Well, that depends who you ask and where you ask it!. In North America and most Western cultures a vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat. However there are varying degrees of abstinence:
lacto ovo vegetarian
- The most common form of vegetarianism in western cultures.
- Avoid meat, fish, poultry and most foods arising from animal slaughter.
- Will eat dairy products, eggs and honey.
- Commonly referred to as “vegetarian”.
lacto vegetarian
- Avoid meat, fish, poultry and most foods arising from animal slaughter.
- Avoid eggs and foods made with eggs.
- Will eat dairy products and usually honey.
ovo vegetarian
- Avoid meat, fish, poultry and most foods arising from animal slaughter.
- Avoids dairy products and foods made with dairy.
- Will eat eggs and usually honey.
vegan
- Avoid all foods containing animal products including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy and, frequently, honey
- Often avoid animal products altogether and will not wear leather or wool, nor use cosmetics and house-hold products with animal ingredients or by-products.
pescetarian
- Avoid meat and poultry.
- Will eat fish, eggs, and dairy.
- Some will eat meat and poultry produced by non-factory-farming techniques.
macrobiotic
- A dietary philosophy that advocates consuming seasonal foods.
- Diet varies acoording to the tradition being followed, with some allowing limited amounts of meat or seafood.
- Does not eat vegetables of the nightshade botanical family (potatoes, eggplant, peppers…)
- Foods are prepared and consumed based on the yin and yang principles of balance and harmony.
Fruitarian
- Eats only botanical fruits (including traditoinal vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, squash), nuts and seeds.
Raw foods
- Consume raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains and legumes
Natural hygiene
- Consume raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains and legumes , cooked grains and legumes and often limited amounts of animal products.
- Foods are consumed in specific combinations for efficient digestion.
Many people who consider themselves vegetarian should actually be considered semi-vegetarian. These people tend to consume meat, fish or poultry infequently but generally strive to achieve a vegetarian diet. Another type of person who might consider themselves vegetarian is one who has eliminated red meat from their diet but still consumes fish and poultry fairly regularly. Often these "semi-vegetarians" eat as much meat as non-vegetarians and probably should not be considered vegetarian.
Who is a vegetarian?Anybody can be a vegetarian. Indeed they are everwhere. Vegetarians are businessmen (Robert Lutz -President of Chrysler Corp.), royalty (Sofía of Greece - Queen of Spain), politicians, and scientists. They are actors (Michael J. Fox), poets (Leonard Cohen), musicians (K.D. Lang), writers (Ruth Rendell), athletes (Dave Scott) and activists. They can even be ex-cattle ranchers (Howard Lyman) or the heir to an ice-cream empire (John Robbins).
Ultimately, a vegetarian is someone who has made a lifestyle choice, for whatever reason, not to eat meat and/or animal derived products.
How many vegetarians are there?In a recent Canadian survey by the National Institute for Nutrition, about 4% of Canadians called themselves vegetarian. However, of the 4%, about 70% still ate meat or fish occasionally and about 10% described themselves as vegan. That translates into about 1 200 000 Canadian semi-vegetarians including approximately 250 000 Canadian vegetarians and 100 000 Canadian vegans.
Another study showed that 97% of Canadians still include meat in their
diets, 99% consume milk and milk products, 2.7% say they exclude meat from their meals, and only 0.5% are strict vegetarians.In the United States, 12 million people (about 6.5%) call themselves vegetarian however about half eat meat occasionally. A 1994 poll by the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) reported that less than 1% of Americans never eat meat.
In the United Kingdom, 7% of respondents to a 1998 NOP poll claimed to be vegetarian. An additional 6% said they would like to be vegetarian. The UK Vegetarian Society estimates that 5000 Britons a week make the switch to vegetarianism.
A Brief history of vegetarianismIt's impossible to say who the first vegetarians were. Seventh Day Adventists will tell you that Adam and Eve were the first vegetarians, but aside from Christian scripture (Genesis 1:29) actual evidence is sorely lacking.
From a science stand-point, man was probably not vegetarian early in his history. Indeed, prehistoric man almost indoubtedly ate meat, having to survive on whatever food was available. The neaderthal man was probably a bigger meat eater, living in the ice age when other types of food were scarce. However, moving through time, cro-magnon man probably consumed a diet based primarily on nuts, seed, fruits and vegetables with only some meat. Milk was probably not a part of any early man's diet.
With the advent of civilization, vegetarianism as a lifestyle choice started to be created and grow. Vegetarianism was well documented in ancient Greece and Rome. Pythagorus, Socrates, Plato and Virgil are all thought to have favoured vegetarian diets.
