = 2 |last= Conybeare |first= Frederick Cornwallis |author-link= Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare |pages= 717-720|quote= see para 7:-.....The Manichaeans held that.....|short=1}}</ref>
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' insisted upon total abstinence of meat from four-footed animals, except in cases of the sick.<ref name="Keevill 2017">Keevill, Graham; Aston, Mick; Hall, Teresa. (2017). ''Monastic Archaeology''. Oxbow Books. p. 54. {{ISBN|978-1-78570-567-0}}</ref> Benedictine monks thus followed a diet based on vegetables, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, and fish.<ref name="Butler 1919">Butler, Edward Cuthbert. (1919). [https://archive.org/details/benedictinemonac00butluoft/page/44 ''Benedictine Monachism: Studies in Benedictine Life and Rule'']. London: Longmans, Green. p. 44</ref> Paul the Deacon specified that cheese, eggs, and fish were part of a monk's ordinary diet.<ref name="Butler 1919"/> Benedictine monk Walafrid Strabo commented, "Some salt, bread, leeks, fish and wine; that is our menu."<ref>Riché, Pierre. (1978). ''Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne''. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 171. {{ISBN|0-8122-1096-4}}</ref>
The Carthusians followed a strict diet that consisted of fish, cheese, eggs, and vegetables, with only bread and water on Fridays.<ref name="Keevill 2017" />
In the 13th century, Cistercian monks consumed fish and eggs.<ref name="Barber 2004">Barber, Bruno. (2004). ''The Cistercian Abbey of St Mary Stratford Langthorne, Essex''. Museum of London Archaeology Service. p. 158. {{ISBN|978-1-901992-38-0}}</ref> Ponds were created for fish farming.<ref name="Barber 2004"/> From the early 14th century, Benedictine and Cistercian monks no longer abstained from consuming meat of four-footed animals.<ref name="Barber 2004"/><ref name="Kerr 2006">Kerr, Julie. (2006). ''Life in the Medieval Cloister''. Continuum. pp. 48–50. {{ISBN|978-1-84725-161-9}}</ref> In 1336, Pope Benedict XII permitted monks to eat meat four days a week outside of the fast season if it was not served in the refectory.<ref name="Kerr 2006"/>
The anchorites of England ate a pescetarian diet of fish seasoned with apples and herbs, bean or pea soup and milk, butter and oil.<ref>Clay, Rotha Mary. (1914). [https://archive.org/details/hermitsanchorite00clayuoft/page/104/mode/2up ''The Hermits and Anchorites of England'']. London: Methuen. p. 104</ref><ref>Anson, Peter F. (1932). [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.75798/page/n251/mode/2up ''The Quest of Solitude'']. London: J. M. Dent. p. 232. "The food of an anchorite or an anchoress was mainly vegetarian. They could have soups or “pottages” made of herbs, peas, or beans; or “furmity,” sweetened with milk, butter, or oil, and fish seasoned with apples or herbs."</ref>
===19th century to present=== Francis William Newman, who was President of the Vegetarian Society from 1873 to 1883, made an associate membership possible for people who were not completely vegetarian like pescetarians.<ref>Spencer, Colin. (1995). ''The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism''. University Press of New England. pp. 274–276. {{ISBN|0-87451-708-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Yeh, Hsin-Yi.|year=2013|title=Boundaries, Entities, and Modern Vegetarianism: Examining the Emergence of the First Vegetarian Organization|journal=Qualitative Inquiry|volume=19|pages=298–309|doi=10.1177/1077800412471516|s2cid=143788478|quote=Moreover, at the early phase of vegetarianism, while some adherents avoided eating flesh of land animals and birds, they ate fish (Newman, 1874)}}</ref> Eventually, in the 1890s, Newman himself switched from following an ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet to a pescetarian diet, with the rationale that fish do not waste land space, are plentiful due to high reproduction rates, do not care for their young and have no parental feelings to violate, and can be captured and slaughtered in ways that inflict minimal pain.<ref>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:May_Vegetarians_Eat_Fish_1895.png ''May Vegetarians Eat Fish?'']. ''Dundee Evening Telegraph'' (11 September 1895).</ref>
Interest in pescetarian diets continued to grow into the 21st century, alongside broader trends in plant based eating. Surveys in the 2010s and beyond have found that a small but noticeable segment of populations in Western countries identify with pescetarian or related diets, often citing environmental motivations for reducing consumption of red and processed meats in favor of seafood and plant foods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pescetarianism » Eat For Longer - Food Lifestyle Guides |url=https://eatforlonger.com/glossary/pescetarianism/ |access-date=2025-12-21 |language=en-US}}</ref>
A 2016 book ''Seagan Eating'' promoted a seafood diet,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/food/shortcuts/2019/nov/07/fishy-business-should-we-all-be-seagans "Fishy business: should we all be seagans?"]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 18 January 2022.</ref><ref>Erbentraut, Joseph. (2017). [https://archive.today/20220118114942/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/seagan-diet-vegans-eating-seafood_n_57879151e4b08608d333169c "'Seagan' Diet Suggests It's Not A Crazy Idea For Vegans To Eat Seafood"]. huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2022.</ref> which is distinguished from ordinary pescetarian diets because it discourages consumption of dairy and eggs.<ref>[https://www.macmillandictionary.com/buzzword/entries/seaganism.html "Seaganism"]. macmillandictionary.com. Retrieved 18 January 2022.</ref>
