Queen Victoria in 1840, seven years before the organ-
ization of the Vegetarian Society. The American Soci-
ety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
was founded in New York City by Henry Bergh in
- In addition to ongoing concern about maltreat-
ment of household pets and working animals, the
advent of so-called factory farming in the twentieth
century has intensified the revulsion many people feel
regarding the use of animals for human dietary con-
sumption and clothing.
DescriptionThe 2003 vegetarian food guide
Vegetarianism entered the medical mainstream in
2003 when the American Dietetic Association (ADA)
and the Dietitians of Canada (DC) jointly issued ‘‘A
New Food Guide for North American Vegetarians.’’
This document contained the first major revisions of
the familiar U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
food guide pyramid (originated 1912, modified in 1942KEY TERMS
Carnivore—An animal whose diet consists mostly or
entirely of meat. Cats, wolves, snakes, birds of prey,
frogs, sharks, spiders, seals, and penguins are all
carnivores.
Dietitian—A health care professional who special-
izes in individual or group nutritional planning, pub-
lic education in nutrition, or research in food
science. To be licensed as a registered dietitian
(RD) in the United States, a person must complete a
bachelor’s degree in a nutrition-related field and
pass a state licensing examination. Dietitians are
also called nutritionists.
Factory farming—A term that refers to the application
of techniques of mass production borrowed from indus-
try to the raising of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. It is
also known as industrial agriculture.
Freegan—A vegan who obtains food outside the
mainstream economic system, most often by grow-
ing it, bartering for it, or scavenging for it in restau-
rant or supermarket trash bins.
Fruitarian—A vegetarian who eats only plant-based
products, as fruits, seeds, and nuts, that can be
obtained without killing the plant.
Herbivore—An animal whose diet consists primarily
or entirely of plant matter. Herbivorous animals
include deer, sheep, cows, horses, elephants, giraffes,
and bison.
Lactovegetarian—A vegetarian who uses milk and
cheese in addition to plant-based foods.
Obligate carnivore—An animal that must have meat
in its diet to maintain health. Cats are obligate carni-
vores, although humans and most breeds of dogs are
not.
Omnivore—An animal whose teeth and digestive
tract are adapted to consume either plant or animal
matter. The term does not mean, however, that a
given species consumes equal amounts of plant andanimal products. Omnivores include bears, squirrels,
opossums, rats, pigs, foxes, chickens, crows, mon-
keys, most dogs, and humans.
Ovolactovegetarian—A vegetarian who consumes
eggs and dairy products as well as plant-based
foods. The official diet recommended to Seventh-
day Adventists is ovolactovegetarian.
Ovovegetarian—A vegetarian who eats eggs in addi-
tion to plant-based foods.
Pepsin—A protease enzyme in the gastric juices of
carnivorous and omnivorous animals that breaks
down the proteins found in meat. Its existence in
humans is considered evidence that humans evolved
as omnivores.
Pesce/pollo vegetarian—Atermusedtodescribe
semivegetarians; that is, people who avoid the use of
red meat but will include fish (pescein Italian) or
chicken (polloin Italian) in the diet. Other terms for
semivegetarians includepiscitarianorfishetarianfor
those who eat only fish but not chicken, andpollove-
getarianorpollotarianfor those who add chicken but
not fish to their vegetarian diet.
Textured vegetable protein (TVP)—A meat substi-
tute made from defatted soybean flour formed into a
dough and cooked by steam while being forced
through an extruder. It resembles ground beef in
texture and can replace it in most recipes. TVP is
also known as textured soy protein or TSP.
Tofu—Bean curd; a soft food made by coagulating
soy milk with an enzyme, calcium sulfate, or an
organic acid, and pressing the resulting curds into
blocks or chunks. Tofu is frequently used in vegeta-
rian dishes as a meat or cheese substitute.
Vegan—A vegetarian who excludes all animal prod-
ucts from the diet, including those that can be obtained
without killing the animal. Vegans are also known as
strict vegetarians.Vegetarianism