A list of former and disputed vegetarians is maintained here. If you add somebody to the list please check they have not been previously removed. If you remove somebody from the list then please add them here with a new source for future reference.
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Some of the people on the list are not vegetarian as there are reliable sources including interviews revealing they eat fish. We need to keep the list accurate, pescetarians should not be on this list. I will go through the entire list and make any corrections. Psychologist Guy (talk) 14:24, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
If you remove any on that basis, will you please add them to Talk:List of vegetarians/former and disputed archive with an appropriate source. If you don't then it is very likely they will be added back at some point. I always cross-reference new additions against the list of removals. Betty Logan (talk) 14:39, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Yes I can add them to the disputed section. Unfortunately in the 80s and 90s especially in America, "vegetarianism" was incorrectly defined by many people as including chicken or fish in the diet. It became equated with a non-red meat diet. The media also confused a "meatless" diet with added fish. Some people still make the mistake of claiming fish is not meat. Kevin Eubanks has never been a vegetarian. The very source that was on this Wikipedia article [1] says he eats fish but the title of the article describes his diet "without meat". People really need to read sources properly and not confuse vegetarianism with pescetarianism but a lot of people are not well read in this topic area so they will make mistakes like this. It's bizarre to me that someone's diet that includes 4 or 5 fish servings a week is called "meatless" or vegetarian. I wish people would learn the correct meaning of vegetarianism. A lot of the celebrities that claim they are vegetarian eat fish. I will spend some time going through the list. Psychologist Guy (talk) 16:44, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Sharon den Adel is not a vegetarian, here she is in a recent interview "I think if you buy meat, you should buy it from a biological farm where they have space and get good food. It’s also good for you and good for them. So, when I buy meat – we eat meat twice a week – I go to a farm like that[2]. Psychologist Guy (talk) 19:47, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Alexa Chung is not vegetarian, here she is commenting about her diet, "Sometimes I’ll eat bacon even though I’m mostly vegetarian" [3]Psychologist Guy (talk) 20:19, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It's obvious that Herschel Walker was never a vegetarian. He has always eaten animal foods including chicken. "He does not eat red meat but will have chicken on occasion." [4]. I will have a look at the others. Psychologist Guy (talk) 20:30, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Vanilla Ice is not a vegetarian, on his Twitter he wrote "I'm not just a vegetarian, I'm a veggaquarium. LOL sometimes I enjoy a little seafood", and posted a picture of his lobster dinner [8]Psychologist Guy (talk) 22:01, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Another one to remove is Ethan Zohn. He gave up his vegetarian diet, "These days, my wife and I are on a modified paleo diet—high in meat, high in vegetables, low in sugar, carbs, and dairy." [9]Psychologist Guy (talk) 22:05, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Michael Jackson has been removed from the list. He was not a vegetarian, his meals usually consisted of chicken and rice [10]Psychologist Guy (talk) 00:54, 10 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Bob Marley was never a vegetarian, he was a fish eater. "Bob limited his diet primarily to fruit, fish , and rice" Source David V. Moskowitz The Words and Music of Bob Marley (2007, p. 37), so I am removing Bob Marley from this list. Psychologist Guy (talk) 21:05, 11 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I have removed Bode Miller as he is not a vegetarian "I don't eat cake or masses of candy, but at the same time I don’t restrict myself from eating a hamburger if that’s what I feel like." [13]Psychologist Guy (talk) 00:39, 12 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Lea Michele should be removed because she is not a vegetarian, she eats meat "Michele used to be totally vegan, but in recent years has relaxed her stance, making the 'conscious choice' to eat meat every once in a while". [14]Psychologist Guy (talk) 23:49, 15 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Nadja Auermann has never been a vegetarian as she eats chicken and fish [15]. The reference describing her as a vegetarian is entirely unreliable, it's one of those celebrity lists with no sources and makes many other mistakes such as listing Keanue Reeves, Dustin Hoffman and Richard Gere as being vegetarian which we know is false. I will remove Nadja Auermann from the list. Psychologist Guy (talk) 11:20, 18 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Should be a distinction in timeframes. Born and raised vegetarian, vegetarian for 30 years, vegetarian for a week, etc. Einstein was not a vegetarian until he was about to die. 79.106.203.78 (talk) 18:01, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Timeframes are incredibly difficult to pin down, and they are only known for a handful of people. For example, in the case of Hitler we know he still ate meat as of 1937, but had stopped by 1942. In the case of modern celebrities, they often announce they are vegetarian but in most cases it is not known when they adopted the diet. Ultimately this information must be sourced. I understand the point you are making, but at a practical level it is impossible to enact. Betty Logan (talk) 18:24, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree the point the IP raises is valid but it will be to difficult to enact. We can only go with what the sources say and most do not talk about a timeframe. Unrelated to this but unfortunately, most modern vegetarians eat fish so they are not even vegetarian by definition. When you really go looking a lot of these celebrities that call themselves vegetarian eat fish and other seafood. The list needs a proper examination. I would like to see less celebrities and more people on the list who dedicated their lives to vegetarianism, i.e. people associated with the Vegetarian Society. I believe the article needs to be updated at some point. Psychologist Guy (talk) 18:28, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's a good point. I think there are designated types of vegetarians. Lacto, ovo, lacto-ovo, pesco-ovo-lacto, etc. I don't know theofficial. Something like that. Could add this to a chart. Maybe also cause of refraining from meat. Religion, health, politics, etc. Hitler was for health reasons, if I recall. Most people today are motivated by political reasons. Animal cruelty, etc. Maybe I am just too demanding. I am very fascinated in the subject myself. I have been a life-long vegetarian, but not for political reasons. I have carnophobia. I have never even heard of anyone like me. I love eggs, milk, and sometimes fish. And I have nothing against others eating meat. It is fascinating what sort of people were a product of vegetarianism. Were they intelligent, strong, weak, average? It is rather frustrating when I see an Olympic athlete famous for being vegetarian, only to find out he has been so for 3 months and is on the payroll of PeTA or something. Mostly celebrities on here, and not avid devotees to a discipline, because wiki demands people to be known and published publicly somewhere. Difficult around that one. Sorry to bring this up here. But I think it might be a fairly popular subject. Perhaps I'm not alone in some sort of list with more details on the subject? I never edit wikipedia, as that always seems to get me in trouble. But I have always been able to discuss ideas. Happy to see two friendly people on here. Thank you. 79.106.203.69 (talk) 06:55, 8 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The official definition of vegetarian is a non-flesh eater, i.e. someone who does not eat meat. Fish is meat so you cannot be a vegetarian and eat fish. There is pescetarianism, so take a look at list of pescetarians for those that eat fish. In India you can not eat eggs and be vegetarian because eggs are classified as non-vegetarian. It is different in the west. The standard definition of vegetarianism in the west is lacto-ovo vegetarianism which involves both dairy and eggs. We don't need to add all the definitions to this article. Basically this list is for non-meat eaters. We go with the common accepted definition.
I agree with your concerns about celebrities who claim to be a vegetarian but have only done it for a few months as a publicity stunt. If you go through the list, a lot of the celebrities are no longer vegetarian. The sources cited are mostly tabloid like from 15 or so years ago. The article needs a massive update. I will attempt to do it at some point. As stated I would like to see vegetarian activists added to the list who dedicated their lives to vegetarianism and less of the fad celebrities who obviously did not do it long-term. Psychologist Guy (talk) 10:07, 8 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
