Wikipedia

Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products.[1]

There are several variants of the diet, some of which also exclude eggs and/or some products produced from animal labor such as dairy products and honey. Veganism, for example, excludes all animal products from diet. By some strict definitions, animal products are not used for attire either, whether or not the production of clothing or items has involved the actual death of an animal (dairy, eggs, honey, wool, silk, down feathers, etc.) [2] A generic term for both vegetarianism and veganism, as well as for similar diets, is "Plant-based diets".[6]

The reasons for choosing vegetarianism may be related to moral, religious, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, environmental, social, economic, political, taste, or health concerns.

Main varieties

There are a variety of different practices of vegetarianism. The following table summarizes the most common types of vegetarian diet:

Diet Name	Meat, (including Fish and Poultry)	Eggs	Dairy	Honey
Ovo-lacto vegetarianism	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lacto vegetarianism	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ovo vegetarianism	No	Yes	No	Yes
Veganism	No	No	No	No

Other dietary practices commonly associated with vegetarianism

· Fruitarianism is a diet of only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant.

· Macrobiotic diet is a diet of mostly whole grains and beans. Not all macrobiotics are vegetarians as some consume fish.

· Natural hygiene in its classic form recommends a diet principally of raw vegan foods.

· Raw veganism is a diet of fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables.

· Dietary veganism: whereas vegans don't use animal products of any kind, dietary vegans restrict their veganism to their diet[6]

· Freeganism argues that all commodities produced under capitalism, not only those from animal sources, contribute to exploitation and avoid buying anything, including food. Freegans thus focus on acquiring foods and other commodities by means other than purchasing, including foraging for wild plants and gardening with intent to cause as little violence and ecological destruction as possible through their consumption. While many freegans are vegans or vegetarians, others will eat animal products that would otherwise go to waste under the justification that doing this does not encourage further animal exploitation.

It should be noted that most vegetarians also are aware of avoiding products that may use animal ingredients not included in their labels or which use animal products in their manufacturing i.e. cheeses that use animal rennet, gelatin (from animal skin, bones, and connective tissue), some sugars that are whitened with bone char (e.g. cane sugar, but not beet sugar) and alcohol clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and sturgeon.

Semi-vegetarian diets

Semi-vegetarian diets are diets that primarily consist of vegetarian foods, but make exceptions for some non-vegetarian foods. These diets may be followed by those who choose to reduce the amount of animal flesh consumed, or sometimes as a way of transitioning to a vegetarian diet. These terms are neologisms based on the word "vegetarian". They may be regarded with contention by strict vegetarians, as they conflate terms for vegetarian & non-vegetarian diets.

· Semi-vegetarianism — A diet in which the only animal flesh consumed is seafood and/or poultry, in limited amounts.

o Pescetarianism — A diet in which the only animals consumed are fish or other seafood.

o Pollotarianism — A diet in which the only animals consumed are fowl and poultry.

· Flexitarianism — A diet that consists primarily of vegetarian food, but that allows occasional exceptions.

Etymology

The first Vegetarian Society founded in 1847 claims to have "created the word vegetarian from the Latin 'vegetus' meaning 'lively' (which is how these early vegetarians claimed their diet made them feel) ..."[7] However, the Oxford English Dictionary and other standard dictionaries state that the word was formed from the term "vegetable" and the suffix "-arian".[8]

The Oxford English Dictionary also gives evidence that the word was already in use before the foundation of the Vegetarian Society:

· 1839 - "If I had had to be my own cook, I should inevitably become a vegetarian." (F. A. Kemble, Jrnl. Residence on Georgian Plantation (1863) 251)

· 1842 - "To tell a healthy vegetarian that his diet is very uncongenial with the wants of his nature." (Healthian, Apr. 34)

But it also notes that "The general use of the word appears to have been largely due to the formation of the Vegetarian Society at Ramsgate in 1847."

