Do vegans and vegetarians eat oysters?

This is a question that I saw posted online. Apparently, some meat eaters (and some people calling themselves vegetarians and vegans, but really aren't) have spread around the misinformation that it's okay for vegans and vegetarians to eat oysters. Well, it's not. Oysters are animals, and by definition vegetarians and vegans don't eat animals. It's just that simple. 

To me, it's obvious that oysters are animals and not suitable for vegetarians and vegans. But I think there are many people who like to continue to push it and see just what all they can fit under the "vegetarian" or "vegan" label. They want to eat the animals, but they also want to still call themselves a vegetarian or vegan. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that.

An oyster is a marine bivalve mollusk. According to the dictionary, a mollusk is "any of a large phylum (Mollusca) of invertebrate animals (such as snails, clams, or squids) with a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a calcareous shell."

Oysters are bivalves, and bivalves are animals. 

Oysters may not look like the four-legged animals roaming the land, but they are still animals. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, or if you want to be one, then oysters are off limits. Oysters are animals, and vegetarians and vegans do not eat animals. 

If you are a vegetarian or vegan who is considering eat oysters (and thus giving up being a vegetarian or vegan), I highly suggest trying out some of the vegan "seafood" options that are available today. You will find such vegan products made by several companies. Gardein offers fishless filets and crabless cakes, and Sophie's Kitchen offers a whole line of plant based seafood, which includes crab cakes, shrimp, fish fillets, scallops, salmon, lobster, and more.