== Trends and demographics == {{As of|2020|}}, pescetarianism has been described as a plant-based diet.<ref>[https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/healthy-eating/nutrition-facts/plant-based-vegetarian-vegan-diets "Plant-based, vegetarian and vegan diets"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006085346/https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/healthy-eating/nutrition-facts/plant-based-vegetarian-vegan-diets |date=6 October 2020}}. Heart Foundation NZ. Retrieved 30 October 2020.</ref><ref name="Summerfield">{{cite book|last= Summerfield |first= Liane M. |title= Nutrition, Exercise, and Behavior: An Integrated Approach to Weight Management |date= 8 August 2012 |publisher= Cengage Learning |edition= 2nd |isbn= 978-0-8400-6924-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fsMXSMdJVgcC&pg=PA181 |pages= 181–182 |quote= A plant-based diet is not necessarily a vegetarian diet. Many people on plant-based diets continue to use meat products and/or fish but in smaller quantities.}}</ref> Regular fish consumption and decreased red meat consumption are recognized as dietary practices that may promote health.<ref name="Thalheimer">[https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/040715p32.shtml "The Pescetarian Diet By Judith C. Thalheimer, RD, LDN"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427171930/https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/040715p32.shtml |date=27 April 2019}}. Today's Dietitian. Retrieved 30 October 2020.</ref> Pescetarianism has been shown to be more popular among women than men in all regions where the data on sex ratio is available. [[File:La Boqueria.JPG|thumb|upright=1.20| Plant foods, such as fresh produce, make up most of a pescetarian diet.]]
=== Global === In 2018, Ipsos MORI reported 73% of people worldwide followed a diet where both meat and non-animal products were regularly consumed, with 14% considered as flexitarians, 5% vegetarians, 3% vegans, and 3% pescetarians.<ref name=":1"/> These are similar to the results collected by GlobalData just a year earlier; where 23% of the sample had below average meat consumption, 5% had vegetarian diets, 2% had vegan diets and 3% had pescetarian diets.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|date=12 September 2018|title=Flexitarian diet on trend, says GlobalData|url=https://www.fitnessmag.co.za/flexitarian-diet-on-trend-says-globaldata/|access-date=6 February 2021|website=Fitness Magazine|language=en-US|archive-date=14 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214060212/https://www.fitnessmag.co.za/flexitarian-diet-on-trend-says-globaldata/|url-status=live}}</ref> Globally, pescetarian diets seem to have increased in popularity in the mid-to-late 2010s; only 40% of pescetarians surveyed had been adhering to the diet for more than a couple years and another 18% reported adhering to diet for about a year.<ref name=":1" />
=== United Kingdom === A 2018 poll of 2,000 United Kingdom adults found that ~12% of adults adhered to a meat-free diet; with 2% vegan, 6–7% ovo-lacto-vegetarian, and 4% pescetarian.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tatum |first=Megan |title=12% of Brits follow meat-free diet, The Grocer research shows |url=https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/future-of-meat/12-of-brits-follow-meat-free-diet-the-grocer-research-shows/565771.article |access-date=22 August 2021 |website=The Grocer |date=13 April 2018 |language=en |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822185347/https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/future-of-meat/12-of-brits-follow-meat-free-diet-the-grocer-research-shows/565771.article |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://media.ahdb.org.uk/media/Default/Consumer%20and%20Retail%20Insight%20Images/PDF%20articles/ConsumerInsights%20WEB_1653_180725.pdf |title=Consumer Focus: the rise of plant-based food products and implications for meat and dairy |date=July 2018 |website=Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (ADHB) |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203021457/https://media.ahdb.org.uk/media/Default/Consumer%20and%20Retail%20Insight%20Images/PDF%20articles/ConsumerInsights%20WEB_1653_180725.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.finder.com/uk/uk-diet-trends |title=UK diet trends |last=Johnson |first=Georgia-Rose |date=30 January 2019 |website=Finder UK |language=en-gb |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=12 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512073059/https://www.finder.com/uk/uk-diet-trends |url-status=live}}</ref> Different studies and survey have found a more modest number of meat-abstainers; a 2021 survey found 10% of Brits were meat abstainers with 3% of the population being pescetarians.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mathieu |first1=Edouard |last2=Ritchie |first2=Hannah |title=What share of people say they are vegetarian, vegan, or flexitarian? |url=https://ourworldindata.org/vegetarian-vegan |access-date=13 June 2022 |website=Our World in Data |date=13 May 2022 }}</ref>
