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| | Vegetarianism (From the Latin: vegetus — strong, full of strength, vigorous, energetic) is a way of life characterized first of all by only eating food without meat etc, excluding the flesh of all living beings (i.e. meat, bird, fish etc). Also (quite often) vegetarians refuse to use other products of animal origin, as in food (milk of mammals, eggs) and in life (fur, skin, glycerin etc).
Vegetarians do not make use of meat, bird, fish and seafood of an animal origin in food. Dairy products and eggs are ignored only by some vegetarians — vegans. Honey also belongs to disputable products. Traditionally, mushrooms belong to the vegetable food, though modern science puts them into a separate kingdom.
Apart from food items many vegetarians ignore the following:
* Clothes and other products, part of which is manufactured from fur, skin etc;
* Products which contain components of animal origin (such as glycerin, gelatin);
* Products which were tested on animals.
Vegetarianism types:
Types of food products which are permitted in various directions of vegetarianism:
The majority of classical vegetarians in India and the Mediterranean regions (for example, Pythagoreans) were lacto-vegetarians.
Vegans exclusively make use of vegetable food and as a rule, boycott any product in the manufacture of which products of animal origin were used.
Miscellaneous diets
The following diets are not vegetarian by definition, as they can allow dead food, however, the presence of dead food is restricted in them:
The so-called “pescetarianism” and “pollotariansm”:
The refusal of red meat but the use of fish and seafood (pescetarianism) and /or birds (pollotariansm) in food.
Flexitarianism:
The moderate or extremely rare use of birds, fish and seafood in food.
Raw Food Diet:
The use of only raw products, or products which have passed a thermal treatment for a short-time in food. In most cases, the raw food diet simultaneously is vegetarianism or veganism, and some sources name the raw food diet as vegetarianism or the vegan raw food diet. However, the raw food diet concept does not exclude the use of any products which did not undergo or underwent a minimum heat treatment, including meat and fish.
Phryganism:
The use of animal products in food only if the animal products are free or else, the animal products are thrown or destroyed (for example, meal remainders in restaurant buffet).
History of Vegetarianism:
Vegetarianism was practiced throughout the millennium in countries in which religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism propagated. Followers of different philosophical schools (for example, Pythagoreans) and representatives of the creative and scientific intelligence were vegetarians. In India, according to various data, vegetarians range from 20% to 70% of the entire population of the country. Therefore, before the appearance of the term “vegetarianism” this diet was called “Indian” or “Pythagorean”.
In the last decade of the 20th century, vegetarianism spread amongst some political groups, particularly amongst the followers of the movement “straight edge” and anarchists.
Some of the reasons, according to which people turn to vegetarianism, are listed below:
* Ethical reasons — reducing the sufferings of animals from the modern animal industry;
* Religious beliefs (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, some directions of Christianity — for example, Seventh Day Adventists, in Orthodoxy — observance of fasts, sects);
* Maintenance and/or improvement of health;
* Ecological reasons — the reduction in environmental contaminations and the depletion of natural resources;
* Allergy to animal products or an aversion to their organism;
* Non-availability of some products of an animal origin (encountered only in poor developing countries).
Vegetarian food and health:
It's repeatedly asserted that it is not sufficient to simply exclude meat but it is necessary to properly plan the diet for high-value vegetarian food. Various studies indicate that on an average, vegetarians are healthier and have a longer life expectancy than non-vegetarians.
The American Dietetic Association and the dietitians of Canada recommend vegetarian food as the most healthy food for any age group including infantile, child and pubertal and in any period of life including lactation and pregnancy.
Celebrity-vegetarians:
Many popular scientists, art personalities, politicians, sportsmen, actors etc are present amongst vegetarians. Vegetarians were or have become celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Pythagoras, Paul McCartney, Leonardo da Vinci, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Franz Kafka, Marilyn Manson, Lindsay Wagner and others. Some historical groups of people such as Pythagoreans and Roman gladiators were also vegetarians.
Veganism is mode of life, characterized especially by strict vegetarianism. Vegans are followers of veganism - eat and use only vegetable products, i.e. completely excluding components of animal origin from their diet.
Products and consumption:
Not only meat, birds, fish and animal seafood but also eggs and diary products, as in the case of vegetarians, are excluded from the food items of vegans.
Besides these obvious products of animal origin, vegans, as a rule, do not use:
* Products containing skin, fur, silk, wool and other materials of animal origin;
* Honey;
* Products which contain components obtained from animal products (such as glycerin and gelatin);
* Products during manufacturing (often — while cleaning) of which products of an animal origin (for example, some kinds of refined sugar and some varieties of alcoholic drinks) were used;
* Products which were tested on animals (for example, cosmetics and tobacco).
Several disputable ingredients exist, which can be both vegetative as well as of animal origin (for example, food additives E471, E472). Some vegans make use of these items in food and others do not.
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October 1 is a World Vegetarian Day. It was established in 1997 by the North American Vegetarian Society to "promote life-enhancing experiences of being a vegetarian". Do we have any vegetarians at Freaking News?
Scientists claim that vegetarians usually have higher IQs.