History

The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant amount of people concern ancient India[9] and the ancient Greek civilization in Southern Italy and in Greece in the 6th century BCE.[10] In both instances the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence towards animals (called ahimsa in India) and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.[11] Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity, vegetarianism practically disappeared from Europe.[12] Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons, but none of them eschewed fish.[13] Vegetarianism was to reemerge somewhat in Europe during the Renaissance.[14] It became a more widespread practice in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In 1847 the first Vegetarian Society was founded in England;[15] Germany, the Netherlands and other countries followed. The International Vegetarian Union, a union of the national societies, was founded in 1908. In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism grew during the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and more recently, environmental and economic concerns. Today, Indian vegetarians, primarily lacto vegetarians, are estimated to make up more than 70% of the world's vegetarians. They make up 20–42% of the population in India, while less than 30% are regular meat-eaters.[16][17][18] Surveys in the U.S. have found that roughly 1–2.8% of adults eat no meat, poultry, or fish.[19][20][21][22]

Motivations and benefits

Vegetarianism can be followed for diverse reasons:[23]

Religious and spiritual

Hinduism and Jainism teach vegetarianism as moral conduct while Christianity and Islam generally do not. Buddhism in general does not prohibit meat eating, while Mahayana Buddhism encourages vegetarianism as beneficial for developing compassion. Other denominations that advocate a fully vegetarian diet include the Seventh-day Adventists, the Rastafari movement and the Hare Krishnas.

Hinduism

Most major paths of Hinduism hold vegetarianism as an ideal. There are three main reasons for this: the principle of nonviolence (ahimsa) applied to animals;[24] the intention to offer only "pure" (vegetarian) food to a deity and then to receive it back as prasad;[25] and the conviction that non-vegetarian food is detrimental for the mind and for spiritual development. Nonviolence is a common concern of all the vegetarian traditions in Hinduism; the other two aspects are relevant for those who follow special spiritual paths.

However, the food habits of Hindus vary according to their community or caste and according to regional traditions. Hindu vegetarians usually eschew eggs but consume milk and dairy products, so they are lacto-vegetarians. Many coastal habitants are fish eaters.

Jainism

Followers of Jainism are either lacto-vegetarians or vegans. No products obtained from dead animals are allowed. Jains hold vegetarianism as the ideal diet in a similar fashion to Hindu traditions but with emphasis on their principle of all-round non-violence (ahimsa). This is for them an indispensable condition for spiritual progress.[26][27] Some particularly dedicated individuals are fruitarians.[28] Honey is forbidden, because its collection is seen as violence against the bees. Some Jains do not consume plant parts that grow underground such as roots and bulbs, because tiny animals may be killed when the plants are pulled up.[29]

Buddhism

There are several sakskrit sutra where Buddha instruct his followers to avoid meat. Mahayana Buddhism generally advises monks to be strictly vegetarian, while other followers may choose whether to be vegetarian or not.

In the Theravada tradition, "[m]onks may not exercise choice when it comes to food" and thus, monks must eat meat if it is offered to them.[7] There are numerous Pali Tri Pitaka text describing what Buddha ate. Nothing is specified concerning the diets of those who are not monks.

Sikhism

Followers of the Sikh religion are divided in their opinion on whether their religion opposes meat consumption for Sikhs.[30] Although many Sikhs do eat meat, the majority of initiated Sikhs or "amritdharis" abstain from the consumption of meat and eggs.[31]

In the case of meat, the Sikh Gurus have indicated their preference for a simple diet and depending on what one sees as a simple diet could be meat or vegetarian. Passages from the Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book of Sikhs, also known as the Adi Granth) says that fools argue over this issue. The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, prohibited the Sikhs from the consumption of halal or Kutha (any ritually slaughtered meat) meat because of the Sikh belief that sacrificing an animal in the name of God is mere ritualism (something to be avoided).[30]

Judaism

In the Jewish religion people are permitted to consume meat, with some restrictions. Kashrut (dietary law according to halakha, Jewish religious law) forbids the eating of meat and dairy products together. It also restricts those animals which can be eaten: mammals with split hooves that chew their cud, fish with fins and scales, and certain bird species. Animals are also required to be slaughtered in a manner that minimizes their suffering. Some Jewish people are vegetarian because a vegetarian diet makes it easier to abide by kashrut principles.

A number of well known rabbis, including Moshe Cordovero, Joseph Albo and Abraham Isaac Kook favored vegetarianism. According to some Kabbalists, only a mystic, who is able to sense and elevate the reincarnated human souls and "divine sparks", is permitted to consume meat, though eating the flesh of an animal might still cause spiritual damage to the soul. A number of Orthodox Jewish vegetarian groups and activists promote such ideas and believe that the halakhic permission to eat meat is a temporary leniency for those, who are not ready yet to accept the vegetarian diet.[32]

There are also a large number of Jews who are vegetarians by choice with no relation to their religious beliefs.