In Great Britain as of January 2019, women between 18 and 24 years of age were the most likely demographic group to follow a pescetarian diet. In general, men were less interested in pescetarianism, and men 35 years and above were the least likely to adhere to a pescetarian diet pattern.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adults following pescatarian diet GB 2019 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1062332/adults-following-pescatarian-diet-in-great-britain-by-gender-and-age/ |website=Statista |access-date=12 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115204935/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1062332/adults-following-pescatarian-diet-in-great-britain-by-gender-and-age/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Other regions === In 2018, one survey found that people in Africa and the Middle East had a high incidence of pescetarian diets (5%) when compared to other areas of the world.<ref name=":1" /> In Europe, the incidence of pescetarianism varied by country, according to a 2020 survey documenting the dietary practices of residents in seven European nations: on average, pescetarianism was about 3% of the EU population, with slightly higher incidence in Germany and Belgium.<ref>{{cite web|date=30 October 2020|title=The results of the Veganz nutrition study 2020 are here!|url=https://veganz.com/blog/veganz-nutrition-study-2020/|access-date=26 August 2021|website=Veganz|language=en-US|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826160840/https://veganz.com/blog/veganz-nutrition-study-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref> {{clear}} {{Comparison of special diets}} {{clear}}
== Motivations and rationale == === Animal welfare concerns === {{See also|Pain in fish}}
Pescetarianism may be perceived as a more ethical choice because fish and shellfish may not experience fear, pain, and suffering as more complex animals like mammals and other tetrapods do.<ref name="sciencedaily.com">{{cite web|date=8 August 2013|title=Do fish feel pain? Not as humans do, study suggests|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130808123719.htm|website=ScienceDaily|access-date=18 January 2018|archive-date=8 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108195330/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130808123719.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rose, J. D. 2014">{{cite journal|last1=Rose|first1=J D|last2=Arlinghaus|first2=R|last3=Cooke|first3=S J|last4=Diggles|first4=B K|last5=Sawynok|first5=W|last6=Stevens|first6=E D|last7=Wynne|first7=C D L|author-link7=Clive Wynne|date=March 2014|title=Can fish really feel pain?|url=https://www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/de/institut/departments/daoe/gewisola2013/dntw/jp_bfm/publ_html/roseetal-fishfish-online-2012.pdf|journal=Fish and Fisheries|volume=15|issue=1|pages=97–133|doi=10.1111/faf.12010|bibcode=2014AqFF...15...97R |access-date=29 October 2020|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103185025/https://www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/de/institut/departments/daoe/gewisola2013/dntw/jp_bfm/publ_html/roseetal-fishfish-online-2012.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Key |first1=Brian |title=Fish do not feel pain and its implications for understanding phenomenal consciousness |journal=Biology and Philosophy |date=March 2015 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=149–165 |doi=10.1007/s10539-014-9469-4 |pmid=25798021 |pmc=4356734}}</ref> As a counterargument, from a scientific viewpoint, there are functional areas in the brains of fish that can make them feel pain. Furthermore, fish have pain receptors similar to humans, and evidence shows that pain signals are sent from these receptors to the brain, enabling fish to feel pain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/25/fish-have-feelings-too-why-animal-sentience-means-we-should-rethink-food|title= Fish have feelings too: Why animal sentience means we should rethink food |newspaper= euronews.green |publisher= |date=25 June 2023|access-date=7 May 2024}}</ref> However, this is an ongoing debate.<ref>{{cite web|title=It's Official: Fish Feel Pain|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fish-feel-pain-180967764/|access-date=28 May 2021|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525194139/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fish-feel-pain-180967764/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Scientists say fish feel pain. It could lead to major changes in the fishing industry.|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2018/05/24/scientists-say-fish-feel-pain-it-could-lead-to-major-changes-in-the-fishing-industry/|access-date=28 May 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=15 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015082907/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2018/05/24/scientists-say-fish-feel-pain-it-could-lead-to-major-changes-in-the-fishing-industry/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Some pescetarians may regard their diet as a transition to vegetarianism, while others may consider it an ethical compromise,<ref>Ronald L. Sandler, ''Food Ethics: The Basics'', Routledge, 2014, p. 74.