Chicketarianism

You’ve probably heard of vegetarians, vegans, and pescetarians, but maybe never

chicketarians. In 2019, there’s all sorts of diets, fads, and lifestyles, and it can be hard to keep up.

But what exactly is a chicketarian? It doesn’t seem to be an officially recognized diet but more of a slang term. A chicketarian is essentially a vegetarian, with the exception of chicken. So they won’t eat fish, beef, pork or any other type of meat, but are fine with consuming chicken dishes. Something that is considered a real diet is pollotarianism. A pollotarian will eat poultry(chicken, turkey, ducks), fish/seafood, dairy, eggs, but no other type of meat. A chicketarian can also consume eggs and dairy, unlike vegans, so the term is quite similar to pollotarian except for the absence of fish. Most people exclude meat and other products like fish, dairy, and eggs from their diet for ethical, environmental, and health reasons. I still have questions though, so I decided to interview a real life chicketarian here at Harborfields High School- sophomore, Danny Benson. But first, I wanted to gather some opinions from other students at HF on this topic.

Ellen Maguire (Sophomore)

Victoria: So, what do you think about chicketarianism?

Ellen: It’s kind of like...for people who want to be vegetarians, but they don’t want to go all the way cause’ they can’t commit to it fully, so they just do that. So I mean, you’re still helping some animals, but I think if you’re gonna be vegetarian, you should really just try to commit to it.

Victoria: Ok, what about for health reasons?

Ellen: Well, I mean they can get protein from others things, like beans and just other products that don’t come from animals.

Rebecca Thompson (Sophomore)

Victoria: Alright so I know you’re a vegetarian...so as a vegetarian what do you think about chicketarianism?

Rebecca: It’s not real

Victoria: What do you mean? *laughs*

It’s not a real thing, you just eat chicken, like you just prefer chicken, it doesn’t like help the chickens or anything.

Dylan Topolovec (Sophomore)

Victoria: What’s your opinion on chicketarianism?

Dylan: I think, it’s stupid. *laughs*

Victoria: Why?

Dylan: Because, if you’re gonna eat no meat, why would you eat chicken-it’s not like chickens are...like one of the reasons for being vegetarian is like “oh animals are treated cruelly,” and chickens are still treated cruelly on many farms.

Victoria: Yeah, what about if the person is doing it for health reasons, like because chicken is healthier compared to beef?

Well, then, I don’t see why you would label yourself as a chicketerian...and never eat any other meat just cause’ it’s not as healthy...I don’t know.

Evan Mock (Sophomore)

Victoria: Ok um, what do you think about chicketarianism?

Evan: Uhh, I feel like it doesn’t make any sense because if you’re a vegetarian you wouldn’t want to eat meat...and chicken is still meat.

Alex Hafen (Sophomore)

Victoria: How do you feel about chicketarianism?

Alex: Chicketarianism?

Victoria: Yeah

Alex: What is that?

Victoria: It’s like a vegetarian, but they eat chicken

Alex: Ummm, that’s weird, because it’s like-a lot of people are vegetarian for animal rights reasons, but it’s like..that throws out that entire concept because you’re still eating animals, that doesn’t make any sense.

So after interviewing several people it seems chicketarianism isn’t really respected. A lot of the students agreed that vegetarianism is usually done for ethical reasons, and being chicketarian doesn’t make much sense. If you only eat chicken and no other meat, there’s no need to label yourself.

  To clear some things up I had a few words with Sophomore Danny Benson:

Victoria: How long have you been a chicketarian for?

Danny: I’ve been a chicketarian for...almost a month

Victoria: Ok, so what is chicketarianism?

Danny: Chicketarianism is not eating any meat except for chicken, like chicken is the only meat you can eat

Victoria: And you can’t eat fish either?

Danny: No

Victoria: So how come you’re a chicketarian?

Danny: Um well, I decided to go vegan for a few weeks but I decided that I couldn’t give up dairy or especially chicken, because chicken’s like my favorite meat to eat

Victoria: What are the advantages of doing this?

Danny: You can still eat some good meat but not feel bad about yourself, because chicken is healthy for you

Victoria: Ok um *laughs*, do you recommend chicketarianism for other people?

Danny: I do! I do, chicketarianism is a nice lifestyle to live

Victoria: What about animal rights?

Danny: Umm, so animals...which ones?

Victoria: The chickens.

Eva Puke (Sophomore) chimes in: See all animals are fine except for chickens...apparently, according to Danny

Danny: Yeah, I know chickens carry a lot of salmonella, so...it’s probably better for them

Victoria: To be...To be-eaten? *laughs*

Danny: To be in heaven, yes to be in heaven

Though that interview ended strangely, it seems that being a chicketarian doesn’t really have to be for a particular reason. Many students I interviewed brought up the ethical aspect, but a chicketarian doesn’t necessarily have to have those beliefs...it could just be because they like chicken but no other meats, or because it’s healthier. Though it’s technically not a real term and isn’t respected by many, everyone has a right to call themselves what they please based on their diet.