Having ties with both ancient Judaism and Christianity members of the ancient Essene religious group practised strict vegetarianism sharing a similar belief with the Hindus'/Jains' idea of Ahimsa or "harmlessness". [33]

Translation of the Old Testament's Ten Commandments state "thou shall not kill", which is widely accepted as a command not to commit the act of murder.[34][35] However others argue that this can also be taken as meaning not to kill at all, animals nor man, or at least "that one shall not kill unnecessarily",[36] which would favor a vegetarian approach to diet.

Christianity

While vegetarianism is not common in Christian thought, the concept appears periodically. According to the Bible, in the beginning, humans and animals were vegetarian.[37] Immediately after the Flood, God permitted the eating of meat.[38] Creation scientists say this is because the antediluvian ecology allowed edible plants to flourish worldwide, and since the Flood altered the Earth's environment so drastically that in order for Man to survive, animals would have to be eaten. Some Christians believe that the Bible explains that, in the future, humans and animals will return to vegetarianism.[39]

Some Christian leaders, such as the Reverend Andrew Linzey, have supported the view that Jesus was a vegetarian. Some people believe that the Book of Daniel specifically promotes vegetarianism as beneficial.[40] However, common theology argues that in this instance Daniel is rejecting food that is considered to be unholy by his faith (eating food that had been sacrificed to pagan gods), not strictly meat. Specifically, some believe that the New Testament of the Bible says that a person's dietary choice is of small consequence and should not be a point of confrontation.[41] Therefore, some modern Christians consider vegetarianism as a perfectly acceptable personal choice that has many of the same implications as fasting.

Islam

Islam allows consumption of meat, if the meat is "halal," which is meat slaughtered by the Islamic standards. Disallowed meat is haram, which is non-permitted meat or meat not slaughtered according to Islamic standards.

Muslim vegetarians are very rare as the consumption of meat is intertwined with religious sacrificing of animals (namely caprids, bovines and camels) in Eid ul-Adha. Moreover, according to Islamic jurisprudence it is wrong to forbid that which is not forbidden. When travelling to locations where it is difficult to get halal meat, Muslims might eat fish or vegetables but they must be sure that the vegetarian food does not contain wine or other alcoholic taste enhancers. However, meat-eating is not compulsory and one may abstain from it if they do not like the taste or need to abstain for health reasons.

Neopaganism

Many who practice a faith that falls under the Neopagan umbrella also practice vegetarianism. Since Neopaganism generally emphasizes the sanctity of Earth and Nature, a vegetarian diet is sometimes adopted out of concern for the environment and/or animal welfare. Conversely, many Neopagans view the consumption of meat as natural and a part of the cycles of life..

Health

Many people who choose a vegetarian diet do so as a way of improving their health. The possible benefits include improved health for nutritional reasons and improved food safety. In the therapy of some health disorders and/or food intolerances vegetarian diets are a necessary element.[42]

Nutritional

The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada have stated: "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals."[43]

Some studies suggest that vegetarian food helps keep body weight under control [44] and reduces risk of Heart diseases [45] [46]. American vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, some forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other disorders that may be diet-related.[47] The health of a group of 27,000 vegetarians is currently being followed at a UK centre of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), the largest study of the long-term effects of vegetarian diet.

Although potentially diet related, most studies do not control for other lifestyle variables that typically coexist with vegetarianism, for example increased exercise as part of a general concern for physical wellbeing that often accompanies the adoption of a vegetarian lifestyle.

Food safety

E. coli

Vegetarianism is believed to reduce E. coli infections,[48] and proponents point to the link between E.coli contaminations in food and industrial scale meat and dairy farms. The most recent E. coli outbreak in North America has once again demonstrated this link because the source of this E. coli was traced back to "a large ranch in the Salinas Valley that has a beef cattle operation" about a half-mile from the spinach fields where spinach became contaminated.[49]

There are several variants of E. coli and they can be found in a healthy human gut, but the deadly strain, O157:H7 was virtually unheard of until the 1980s. It is believed that this strain evolved in the digestive system of grain fed cattle on large industrial farms.[50] On these farms, grain is used as cattle feed because it is nutrient-packed and increases efficiency. A side effect of feeding grain to cattle is that it increases the acidity of their stomach — and it is in this acidic gut that the deadly O157:H7 thrives.