</ref> often as a practical necessity to obtain nutrients that are absent, not easily found, or not readily bioavailable in plants.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rohrer|first=Finlo|title=The rise of the non-veggie vegetarian|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8341002.stm|access-date=22 July 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=5 November 2009|archive-date=7 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107181332/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8341002.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Sustainability and environmental concerns<!--'Environmental pescetarianism' redirects here-->=== {{See also|Sustainable diet|climatarian diet}}
It is common for all kinds of meat-abstainers to participate in the "green movement" and be conscientious about global food sustainability and environmentalism;<ref name="Hoehn 767">{{cite journal|last1=Hoehn|first1=Daniel|last2=Margallo|first2=María|last3=Laso|first3=Jara|last4=García-Herrero|first4=Isabel|last5=Bala|first5=Alba|last6=Fullana-i-Palmer|first6=Pere|last7=Irabien|first7=Angel|last8=Aldaco|first8=Rubén|date=January 2019|title=Energy Embedded in Food Loss Management and in the Production of Uneaten Food: Seeking a Sustainable Pathway|journal=Energies|language=en|volume=12|issue=4|pages=767|doi=10.3390/en12040767|doi-access=free|hdl=10902/15909|hdl-access=free}}</ref> switching to a pescetarian dietary pattern can potentially positively affect both.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tilman|first1=David|last2=Clark|first2=Michael|date=November 2014|title=Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13959|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=515|issue=7528|pages=518–522|doi=10.1038/nature13959|pmid=25383533|bibcode=2014Natur.515..518T|s2cid=4453972|issn=1476-4687|access-date=6 February 2021|archive-date=16 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216233536/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13959|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Hoehn 767"/> People may adopt a pescetarian diet out of desire to lower their dietary carbon footprint.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carbon footprint factsheet |url=http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/carbon-footprint-factsheet |publisher=Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan |access-date=19 May 2019 |date=2018 |archive-date=19 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619041339/http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/carbon-footprint-factsheet |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title= Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK| journal= Climatic Change| volume= 125| issue= 2| pages= 179–192| publisher=Springer | date=11 June 2014| pmc= 4372775| last1= Scarborough| first1= P.| last2= Appleby| first2= P. N.| last3= Mizdrak| first3= A.| last4= Briggs| first4= A. D.| last5= Travis| first5= R. C.| last6= Bradbury| first6= K. E.| last7= Key| first7= T. J.| pmid= 25834298| doi= 10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1| bibcode= 2014ClCh..125..179S}}</ref> A 2014 lifecycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions estimated that a pescetarian diet would provide a 45% reduction in emissions compared to an omnivorous diet.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Magkos|first1=Faidon|last2=Tetens|first2=Inge|last3=Bügel|first3=Susanne Gjedsted|last4=Felby|first4=Claus|last5=Schacht|first5=Simon Rønnow|last6=Hill|first6=James O|last7=Ravussin|first7=Eric|last8=Astrup|first8=Arne|date=1 January 2020|title=A Perspective on the Transition to Plant-Based Diets: a Diet Change May Attenuate Climate Change, but Can It Also Attenuate Obesity and Chronic Disease Risk?|journal=Advances in Nutrition|volume=11|issue=1|pages=1–9|doi=10.1093/advances/nmz090|issn=2161-8313|pmc=7442415|pmid=31504086}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tilman|first1=David|last2=Clark|first2=Michael|date=1 November 2014|title=Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13959|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=515|issue=7528|pages=518–522|doi=10.1038/nature13959|pmid=25383533|bibcode=2014Natur.515..518T|s2cid=4453972|issn=1476-4687|access-date=6 February 2021|archive-date=16 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216233536/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13959|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Research on the diets of over 55,000 UK residents found that meat-eaters had dietary greenhouse gas emissions that were about 50% higher than pescetarians.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scarborough |first1=Peter |last2=Appleby |first2=Paul N. |last3=Mizdrak |first3=Anja |last4=Briggs |first4=Adam D. M. |last5=Travis |first5=Ruth C. |last6=Bradbury |first6=Kathryn E. |last7=Key |first7=Timothy J. |title=Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK |journal=Climatic Change |date=1 July 2014 |volume=125 |issue=2 |pages=179–192 |doi=10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1 |pmid=25834298 |pmc=4372775 |bibcode=2014ClCh..125..179S |language=en |issn=1573-1480|doi-access=free}}</ref> Compared to an omnivorous diet, pescetarian diets also had 64% less environmental impact overall when the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, land use and cumulative energy demand were assessed together.