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Vegetarianism is the practice of avoiding dietary consumption of animal flesh (including fish). People who also avoid the consumption of animal products (eg. eggs, milk and cheese) are called vegans. Vegetarianism has been practised throughout human history for a variety of reasons. The majority of people throughout the world's history have eaten little meat, often on economic grounds since it has historically frequently been expensive. A meat eater's decision to adopt vegetarianism may be influenced by a combination of different factors.

Larger vegetarian diet photo

Motivations

Religion: The vast majority of the world's vegetarians follow the practice for religious reasons. Some religions, for example (certain forms of) Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Jainism, teach that all life should be valued and not willfully destroyed for personal gratification.

Since the restrictions of a kosher diet apply generally to meat and dairy products rather than to produce and grains, some modern Jews have found it simpler to keep kosher by maintaining a vegetarian diet.

Rastafarians generally follow a diet called "i-tal", which includes eating nothing that has touched chemicals, such as preservatives and flavorings. Many take this philosophy to the extreme and practice vegetarianism.

Ethics: In most societies everyone has the choice whether to eat meat or not. (Exceptions are nomadic herding or hunting societies such as Inuit and Saami, for whom meat is a staple food.) Since, vegetarian advocates claim, a person can live perfectly healthily on a vegetarian diet, for most people the only motivation for eating meat is the pleasure of eating it. Some vegetarians argue that sensual pleasure is not sufficient justification for the suffering caused by breeding and killing animals. Vegetarianism of this sort is often associated with the animal rights movement, although not all ethical vegetarians subscribe to the notion of animal rights.

Environmental or ecological concerns: Particularly since the Industrial Revolution, machinery has enabled people to change their environment at a rate that, some argue, exceeds the ability of ecosystems to adapt. The use of large areas of land for livestock farming, and large-scale fishing in the oceans, have fundamentally affected animal and marine populations that used to co-exist in symbiosis. Livestock production is also often linked to de-forestation and theft of the land from indigenous tribal people. In both environmental and economic terms the cost of raising a kilogram of animal protein is many times the cost of growing a kilogram of vegetable protein.

Health: Statistics indicate that people on vegetarian diets have lower incidence of heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. Of course the statistics could be the result of other socio-economic factors, but many believe that a vegetable-based diet is more healthy than a diet where most of the calories come from meat. Researchers like Dean Ornish have had remarkable results treating heart disease patients with strictly vegetarian diet, exercise and stress reduction programs. There are also nutritional considerations which encourage diets emphasising fruit, vegetables and cereals and minimising meat and fat intake.

Aesthetics: Some people find meat disgusting, particularly when raw, and simply prefer not to eat it.

Varieties

In everyday language, 'vegetarianism' is usually synonymous with ovo-lacto vegetarianism, a regime that tolerates the consumption of animal products such as eggs and milk, while eschewing meat. Then there is lacto vegetarianism, which some people use synonymously with 'vegetarianism'. The only animal products permitted under this regime are milk and its derivatives, like cheese, butter or yoghurt. Ovo-lacto vegetarians who are such for ethical reasons may additionally refuse to eat cheese made with animal-based enzymes, or eggs produced by factory farms.

Taking vegetarianism further than ovo-lacto or lacto vegetarians, are the vegans and the fructarians. Vegans refuse all animal products, including eggs, milk and honey, from their diet and lifestyle. Fructarians eat only fruit, nuts, seeds and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant. Thus a fructarian will eat beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and the like, but will refuse to eat potatoes or spinach.

Some people avoid "red meat" (mammal meat -- beef, lamb, pork, et al) for many of the same reasons others choose vegetarianism -- health, ethical beliefs, and so forth -- while still eating seafood and poultry. (This is not considered vegetarianism.) Those who permit themselves fish or shellfish may, for instance, argue that these creatures are insufficiently aware to experience morally significant suffering. Vegetarians of the ethical type frequently bear little sympathy to this view.

Lifestyle

While vegetarianism is commonly associated with dietary habits, many ethical and environmental vegetarians (in common with animal rights and Green movements) try to minimise the harm done to animals in other aspects of their lives. A vegetarian lifestyle includes avoiding the use of clothing and accessories made of leather, skin or fur.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that some vegetarians began by gradually reducing their meat intake to the point where meat was no longer a necessary part of their diet. Related to nutritional concerns is uncertainty about the nature of genetically modified food. For these reasons some people restrict themselves to eating organic food products. While organic diets are not necessarily vegetarian, many people who choose to eat organic food also choose to eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, usually for health or environmental reasons.

Common objections

Mention: protein/amino acid problem, animals were created for being eaten, animals eat animals, animals don't suffer, plants suffer too etc.

There is a theoretical risk that Vitamin B12 deficiency can result from uninformed veganism. While just about all animal based foods contain useful quantities of B12, no readily available plant based source does. However a range of foods have the vitamin added, including breakfast cereals, soft drinks, soy milk, Marmite, Vegemite and others. B12 supplements such as vitamin pills are often prepared from abattoir waste and are thus unsuitable for vegetarians, although there are an increasing number of brands that contain no animal products. B12 is stored in the body for many months, so B12 deficiency symptoms do not appear immediately on embarking on a pure vegan diet, but can eventually be severe. However the deficiency is almost never seen in Western vegans, since they are well aware of its possibility and the remedy. It is far, far rarer than the common diseases seen from meat eating.

Other nutritional arguments, often raised against vegetarianism, are as follows: ...

Some important nutrients (amino acids, fats, vitamins A, D, and K, and "vitamin E") are present in good quantities in meat, but with some care a vegetarian diet with plenty of all of these can be designed. Animal protein contains the complete set of amino acids needed for human nutrition. However plant proteins, with the exception of soya, are generally missing one or more of the amino acids needed to build animal protein. This is not a major problem for vegetarians since a mixture of plant foods can provide the complete set of amino acids which the human body requires. For instance the amino acids missing in grain proteins such as wheat or rice, can be found in bean protein, and vice versa. Therefore a diet containing wheat and beans will provide all the amino acids which a meat diet provides. The secret, as with any diet, is to ensure that a wide variety of plant foods is eaten. Protein deficiency is not seen in the West in normal vegetarian diets, other than in instances of psychiatric eating disorders. It is more common to find instances of Scurvy, Vitamin C deficiency in people who subsist purely on a diet of fast food.

See also: Peter Singer, Vegetarian cuisine, Macrobiotic diet

Useful references:

The Food Revolution, John Robbins, ISBN: 1573247022

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine -- http://www.pcrm.org/health/index.html

The Vegetarian Society -- http://www.vegsoc.org/