In 2003, an article in the Journal of Dairy Science found that between 30 and 80 percent of cattle carry E. coli O157:H7.[51] In that same journal article, a quick fix was pointed out: Cows that are switched from a grain diet to a forage diet saw, within 5 days, a 1,000 fold decrease in the abundance of strain O157. But until changes like this are made, the source of many E. coli outbreaks will continue to be high-yield (industrial) meat and dairy farms.[52]

More likely, rather than change the way cattle are fed or raised on industrial farms there will instead be pressure to find technological solutions like food irradiation, plans for HACCP, or simply cooking burgers longer. Suggestions like this have led some experts, like Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley, Michael Pollan, to suggest that "All of these solutions treat E. coli O157:H7 as an unavoidable fact of life rather than what it is: a fact of industrial agriculture."[53]

Advocates such as Howard Lyman and groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have promoted vegetarianism in response to cases of E. Coli infection.

E. Coli can be still acquired from any excrement-contaminated food or human commensal bacteria. The recent case of spinach and onions with E. Coli contamination in the U.S. shows that vegetarian foods are also susceptible to food safety concerns.[54][55] In 2005, some people who had consumed branded triple-washed, pre-packaged lettuce were infected with E.Coli,[56] and in 2007, branded lettuce salad were recalled after they were found to be contaminated by E.Coli[57]In fact E. coli outbreaks have also involved unpasteurized apple[58] and orange juice, milk, alfalfa sprouts,[59] and even water.[60]

Other food scares

Various animal food safety scares over recent years have led to increased numbers of people choosing a semi-vegetarian or vegetarian diet.[8] These scares have included Avian influenza in poultry, foot-and-mouth in sheep, PCBs in farmed salmon, mercury in fish, generally high dioxin concentrations in animal products, and artificial growth hormones, antibiotics or BSE, also known as Mad Cow Disease, in cows. According to various organisations, vCJD in humans is strongly linked with exposure to the BSE agent that has been found in beef.[61] Toxins such as lead and mercury can bioaccumulate in animal products in higher concentrations than what is considered safe. [62] Vegetables and fruits have a risk of being contaminated by pesticide residue or by banned chemicals being used to ripen fruits, therefore many vegetarians and vegans are also favoring organic products.[63] [64]

Medical

Sometimes medical patients are advised to adhere to a vegetarian diet. These patients are asked to continue such a diet either for the course of the treatment or for longer durations.[42] In alternative medicine Ayurveda and Siddha medicine are examples of medical treatments that prescribe such a vegetarian diet. In such cases, the patient either follows vegetarianism for the defined period or sometimes continues long after the treatment is over.

Physiological

There is considerable debate over whether humans are physiologically better suited to a herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore diet. The Vegetarian Resource Group and others however, have concluded that humans are naturally omnivores.[9][10][11]

Nutritional experts believe that humans evolved into eating meat as a result of huge climatic changes that took place about three-four million years ago, forests and jungles dried up and became open grasslands, thus opening up hunting and scavenging opportunities.[65]

Statistical studies, such as comparing life expectancy with regional areas and local diets have found life expectancy considerably greater in southern France, where a semi-vegetarian Mediterranean diet is common (fresh fruit, vegetables, olive oil, goat cheese and fish), than northern France, where an omnivorous diet is more common (also including pork, beef, butter, cows cheese and cream).[66] It must be noted that national life expectancy is affected by many factors, which include access to adequate healthcare and medicine. This makes it difficult to conclusively prove any correlation between regional diets and life expectancy.

Ethical

Many vegetarians consider the production, subsequent slaughtering, and consumption of meat or animal products as unethical. Reasons for these beliefs are varied and may include a belief in animal rights, an aversion to inflicting pain or harm on other living creatures, or a belief that the unnecessary killing of other animals is inherently wrong.

Other vegetarians believe that although production and consumption of meat may be acceptable on its own terms, the methods by which animals are reared in the commercial industry are unethical. The book Animal Liberation by Peter Singer has been very influential on the animal rights movement and specifically ethical vegetarianism and veganism. In developed countries, ethical vegetarianism has become popular particularly after the spread of factory farming, which has reduced the sense of husbandry that used to exist in farming and which has led to animals being treated as commodities. Many believe that the treatment that animals undergo in the production of meat and animal products obliges them to never eat meat or use animal products.

Many vegetarians also choose to avoid wearing clothing that has involved the death of animals, such as leather and fur.

Environmental

Environmental vegetarianism is based on the belief that the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through factory farming, is environmentally unsustainable. In many countries, including the United States, intensive farming practices supply the needs of high animal protein diets. This constitutes the main concern of environmental vegetarianism issues.

