Frequently Asked Questions - Definitions
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Frequently Asked Questions - Definitions |
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Vegetarian: For the purpose of membership of IVU, vegetarianism includes veganism and is defined as the practice of not eating meat, poultry or fish or their by-products, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs.
Often broken down further into OVO-LACTO, and LACTO. Vegetarians may or may not try and minimize their non food use of animals like vegans. Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian: same as VEGAN (see right), but also eats eggs and milk products. This is the most common form of Vegetarianism in many Western countries.
Lacto Vegetarian: Same as VEGAN, but also consumes milk and milk products. Common in India.
Veggie -- Shortened nick-name for a VEGETARIAN; often includes VEGANs.
Halal Vegetarian - proposed by our friends in the West Asia region as "a person or product complying with the generally accepted definitions of both Halal and Vegetarian." The term 'Vegetarian' appeared around 1840. It was first formally used on September 30th of 1847 by Joseph Brotherton and others, at Northwood Villa in Kent, England. The occasion being the innaugural meeting of the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom. Prior to 1847, non-meat eaters were often known as 'Pythagoreans' or adherents of the 'Pythagorean System', after the ancient Greek 'vegetarian' Pythagoras.
The original definition of 'vegetarian' was "with or without eggs or dairy products" and that definition is still used by the Vegetarian Society today. However, most vegetarians in India exclude eggs from their diet as did those in the classical Mediterranean lands, such as Pythagoras.
Why become a vegeterian?
If you have the chance to save one life - or to save thousands of lives - wouldn't you? Cutting animal products out of your life is a fairly simple thing you can do, with far reaching effects. The human animals are supposedly so evolved, with so many great gifts... shouldn't we use our gift of compassion to save other animals? - Lise
To save yourself from the guilt of knowing that some animal died for you. Isn't that enough?? But for those skeptics, it's also a healthy habit. - lauren
To teach our children the sanctity of life and the true value of every living being, and to promote peace in them. - Michelle
Definitions of some other confusing termsStrict vegetarian (or Pure Vegetarian): originally appears to have meant 'vegan' (before that word was invented), now can now mean vegan or vegetarian, or almost anything.
Semi-Vegetarian: Eats less meat than average person. See also PSEUDO-VEGETARIAN.
Pseudo-Vegetarian: Claims to be vegetarian, but isn't. Often used by VEGETARIANS to describe SEMI-VEGETARIANs, and PESCETARIANs.
Pescetarian: Similar to VEGETARIAN, but also consumes fish.
(often is a person avoiding factory-farming techniques...) See also
PSEUDO-VEGETARIAN.
Fruitarian: Same as VEGAN, but only eats foods that don't kill the plant (apples can be picked without killing the plant, carrots cannot).
Vegetable Consumer: Means anyone who consumes vegetables. Not necessarily a VEGETARIAN.
Herbivore: Mainly eats grass or plants. Not necessarily a VEGETARIAN.
Plant-Eater: Mainly eats plants. Not necessarily a VEGETARIAN.
Nonmeat-Eater: Does not eat meat. Most definitions do not consider fish, fowl or seafood to be meat. Animal fats and oils, bonemeal and skin are not considered meat.
Kosher: Made according to a complex set of Jewish dietary laws. Does not imply VEGAN in any case. Does not imply OVO-LACTO VEGETARIAN in any case. Even KOSHER products containing milk products may contain some types of animals which are not considered 'meat'.
Pareve/Parve: One category in KOSHER dietary laws. Made without meat or milk products or their derivatives. Eggs and true fish are pareve, shellfish are not.
Nondairy: Does not have enough percentage of milkfat to be called dairy. May actually contain milk or milk derivatives.
Nonmeat: Made without meat. May include eggs, milk, cheese. Sometimes even included animal fats, seafood, fish, fowl.
What is Macrobiotic?
from a member of ivu-sci: |
Vegan: excludes animal
flesh (meat, poultry, fish and seafood), animal products (eggs and dairy),
and usually excludes honey and the wearing and use of animal products
(leather, silk, wool, lanolin, gelatin...).
The major vegan societies all disallow honey, but some "vegans" still use it. Some "vegans" also refuse to eat yeast products. Dietary Vegan: follows a vegan diet, but doesn't necessarily try and exclude non-food uses of animals. Plant-Based Diet -
increasingly being used to mean a diet exclusively of plant material, therefore the same as 'Dietary Vegan'.
Why Vegan?
VEGANISM may be defined as a way of living which seeks to exclude,
as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and
cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
In dietary terms it refers to the practice of dispensing with *all*
animal produce - including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, animal milks,
honey, and their derivatives.
Abhorrence of the cruel practices inherent in dairy, livestock and
poultry farming is probably the single most common reason for the adoption
of veganism, but many people are drawn to it for health, ecological,
spiritual and other reasons.
"Land, energy and water resources for livestock agriculture range
anywhere from 10 to 1000 times greater than those necessary to produce
an equivalent amount of plant foods. And livestock agriculture does
not merely *use* these resources, it *depletes* them.
This is a matter of historical record. Most of the world's soil, erosion,
groundwater depletion, and deforestation -- factors now threatening
the very basis of our food system -- are the result of this particularly
destructive form of food production" (Keith Akers, p. 81, "A Vegetarian
Sourcebook", 1989).
Words commonly used:
Vegan: excludes animal flesh (meat, poultry, fish and seafood), animal
products (eggs and dairy), and usually excludes honey and the wearing
and use of animal products (leather, silk, wool, lanolin, gelatin...).
The major vegan societies all disallow honey, but some "vegans" still
use it.
How is "vegan" Pronounced?
The word was invented by Donald Watson in the 1940's. It is pronounced
"vee-gun". This is the most common pronunciation in the UK today. No
one can say this pronunciation in "wrong", so this is also the politically
correct pronunciation.
In the US, common pronunciations are "vee-jan" and "vay-gn" in addition
to "vee-gn", though the American Vegan Society says the correct pronunciation
is as per the UK.
The UK, and US and other places have other pronunciations. This is
sometimes a touchy subject, so be prepared to change your pronunciation....
A little history
Here are some of Donald's own words from the early years (1945):
'Vegetarian' and 'Fruitarian' are already associated with societies
that allow the 'fruits' of cows and fowls, therefore.. we must make
a new and appropriate word... I have used the title 'The Vegan News'.
Should we adopt this, our diet will soon become known as the vegan diet
and we should aspire to the rank of vegans.
How many Vegetarians are there worldwide - or, What %tage of the
world's population is vegetarian?
An impossible question, partly because no-one agrees about what they
are counting, and because good surveys cost money... but see: Statistics
/ How Many Vegetarians from the Articles Index for some surveys
that have been done.
For details of IVU Member Societies, Organisational Supporters and
Patrons, see our database. We do not provide
details of individual supporters.
Are there any regulations ruling the mention of 'suitable for vegetarian/vegans
on food labels?
from a reader in the UK: Is there a vegan certification for food products, dietary supplements?
- these will be different for each country....
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