vegetarian

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n.

1. One who practices vegetarianism.
2. A herbivore.

adj.

1. Of or relating to vegetarianism or vegetarians.
2. Consisting primarily or wholly of vegetables and vegetable products: a vegetarian diet.

[VEGET(ABLE) + –ARIAN.]

Vegetarian diets exclude all meat, poultry, and fish and are based on plant foods. Most vegetarians include dairy products and eggs in their diet; this type of diet is sometimes described as lacto-ovo-vegetarian whereas vegetarians who exclude all animal foods from their diet are termed vegans.

There are three major reasons for which people choose a vegetarian diet. The first is aversion to the slaughter of animals; this view is not logically compatible with the consumption of dairy products or eggs, because the production of these foods inevitably involves the slaughter of calves, cows, and chicks (see vegan). The second major reason for choosing a vegetarian diet is for more efficient land use, because a hectare of good farmland can produce much more plant food than animal food. The third reason is health, because most of the meat consumed in Western societies is rich in saturated fat and this increases the concentration of cholesterol in the blood and therefore the risk of developing ischaemic heart disease.

Well planned vegetarian diets are adequate for normal growth and health. Some Hindus in India have, for religious reasons, followed vegetarian diets for many generations and their diet is clearly adequate for maintaining a viable population. In Western countries the number of vegetarians has increased greatly since the 1960s. Nutritional studies have shown that on average the diets of these people are nutritionally adequate and are closer to current recommendations for maintaining health than average non-vegetarian diets. Epidemiological studies have shown that vegetarians have significantly lower mortality from ischaemic heart disease than comparable non-vegetarians, and are less likely to be obese, but have not established differences in mortality rates from other causes of death.

The proportion of the population who are vegetarian is still rising in many Western countries, and has probably been accelerated by health issues such as the link between ‘mad cow disease’ (bovine spongiform encephalopathy — BSE) and new variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease in humans. Future trends in the dietary preferences of populations are difficult to predict, but there is no doubt that a move towards a ‘semi-vegetarian’ diet low in animal products would allow more people to be fed from less land and could have substantial ecological benefits.

— Tim Key

Bibliography

• Thorogood, M. (1995). The epidemiology of vegetarianism and health. Nutrition Research Reviews, 8, 179-92

See also diets; health foods; vegan.

Those who do not eat meat, either for ethical/religious reasons or because they believe that a meat-free diet confers health benefits. Apart from a risk of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency (vitamin B₁₂ is found only in meat products), there are no adverse effects of a wholly meat-free diet, although vegetarian women are more at risk of iron deficiency. Vitamin B₁₂ supplements prepared by bacterial fermentation (and hence ethically acceptable to the strictest of vegetarians) are available.

The strictest vegetarians are vegans, who consume no products of animal origin at all; fruitarians eat only fruit, not other vegetables. Those who consume milk and milk products are termed lacto-vegetarians; those who also eat eggs, ovo-lacto-vegetarians. Some vegetarians (pescetarians) will eat fish but not meat, and the least strict will eat poultry, but not red meat.

A person who does not eat meat. There are different degrees of vegetarianism, from strict vegans who omit all animal products from their diet to semi-vegetarians who eat some animal products. Pescovegetarians eat fish; lacto-vegetarians consume milk but not eggs; lacto-ovovegetarians consume both eggs and milk; and ovo-vegetarians eat eggs. So-called new vegetarians restrict their meat intake to the occasional fish or white meat (e.g. chicken) dish, but avoid red meat and processed foods.

There are many reasons for adopting a vegetarian diet. Some people are vegetarian for religious and cultural reasons; others avoid eating meat for ethical, environmental, or health reasons. Some people do not eat meat for the simple reason that they dislike the taste. The recent upsurge in interest in vegetarian diets has been fuelled by reports in the press about animal cruelty and the potential dangers of eating meat. Media reports associating red meat consumption with heart disease, or about mad cow disease (see bovine spongiform encephalopathy), increase the number of converts to vegetarianism.

There is much debate about the nutritional adequacy of vegetarian diets, but it is not possible to say that they are all ‘good’ or ‘bad’ because they vary so much in nutrient composition. Nevertheless, well-planned vegetarian diets can provide adequate amounts of all the required nutrients and may be more beneficial to health than an omnivorous diet (studies in the United States indicate that vegetarians have heart attacks on average 10 years later in life than meat eaters). However, the diets of vegans have a greater risk of deficiencies and vegans have to be particularly careful to consume a variety of foods. Vegans may also need to supplement their diets with vitamin B₁₂ and possibly calcium to ensure adequate intakes. Poor nutritional health in vegetarians does occur, but is usually a result of poor dietary planning.

It has been estimated recently that there are about 5 million vegetarians in the UK with a growing number of adherents under 16 years of age. The food industry is responding to the increased demand by providing a greater variety of highly nutritious, competitively priced, convenience foods for vegetarians. This is likely to encourage a further expansion in vegetarianism in the future.

[veh-juh-TEHR-ee-uhn] Very simply, a vegetarian is one who eschews the consumption of meat or other animal foods. However, vegetarianism, which has been practiced since ancient times, is certainly not one-faceted. The wide-ranging custom of vegetarianism may be based on a variety of personal principles including religious (certain Hindu and Buddhist sects), ethical (cruelty to animals and more efficient use of world food resources), nutritional (the healthy benefits of reducing fat and cholesterol) and economic (nonmeat products are, on the average, less expensive). There are several types of vegetarians today. Vegans, who are the purists of the vegetarian world and who have the most limited diet, refuse to eat all animal-derivative foods including butter, cheese, eggs and milk. Ovo-lacto vegetarians consider such animal-related foods acceptable but, of course, do not eat meat. Then there are those vegetarians who will eat fish and/or poultry, but not other animal meat. Across the board, most vegetarians prefer their food organically grown and (if they eat fish and fowl) organically fed. Vegetarians get their protein from a variety of sources, such as foods from the large family of legumes.

A person who consumes mainly or wholly plant or fungal products. Basic types include semi-vegetarians, who omit all animal foods except milk, milk products, and vegans who omit all animal products.

Common misspelling(s) of vegetarian

• vegatarian

Dansk (Danish)
n. - vegetar
adj. - vegetar-, vegetarisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
vegetariër, vegetarisch

Français (French)
n. - végétarien
adj. - végétarien

Deutsch (German)
n. - Vegetarier
adj. - vegetarisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χορτοφάγος, φυτοφάγο ζώο
adj. - χορτοφάγος, φυτοφάγος, για χορτοφάγους

Italiano (Italian)
vegetariano

Português (Portuguese)
n. - vegetariano (m)
adj. - vegetariano

Русский (Russian)
вегетарианский, растительный, травоядный

Español (Spanish)
n. - vegetariano
adj. - vegetariano

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vegetarian
adj. - vegetarisk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
素食者, 食草动物, 素食的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 素食者, 食草動物
adj. - 素食的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 채식주의자
adj. - 채식주의자의, 야채 만의, 채식의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 菜食主義者, 草食動物
adj. - 菜食主義の, 野菜だけの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نباتي, لا ياكل الا النبات (صفه) نباتي, مؤلف من خضر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צמחוני‬
adj. - ‮צמחוני (תפריט)‬

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