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rabès|first1=Anaëlle|last2=Seconda|first2=L.|last3=Langevin|first3=B.|last4=Allès|first4=B.|last5=Touvier|first5=M.|last6=Hercberg|first6=S.|last7=Lairon|first7=D.|last8=Baudry|first8=J.|last9=Pointereau|first9=P.|last10=Kesse-Guyot|first10=E.|date=2020|title=Greenhouse gas emissions, energy demand and land use associated with omnivorous, pesco-vegetarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets accounting for farming practices|journal=Sustainable Production and Consumption|volume=22|pages=138–146|doi=10.1016/j.spc.2020.02.010|s2cid=216444801|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020SusPC..22..138R }}</ref>
A Japanese study in 2018 found that various diet changes could successfully reduce the Japanese food-nitrogen footprint, particularly by adopting a pescetarian diet which may reduce the impact on nitrogen.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Oita|first1=Azusa|last2=Nagano|first2=Ichiro|last3=Matsuda|first3=Hiroyuki|date=1 April 2018|title=Food nitrogen footprint reductions related to a balanced Japanese diet|journal=Ambio|volume=47|issue=3|pages=318–326|doi=10.1007/s13280-017-0944-4|issn=0044-7447|pmc=5857260|pmid=28913773|bibcode=2018Ambio..47..318O }}</ref> Switching from an omnivorous diet to a pescetarian diet also carries high potential in reducing American food loss because fish and shellfish contribute markedly less to food waste at the primary, retail and consumer levels than both red meat and poultry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beef Research - Food Waste |url=https://www.beefresearch.org/resources/beef-sustainability/fact-sheets/food-waste |access-date=25 March 2022 |website=Beef Research |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, water conservation may be a motivator; a multinational study found that switching a conventional diet for a balanced pescetarian diet could reduce dietary water footprint by 33% to 55%.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Change your diet to save both water and your health |journal=ScienceDaily |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180910142419.htm |access-date=23 March 2021 |language=en |archive-date=25 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625032254/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180910142419.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Health research === A common reason for adoption of pescetarianism may be health-related, such as fish and plant food consumption as part of the Mediterranean diet, which is associated with lowered risk of cardiovascular diseases.<ref name="okeefe">{{cite journal |last1=O’Keefe |first1=James H. |last2=Torres-Acosta |first2=Noel |last3=O’Keefe |first3=Evan L. |last4=Saeed |first4=Ibrahim M. |last5=Lavie |first5=Carl J. |last6=Smith |first6=Sarah E. |last7=Ros |first7=Emilio |title=A Pesco-Mediterranean diet with intermittent fasting |journal=Journal of the American College of Cardiology |volume=76 |issue=12 |date=22 September 2020 |issn=0735-1097 |pmid=32943166 |doi=10.1016/j.jacc.2020.07.049 |pages=1484–1493 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Estruch|first1=Ramon|last2=Sacanella|first2=Emilio|last3=Ros|first3=Emilio|date=4 January 2021|title=Should we all go pesco-vegetarian?|journal=European Heart Journal|volume=42|issue=12|pages=1144–1146|doi=10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa1088|pmid=33393612|issn=0195-668X|doi-access=free}}</ref> Pescetarian diets are under preliminary research for their potential to affect diabetes,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Papier|first1=Keren|last2=Appleby|first2=Paul N.|last3=Fensom|first3=Georgina K.|last4=Knuppel|first4=Anika|last5=Perez-Cornago|first5=Aurora|last6=Schmidt|first6=Julie A.|last7=Tong|first7=Tammy Y. N.|last8=Key|first8=Timothy J.|date=25 February 2019|title=Vegetarian diets and risk of hospitalisation or death with diabetes in British adults: results from the EPIC-Oxford study|journal=Nutrition & Diabetes|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|page=7|doi=10.1038/s41387-019-0074-0|pmid=30804320|issn=2044-4052|pmc=6389979}}</ref> long-term weight gain,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Knüppel|first1=A.|last2=Appleby|first2=P. N.|last3=Key|first3=T. J.|date=7 March 2019|title=Weight change over 14 years in meat-eaters, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans|journal=Proceedings of the Nutrition Society|language=en|volume=78|issue=OCE1|article-number=E37 |doi=10.1017/S0029665119000417|issn=0029-6651|doi-access=free}}</ref> and all-cause mortality.<ref name="Schwing">{{cite journal | last1=Schwingshackl | first1=Lukas | last2=Schwedhelm | first2=Carolina | last3=Hoffmann | first3=Georg | last4=Lampousi | first4=Anna-Maria | last5=Knüppel | first5=Sven | last6=Iqbal | first6=Khalid | last7=Bechthold | first7=Angela | last8=Schlesinger | first8=Sabrina | last9=Boeing | first9=Heiner | title=Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies | journal=American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume=105 | issue=6 | pages=1462–1473 | date=26 April 2017 | issn=0002-9165 | pmid=28446499 | doi=10.3945/ajcn.117.153148 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316523321 | doi-access=free | access-date=19 May 2019 | archive-date=10 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110140506/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316523321_Food_groups_and_risk_of_all-cause_mortality_A_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis_of_prospective_studies | url-status=live}}</ref>
