the Latinvegetus, which means ‘‘lively’’ or ‘‘vigorous,’’
and because it suggests the English wordvegetable.
Vegetarianism is better understood as a lifestyle rather
than a diet in the strict sense, as there are many specific
plant-based diets that could be called vegetarian.
There are several distinctive subgroups of
vegetarians:
Vegans: Sometimes called strict vegetarians, vegans are
people who exclude all animal products from their diet
or clothing, whether or not they involve the death of an
animal. Vegans will not use honey or dairy products,
for example, and will not wear clothing made of wool,
silk, fur, or leather, or use bedding stuffed with down.
Ovolactovegetarians: Vegetarians in this category will
use eggs, milk, and other dairy products on the grounds
that these foods are not obtained by killing animals.
Ovovegetarians: Vegetarians who will include eggs in
the diet but not milk or milk products.
Lactovegetarians: Vegetarians who will use milk and
milk products but not eggs.
Semivegetarians or pesce/pollo vegetarians: People
who include fish or chicken in the diet but also seek
to minimize their consumption of animal protein.
Fruitarians: Vegetarians who eat only fruits, nuts,
seeds, and other plant matter that can be harvested
without harming the plant.
Flexitarians: Persons who prefer a vegetarian diet
but are willing to eat meat, fish, or chicken on excep-
tional occasions.
Freegans: Anti-consumerist vegans who seek to avoid
participating in any practices they regard as exploita-
tive of other people or the environment, in addition to
excluding meat and animal products from their diet.
Freegans obtain their food by growing it themselves,
by barter, or by foraging in refuse bins and restaurant
trash receptacles for discarded food. This practice is
called ‘‘dumpster diving’’ in the United States and
‘‘skipping’’ in the United Kingdom.Origins
Vegetarianism is a lifestyle that has emerged in
various civilizations around the world at different
points in history out of different sets of motives,
which will be described in the historical order of their
appearance. Archaeological findings indicate that pre-
historic humans were not vegetarians but obtained
about a third of their daily calories from meat or
other animal products. The structure of the human
digestive tract suggests that humans evolved as omni-
vores (animals that feed on both plant and animal
substances), as human intestines are relatively short
in comparison with the lengthy intestines found in
herbivores (plant-eating animals). Like the stomachs
of other carnivores (meat-eating animals) and omni-
vores, the human stomach secretes pepsin, an enzyme
necessary for digesting the proteins found in meat
rather than plant matter. The human mouth contains
pointed teeth (canines and incisors) adapted for tear-
ing meat as well as teeth with flat crowns (molars) for
chewing plant matter. In addition to the anatomicalVegetarian dietServings Foods Calcium-rich foods
Fats (2 servings) 1 tsp. oil, mayonnaise, soft margarine
Fruits (2 servings) 1 med. piece of fruit ½ cup fortified fruit juice
½ cooked or cut-up fruit
½ cup fruit juice
¼ cup dried fruit
Vegetables (4 servings) ½ cup cooked vegetables 1 cup cooked or 2 cups raw bok choy, broccoli, collards,
1 cup of raw vegetables Chinese cabbage, kale, mustard greens or okra
½ cup vegetable juice ½ cup fortified tomato juice
Legumes, nuts, and other ½ cup cooked beans, peas or lentils ½ cup cow’s milk or yogurt or fortified soy milk
protein-rich foods ½ cup tofu or tempeh ¾ oz. cheese
(5 servings) 2 tbsp. nut or seed butter ½ cup tempeh or calcium-set tofu
1 egg ½ cup cooked soybeans
¼ cup soynuts
Grains (6 servings) 1 slice bread 1 oz. calcium-fortified cereal
½ cup cooked grain or cereal
1 oz. ready to eat cerealBased on the 2003 American Dietetic Association pyramid and the Dietitians of Canada rainbow. The recommended servings
and foods are intended to accommodate the needs of vegans as well as those of less strict vegetarians.(Illustration by GGS
Information Services/Thomson Gale.)
Vegetarianism