April 2004

Go Fish

When I lived in Maryland, every other vegetarian I met was actually a pescavore. It drove me crazy since most omnivores already buy into the Catholic "fish on Fridays" mentality that fish (despite bones & flesh) is not meat. As much as it irritated me, I could sort of understand: Marylanders are culturally bound to fish. They feel pride in cooking crabs better than anyone else, even despite Maryland's waters now being virtually crab-free. This is why I hate to admit to you, especially any vegetarians, that I have decided to experiment with life as a pescavore.

Why am I doing it? Well, fish is the only food with substantial health benefits that was not part of my diet. Both because of my own eczema and severely fluctuating blood pressure and because of family history, I need to be concerned about health for the long term. Studies show that eating fish even just once a month reduces the risk of stroke. (Any family reading this? You might want to switch to the fishamajig next time at the fast food shack.) Most of the other benefits of fish come with more regular eating, generally at least two times a week. Omega-3 fatty acids, found mostly in deepwater fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, can improve skin conditions like eczema, slow the heart rate, reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, increase the "good" HDL cholesterol, reduce the risk of irregular heartbeats, increase serotonin levels, and prevent arthritic inflammation and possibly asthma. Omega-3s are also found in flax seeds, walnuts, and some whole grains, but over the past five years of omega-3 awareness I have found that it's hard for me to get good levels of omega-3s on a regular basis from these sources alone.

I would prefer to leave the fish to their swimming and remain a vegetarian, so at least for now my fish-eating is an experiment. As I merge into life as a pescavore, can I stomach it or do my ethics cry out at the thought of grasping their life to better my own? Readers who have never been a vegetarian will probably find this idea preposterous, but the equality of all life forms is a perfectly legitimate worldview. Not everyone shares the same sense of ethics. Those of us on the ethical outside have realized this for a long time.

In adulthood, I have never been the type of person who tries to enforce my sense of ethics as a universal truth that everyone must follow. Anyone who has known me, especially at the Lounge Lizard's annual pig roast, can certainly testify to that. I trust that my experiment won't bring out argumentative questioning and ethical probing since I haven't instigated any of you in the past. Thankfully those of you who are part of my day-to-day life are not inclined to this kind of thoughtless behavior. But a major change of lifestyle can make one worry. Imagine a practicing Catholic struggling with their faith in the church's teachings as they realize that the teachers have been morally corrupt. Only a lout would rub salt in their sores. Similarly, I am struggling to figure out whether I can live with ranking the long-term health benefits on my part above the continuing life of a being that I feel to be of equal inherent value. I think it's probably a good choice for my body, but how is it for my mind?

Some may wonder what a vegetarian thinks at the moment of putting a fork full of fish to their lips. When I sit down to a beautifully cooked piece of salmon or eat some calamari, of course I enjoy it. Gustatory pleasure is not generally a factor in choosing vegetarianism (although a good vegetarian finds the most delicious ways to be one). But before enjoying the fish, I am inclined to break with my non-praying ways and offer a moment of my thoughts to the fish. (Offering thoughts to a fish? As you see, this will be a quite a trial.)

I haven't yet paused to offer a conscious moment to consideration of the fish. Frankly, it feels easier to not dwell on the fish's demise. But if I should focus on the fish and ponder its life and its place on my plate, I would want to ask forgiveness that my society learned to kill this fish before it learned to kill me. I hope that I do not take in more fish than I need.