===Other considerations=== {{further|Mercury in fish}} Concerns have been raised about consuming some fish varieties containing toxins such as mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB),<ref>Committee on the Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, National Research Council, {{cite book| title=Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury| url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9899.html| isbn=978-0-309-07140-6| year=2000| last1=Council| first1=National Research| last2=Studies| first2=Division on Earth Life| last3=Sciences| first3=Commission on Life| last4=Toxicology| first4=Board on Environmental Studies and| last5=Methylmercury| first5=Committee on the Toxicological Effects of| publisher=National Academies Press| access-date=12 May 2007| archive-date=6 February 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206141917/http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9899| url-status=live}}</ref> although it is possible to select fish that contain little or no mercury or moderate the consumption of mercury-containing fish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/02/030210080251.htm|title=Experts Say Consumers Can Eat Around Toxins In Fish|work=ScienceDaily|access-date=7 January 2015|archive-date=30 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430124331/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/02/030210080251.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2018 global consumer survey, the majority of pescetarians, vegetarians and vegans (87% prevalence) reported that their food product choices are influenced by ideological factors, like ethical concerns, environmental impact or social responsibility.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 July 2019 |title=Survey: Most meat eaters are influenced by ethical concerns |url=https://www.verdictfoodservice.com/comment/survey-must-meat-eaters-are-influenced-by-ethical-concerns/ |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=Verdict Food Service |language=en-US |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118200016/https://www.verdictfoodservice.com/comment/survey-must-meat-eaters-are-influenced-by-ethical-concerns/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Pescetarians may be motivated by ethical concerns that are not related to animal protection or environmental protection, such as humanitarian or religious reasons. Viable sources of protein that can be consumed by food-insecure humans are not wasted on filter feeders or wild-caught fish.
==In religions== {{Further|Vegetarianism and religion}}
===Christianity=== {{main|Christian vegetarianism}}
In both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition, pescetarianism is referred to as a form of abstinence. During fast periods, Eastern Orthodox Christians often abstain from meat, dairy, eggs, and fish, but on holidays that occur on fast days (for example, 15 August on a Wednesday or Friday), fish is allowed, while meat and dairy remain forbidden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abbamoses.com/fasting.html|title=The Fasting Rule of the Orthodox Church|website=www.abbamoses.com|access-date=24 March 2019|archive-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808184207/http://www.abbamoses.com/fasting.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Anthonian fasting<ref>{{cite web|date=17 May 2013|title=Fasting Rules|url=http://stanthonylc.org/2013/05/fasting-rules/|access-date=4 March 2021|website=St. Anthony|language=en|archive-date=9 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109142802/http://stanthonylc.org/2013/05/fasting-rules/|url-status=live}}</ref> has been considered a pescetarian-like variant of Orthodox fasting as poultry and red meat are restricted throughout the year but fish, eggs, oils, dairy and wine are allowed most days.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Karras |first1=Spyridon |last2=Koufakis |first2=Theocharis |last3=Petróczi |first3=Andrea |last4=Folkerts |first4=Dirk |last5=Kypraiou |first5=Maria |last6=Grammatiki |first6=Maria |last7=Mulrooney |first7=Hilda |last8=Naughton |first8=Declan |last9=Skoutas |first9=Dimitrios |last10=Adamidou |first10=Lilian |last11=Zebekakis |first11=Pantelis |last12=Kotsa |first12=Kalliopi |title=Effects of Orthodox fasting on cardiometabolic risk factors: a comparative evaluation between lay fasters and Athonian monks |journal=Endocrine Abstracts |date=21 August 2020 |volume=70 |doi=10.1530/endoabs.70.EP559 |s2cid=225300273 |url=https://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0070/ea0070EP559 |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110140501/https://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0070/ea0070EP559 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Karras |first1=S N |last2=Persynaki |first2=A |last3=Petróczi |first3=A |last4=Barkans |first4=E |last5=Mulrooney |first5=H |last6=Kypraiou |first6=M |last7=Tzotzas |first7=T |last8=Tziomalos |first8=K |last9=Kotsa |first9=K |last10=Tsioudas |first10=A A |last11=Pichard |first11=C |last12=Naughton |first12=D P |title=Health benefits and consequences of the Eastern Orthodox fasting in monks of Mount Athos: a cross-sectional study |journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |date=June 2017 |volume=71 |issue=6 |pages=743–749 |doi=10.1038/ejcn.2017.26 |pmid=28327563 |s2cid=4768215 }}</ref>
