Is Fish Better Than Meat

I have several reasons to think that fish is not much better than meat – either for health or for ethics.

However, I am of the opinion that fish-eating diets (pescetarian vegetarian diets) can be useful as a bridge for some people between a meat eating and a true vegetarian or vegan diet. Though it's not a huge difference, I guess fish eating can be seen as slightly better than meat eating for a couple of reasons.

Is Fish Healthier Than Meat

I've already written an entire article about how I think fish can be considered somewhat, although not very much, healthier than meat.

In summary, fish is a sort of meat and has the same issues which any meat has. It also contains toxins, including mercury, from the sea which are so dangerous that the American government tells pregnant women to avoid it.

On the other hand, it is high in beneficial Omega-3 fats (though it's by far not the only source of those fats) and is the favoured animal food of the long-lived Cretan and Okinawan populations.

Finally, my intuition seems to suggest that fish is slightly healthier than meat; you could say that it has a higher vibration, if you know what I'm talking about. I'm not sure that's a good argument for someone who doesn't have a lot of faith in my intuition, but perhaps if you have a finely tuned intution yourself this bit will resonate with you.

At the very least, a fish-eating vegetarian diet will tend to have more vegetables and less animal foods in general than a meat eating diet, so I see it as a positive advance. Don't think it's the end of the road though – I think you can do a lot better than that.

Is Fish Better Than Meat

So, what about the other concerns on the subject of fish? A lot of people will be aware of the tragic emptying of our oceans. In the last 50 years, according to one study, 90% of large fish in our oceans have disappeared.

Even fish eaters see this as a problem – obviously because they won't get to continue eating fish if things go on like this. But others may see this as tragic because the fish have a value as life forms and deserve to live. We could say that this is the biggest massacre of wild living creatures ever performed by human beings.

If you feel that fish are valuable as living beings, perhaps you will reconsider eating fish. I think a lot of people eat meat and fish because they were brought up to and haven't really had the chance to think over what they are doing. But then one day they might have a wake-up call – perhaps from an article such as this one – and realise, “Oh! What I'm eating is actually this beautiful animal that I have so much love and respect for! I can't support the killing of these creatures just for my taste preferences!”.

Fish isn't much more ethical than meat. Fish do live a free life in the sea, so I would say it's a little better than the horrors of factory farming. But killing is killing, and anyone who is sensitive to suffering can realise that it's not worth doing such a violent act for no other reason than to gratify someone's taste buds. It would be absolutely tragic if fish were to go extinct, and what's more, the natural ecosystem is already incredibly screwed up just from the last 50 years of intensive fishing. Nothing can replace fish's intended place in nature.

The question of ethics in fish eating is a personal issue and I can't make an argument out of it. Either you feel it, or you don't. I for one, though, think that the world will be a much better place if every living thing is given love and respect. That's for you to chew on, if it resonates with you.

Andrew Gubb's Blog - Indigo Children and Adults, Lightworkers, and Saving The World