According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "Most of the world's population today subsists on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets for reasons that are economic, philosophical, religious, cultural, or ecological."[67]. Meanwhile, according to the United Nations Population Fund "Each U.S. citizen consumes an average of 260 lb. of meat per year, the world's highest rate. That is about 1.5 times the industrial world average, three times the East Asian average, and 40 times the average in Bangladesh."[68]

Some of the concerns are the large amounts of fossil fuel and water resources consumed by intensive animal farming and the consequent emissions of harmful gases and chemicals. Animal agriculture has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases — responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2. Animal farming produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2). It is also accused of generating 64% of the ammonia, which contributes to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems [12]. The habitat for wildlife provided by large industrial monoculture farms is very poor, and modern industrial agriculture has been considered a threat to biodiversity compared with farming practices such as organic farming, permaculture, arable, pastoral, and rainfed agriculture.

Animals fed on grain, and those that rely on grazing need far more water than grain crops.[69] According to the USDA, growing the crops necessary to feed farmed animals requires nearly half of the United States' water supply and 80% of its agricultural land. Additionally, animals raised for food in the U.S. consume 90% of the soy crop, 80% of the corn crop, and a total of 70% of its grain.[70]

When tracking food animal production from the feed trough to consumption, the inefficiencies of meat, milk and egg production range from 4:1 up to 54:1 energy input to protein output ratio. As it was published, "U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat, Cornell ecologist advises animal scientists Future water and energy shortages predicted to change face of American agriculture" [71] To produce animal based food seems to be, according to these studies, typically much less efficient than the harvesting of grains, vegetables, legumes, seeds and fruits. Exception is made of animals that are grazed rather than fed, especially those grazed on land that could not be used for other purposes.

According to the theory of Trophic dynamics, it requires 10 times as many crops to feed animals being bred for meat production as it would to feed the same amount of people on a vegetarian diet. Currently, 70% of all the wheat, corn and other grain produced is fed to farmed animals[72]. This has led many proponents of vegetarianism to believe that it is ecologically irresponsible to consume meat.

Labor conditions

Some groups promote vegetarianism as a way to offset poor treatment and working conditions of workers in the contemporary meat industry. These groups cite studies showing the psychological damage caused by working in the meat industry, especially in factory and industrialized settings, and argue that the meat industry violates its laborers' human rights by delegating difficult and distressing tasks without adequate counselling, training and debriefing.[73][74][75][76]

Economical

Similar to environmental vegetarianism is the concept of economic vegetarianism. An economic vegetarian is someone who practises vegetarianism from either the philosophical viewpoint concerning issues such as public health and curbing world starvation, the belief that the consumption of meat is economically unsound, part of a conscious simple living strategy or just out of necessity. According to the WorldWatch Institute, "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease their health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry."[77] Economic vegetarians also may include people from third world countries who follow a de facto vegetarian diet due to the high price of meat.

Psychological

Some vegetarians choose to be so in part because they find meat and meat products aesthetically unappetizing. The Whole Earth Vegetarian Catalogue's '49 good reasons for being a vegetarian' says that one reason for being a vegetarian is that "Decaying animal parts, whether in a freezer case or served in restaurants, can never be as aesthetically pleasing to the senses as the same foods made from wholesome vegetable sources. Only habit can allow one not to perceive this: a change in diet makes this self evident."

The metaphor by Douglas Dunn is that if one gives a young child an apple and a live chicken, the child would instinctively play with the chicken and eat the apple, whereas if a cat were presented with the same choices, its natural impulse would be the opposite.[78]

Though this may be considered a flawed comparison, as cats are carnivores and not omnivores, it has been noted that comparatively omnivorous human-like species such as chimpanzees' offspring may not instinctively kill such hunted prey as Senegal Bushbabys when presented with one and banana or other fruit either, despite hunting and eating them[79]. The comparison may also suffer from the "Appeal to nature" logical fallacy.

In a similar assertion, Scott Adams, who is also a vegetarian, once wrote humorously: "I point out that a live cow makes a lion salivate, whereas a human just wants to say "moo" and see if the cow responds" [13].

Moreover, research on the psychology of meat consumption suggests that consumers of meat may need to use defense mechanisms such as psychological numbing to distance themselves from the notion that they are eating animals.[80]

Cultural influence

Some people may choose vegetarianism because they were raised in a vegetarian household or because of a vegetarian partner, family member, or friend. A predominantly and traditionally vegetarian society also facilitates the continuance of such a tradition.

In countries whe