Pescetarianism is relatively popular among Seventh-day Adventists when compared to the general population; in the 2000s 10% of North American Seventh-day Adventists who were surveyed reported adhering to a pescetarian diet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adventist Health Study-2|url=https://adventisthealthstudy.org/studies/AHS-2|access-date=5 January 2021|website=adventisthealthstudy.org}}</ref> The higher popularity is likely due to the church promoting a "health message" to its followers and considering meat-consumption to be unfavorable. Adventists who eat seafood do not eat shellfish because the church expects all followers to only eat kosher foods deemed permissible by Leviticus 11.<ref name="Shurtleff Aoyagi 2014 p. 1081">{{cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=W. |last2=Aoyagi |first2=A. |title=History of Seventh-day Adventist Work with Soyfoods, Vegetarianism, Meat Alternatives, Wheat Gluten, Dietary Fiber and Peanut Butter (1863-2013): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook |publisher=Soyinfo Center |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-928914-64-8 |url=https://www.soyinfocenter.com/pdf/172/Adve.pdf |access-date=10 April 2018 |page=1081}}</ref>
===Judaism=== Pescetarianism, provided that the fish is kosher, conforms to Jewish dietary laws. Fish and all other seafood animals must have both fins and scales in order to be considered kosher. Thus, aquatic mammals such as dolphins and whales are not kosher, nor are cartilaginous fish such as sharks and rays, since they all have dermal denticles and not true bony-fish scales. The lack of fins and scales also deems crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, crab, lobster) and molluscs (e.g., oyster, clam, conch, octopus, squid) to be non-kosher. Roe, such as caviar, must come from a kosher fish to be permitted.<ref name=chabad.org>Aryeh Citron, [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1182104/jewish/All-About-Kosher-Fish.htm "All About Kosher Fish"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216084101/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1182104/jewish/All-About-Kosher-Fish.htm |date=16 December 2013}}</ref><ref>[https://oukosher.org/faqs/verifying-kosher-fish/ Verifying Kosher Fish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228194015/https://oukosher.org/faqs/verifying-kosher-fish/ |date=28 February 2021}} ''OU Kosher Certification''. Retrieved 9 August 2019.</ref> Pescetarian diets simplify adherence to the Judaic separation of meat and dairy products, as kosher fish is considered ''pareve'' ("neutral")—neither "milk" nor "meat", which must be separated from one another.<ref>{{cite web|author=Menachem Posner|title=May fish be consumed with dairy?|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/815625/jewish/Is-lox-and-cream-cheese-kosher.htm|publisher=Chabad.org|access-date=14 March 2021|archive-date=1 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001060352/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/815625/jewish/Is-lox-and-cream-cheese-kosher.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2015, members of the Liberal Judaism synagogue in Manchester, England, founded The Pescetarian Society, citing pescetarianism as originally a Jewish diet, and pescetarianism as a form of vegetarianism.<ref name="thepescetariansociety.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.thepescetariansociety.org|title=Pescetarian Society Home Page|publisher=The Pescetarian Society|date=2019|access-date=10 January 2022|archive-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927004052/http://www.thepescetariansociety.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> The society has several advocacy interests: public health, promoting healthy eating, praising pescetarianism as "the natural human diet", supporting better animal welfare, bringing awareness to the climate-change crisis, and demanding seafood be sustainable and responsibly-caught.<ref name="thepescetariansociety.org" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 June 2022 |title=Popular Pescetarian Meals – Healthy Living |url=https://thepescetariansociety.org/blogs/pescetarianism-the-worlds-fastest-growing-diet/ |access-date=11 June 2022 |website=thepescetariansociety.org |language=en |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810012236/https://thepescetariansociety.org/blogs/pescetarianism-the-worlds-fastest-growing-diet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Hinduism=== Some Hindus, by choice, follow a strict lacto-vegetarian diet and in India up to 44% of Hindus self-identify as some type of vegetarian.