Vegetarianism has existed in Asia for millenia and is still favoured by several eastern religions. The Hindu Vedic texts favour vegetarianism, which was fairly common among Hindus prior to invasions from the Muslims and later the British. Although founded in India, Buddhism spread rapidly into East Asia and introduced its humanitarian and vegetarian principles throughout the region. For many centuries after the introduction of Buddhism, the Japanese were actually forbidden by law from eating most animals!
Western vegetarianism in it's current form has strong Christian roots and is fairly modern. Around 1800, a minister of the Church of England, Reverend William Cowherd, formed the first Christian Congregation that actively forbade meat-eating. The followers of Rev. Cowherd's Bible Christians avoided all meat and many would fit the modern-day definition of vegan, eating neither eggs nor diary products. In 1847, the Vegeterian Society of Great Britain was formed by members of the Bible Christian Church.
Meanwhile, across the pond in the United States, Reverend William Metcalf was busy spreading the vegeterain word of the Bible Christians in Philadelphia. Although, the Bible Christian Church never gained populariity in North America, Rev. Metcalf is credited with forming the American Vegeterian Society in 1850.
Instead of the Bible Christians, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church took hold in North America. Formed in the 1840s by Ellen White, the SDA church focuses on spiritual health, diet and exercise. Currently close to 50% of its congregation is vegetarian and the church runs food companies, restaurants, and even Universities that are centred around a vegetarian diet. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the creator of Kellogg's Corn Flakes, was associated with the SDA church and was the Physician-in-Chief for their Battle Creek Sanitarium, a sort-of 19th century health spa and one of many vegetarian sanitariums that opened across America in the mid-nineteenth century.
In the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century, vegetarianism started to flourish and vegetarian associations started to form across North America and Europe. The first Canadian vegetarian association was formed in Toronto in 1945. Since then, the Toronto Vegetarian Association has grown to be the largest locally based North American Vegetarian Association, with over 1700 members.
In 1943, 2% of Americans called themselves vegetarian, according to a Gallup poll. In 1944, the term vegan was first introduced in Great Britain and the Vegan Society of England was formed. The society sought "to abolish man's dependence on animals, with its inevitable cruelty and slaughter (...)", and to promote a diet free of animal products. This was followed in North America with the formation of a Vegan Society in California, USA.
Interest in vegetarianism waned after World War II, possibly due to the publication of food guides published by the United States Department of Agriculture, which placed a heavy emphasis on the consumption of meat and dairy products. In the 1960s and 1970s vegetarianism once again enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, and 1960 saw the formation of the American Vegan Society. With this resurgnce, however, came a new focus. North american veetarianism started to focus less on health living and more on the environment, animal rights and ethics. Areas traditionally central to the vegetarian movement in Great Britain.
Today, many vegetarians choose to be vegetarian for a combination of reasons: ethical, environmental, economical, healthful. Arguments for vegeterianism are stronger than ever and vegeterian movements exist across the globe.
Famous vegetariansCanadian:
Silken Laumann (Olympic rower)
John Salley (Toronto Raptor)
Michael J. Fox (Actor)
Leonard Cohen (Poet)
Junto! (Punk rock band)
k.d. lang (Musician)
Sarah McLachlan (Musician)
Alanis Morissette (Musician)
Shania Twain (Musician)
Julie Snyder ( Animatrice de Talk show )
Jacques Godin ( Acteur )
Patricia Tulasne ( Actrice )
Nanette Workman ( Chateuse et musicienne)
Frédéric Back ( Artiste-Peintre et réalisateur )
International:
Dave Scott, 6-time Ironman Triathlon winner
Edwin Moses, 8 time gold medalist 400-meter hurdle competition
Murray Rose who, 3 gold medals in Olympic swimming
Leroy Burrell, Olympic Track and Field
Carl Lewis, Track and Field (Vegan only while training)
Bill Pearl (Bodybuilder, Mr America, Mr. Universe)
Sorya Bonali (ice skater)
Billie Jean King (Retired Tennis Champion)
Martina Navratilova -- (Retired Tennis Champion)
Dr.Benjamin Spock
Chelsea Clinton
Robert Lutz (president of Chrysler Corp.)
Sofía of Greece (the Queen of Spain)
Clive Barker
Ruth Rendell
Christie Brinkley
Gillian Anderson
Alec Baldwin
Drew Barrymore
Kim Basinger
Candice Bergen
Dan Castellaneta (voice of Homer Simpson)
Claudia Christian ("Babylon 5")
John Cleese
James Cromwell
Ted Danson
Leonardo DiCaprio
David Duchovny
Jennie Garth (Beverly Hills 90210)
Sara Gilbert
Daryl Hannah
Woody Harrelson
Dustin Hoffman
Virginia Madsen
Ozzy Osborne
Anthony Perkins
Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira)
Brad Pitt
Alicia Silverstone
Terence Stamp
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Liv Tyler
Lindsay Wagner
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