Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.[1][2]
Not to be confused with Veganism.Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism may be adopted for various reasons. Many people object to eating meat out of respect for sentient animal life. Such ethical motivations have been codified under various religious beliefs as well as animal rights advocacy. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic, economic, taste-related, or relate to other personal preferences.
There are many variations of the vegetarian diet: an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products, an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, and a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs. As the strictest of vegetarian diets, a vegan diet excludes all animal products, and can be accompanied by abstention from the use of animal-derived products, such as leather shoes.
Vegetarian diets pose some difficulties. For vitamin B12, depending on the presence or absence of eggs and dairy products in the diet or other reliable B12 sources, vegetarians may incur a nutritional deficiency.[3] Packaged and processed foods may contain minor quantities of animal ingredients.[2][4] While some vegetarians scrutinize product labels for such ingredients, others do not object to consuming them, or are unaware of their presence.[2][5][6]
Origin[edit]
The first written use of the term "vegetarian" originated in the early 19th century, when authors referred to a vegetable regimen diet.[7] Historically, 'vegetable' could be used to refer to any type of edible vegetation.[8] Modern dictionaries explain its origin as a compound of vegetable (adjective) and the suffix -arian (in the sense of agrarian).[9] The term was popularized with the foundation of the Vegetarian Society in Manchester in 1847,[10] although it may have appeared in print before 1847.[10][11][12] The earliest occurrences of the term seem to be related to Alcott House—a school on the north side of Ham Common, London—which was opened in July 1838 by James Pierrepont Greaves.[11][12][13] From 1841, it was known as A Concordium, or Industry Harmony College, from which time the institution began to publish its own pamphlet entitled The Healthian, which provides some of the earliest appearances of the term "vegetarian".[11]
There are a number of vegetarian diets that exclude or include various foods:
Within the "ovo-" groups, there are many who refuse to consume fertilized eggs (with balut being an extreme example); however, such distinction is typically not specifically addressed.
Some vegetarians also avoid products that may use animal ingredients not included in their labels or which use animal products in their manufacturing. For example, sugars that are whitened with bone char, cheeses that use animal rennet (enzymes from animal stomach lining), gelatin (derived from the collagen inside animals' skin, bones, and connective tissue), some cane sugar (but not beet sugar) and beverages (such as apple juice and alcohol) clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and sturgeon, while other vegetarians are unaware of, or do not mind, such ingredients.[2][4][5] In the 21st century, 90% of rennet and chymosin used in cheesemaking are derived from industrial fermentation processes, which satisfy both kosher and halal requirements.[46]
Individuals sometimes label themselves "vegetarian" while practicing a semi-vegetarian diet,[47][48][49] as some dictionary definitions describe vegetarianism as sometimes including the consumption of fish,[50] or only include mammalian flesh as part of their definition of meat,[50][51] while other definitions exclude fish and all animal flesh.[52] In other cases, individuals may describe themselves as "flexitarian".[48][53]
These diets may be followed by those who reduce animal flesh consumed as a way of transitioning to a complete vegetarian diet or for health, ethical, environmental, or other reasons. Semi-vegetarian diets include:
Semi-vegetarianism is contested by vegetarian groups, such as the Vegetarian Society, which states that vegetarianism excludes all animal flesh.[52]
Consumption of eggs is not considered to be a part of a vegetarian diet in India, as egg is an animal product that gives birth to the next generation of the relevant species.
Labor conditions and diet[edit]
Some groups, such as PETA, promote vegetarianism as a way to offset poor treatment and working conditions of workers in the contemporary meat industry.[201] These groups cite studies showing the psychological damage caused by working in the meat industry, especially in factory and industrialised settings, and argue that the meat industry violates its labourers' human rights by assigning difficult and distressing tasks without adequate counselling, training and debriefing.[202][203][204] However, the working conditions of agricultural workers as a whole, particularly non-permanent workers, remain poor and well below conditions prevailing in other economic sectors.[205] Accidents, including pesticide poisoning, among farmers and plantation workers contribute to increased health risks, including increased mortality.[206] According to the International Labour Organization, agriculture is one of the three most dangerous jobs in the world.[207]
Economics and diet[edit]
Similar to environmental vegetarianism is the concept of economic vegetarianism. An economic vegetarian is someone who practices 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."[208] According to estimates in 2016, adoption of vegetarianism would contribute substantially to global healthcare and environmental savings.[209]