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Corichi |first1=Manolo |title=Eight-in-ten Indians limit meat in their diets, and four-in-ten consider themselves vegetarian |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/08/eight-in-ten-indians-limit-meat-in-their-diets-and-four-in-ten-consider-themselves-vegetarian/ |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=31 January 2022 |date=8 July 2021}}</ref> However, there are Hindus who consume fish, mainly from coastal southwestern India.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Axelrod|first1=P|last2=Fuerch|first2=MA|title=Portuguese Orientalism and the making of the village communities of Goa|journal=Ethnohistory|date=1998|volume=45|issue=3|doi=10.2307/483320|pages=439|jstor=483320}}</ref> This community regards seafood in general as "vegetables from the sea", and refrains from eating land-based animals. Other Hindus who consume seafood are those from Bengal, Odisha, and other coastal areas.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chakravarti|first1=A. K.|title=Regional Preference for Food: Some Aspects of Food Habit Patterns in India |journal=The Canadian Geographer|date=December 1974|volume=18|issue=4|pages=395–410|doi=10.1111/j.1541-0064.1974.tb00212.x|bibcode=1974CGeog..18..395C }}</ref> In Bengal, Hindus consume fish and are known to cook it daily.<ref>Sinclair-Brull, Wendy. (1997). ''Female Ascetics: Hierarchy and Purity in an Indian Religious Movement''. Curzon Press. p. 158. {{ISBN|0-7007-0422-1}}</ref>
===Rastafari=== The expression of Ital eating can vary from Rasta to Rasta, but a general principle is that food should be natural or pure, and from the earth.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meehan |first1=Peter |title=Ital Is Vital |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/ital-is-vital.html |work=The New York Times |date=12 October 2012 |access-date=8 November 2021 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108011548/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/ital-is-vital.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Though the Rastafari are generally associated with avid vegetarianism and veganism, a large minority of adherents do deem certain kinds<ref>{{cite web |title=Rasta fare {{!}} alimentarium |url=https://www.alimentarium.org/en/magazine/world-flavours/rasta-fare |website=www.alimentarium.org |access-date=8 November 2021 |language=en |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108011550/https://www.alimentarium.org/en/magazine/world-flavours/rasta-fare |url-status=live}}</ref> of fish to be an acceptable exception in the Ital diet. Rastafari who permit fish will avoid eating all kinds of shellfish as they are considered to be "unclean" scavengers,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Brien |first1=Derek |last2=Carter |first2=Vaughan |title=Chant Down Babylon: Freedom of Religion and the Rastafarian Challenge to Majoritarianism |journal=Journal of Law and Religion |date=2002 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=219–248 |doi=10.2307/1051499 |jstor=1051499 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-law-and-religion/article/abs/chant-down-babylon-freedom-of-religion-and-the-rastafarian-challenge-to-majoritarianism/0B9EBEE39F9310026808EB3A7E2981E8 |language=en |issn=0748-0814 |access-date=8 November 2021 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108021408/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-law-and-religion/article/abs/chant-down-babylon-freedom-of-religion-and-the-rastafarian-challenge-to-majoritarianism/0B9EBEE39F9310026808EB3A7E2981E8 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Ital Diet, A Rastafarian Recipe For Eating Right |url=https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-ital-diet-a-rastafarian-recipe-for-eating-right |website=Worldcrunch |access-date=8 November 2021 |language=en |date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108011549/https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-ital-diet-a-rastafarian-recipe-for-eating-right |url-status=live}}</ref> a belief that stems from biblical teachings.<ref>{{cite web|last=Snider|date=28 June 2020|title=Rastafari Culture|url=https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/real-stories/rastafari-culture/|access-date=25 January 2022|website=Black History Month}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Food}} <!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order and add a short description WP:SEEALSO -->
* Ikaria Study – Dietary study of long-lived Ikarian people found to have semi-vegetarian diets similar to pescetarianism. * List of diets – A comprehensive index of diets covered on Wikipedia * Mediterranean diet – Diet inspired by eating habits of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. * Okinawa diet – Eating habits of the indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands. * Piscivore - Animals that eat mainly fish * Semi-vegetarianism – Other forms of semi-vegetarianism that include occasional seafood or meat consumption. * Filet-O-Fish – Created in response to Catholics not eating meat on Fridays, but permitting fish.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Plant-based diets}} {{Vegetarianism}} {{Diets}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Plant-based diets Category:Semi-vegetarianism Category:Diets Category:Seafood Category:Sustainable food system Category:Intentional living