Grades of "vegetarianism"?
To be sure, I don't encounter people who declare themselves vegetarians. But I do know several who tell me they don't eat meat when invited, and some of those served me fish when they invited me.
I'm aware of the "Catholic" definition of animals having either split or unsplit hooves, and anything else isn't meat and OK to eat on fast days. I have also seen defintions of "pescatarians" here on YA that exclude mammals.
Are there people who eat other animal to the exclusion of others? Who eat birds and snakes, but no quadrupeds? Ants? Snails, excuse me, escargots? Frogs and lizards? Or, given the supposed inavailibility of most of these for the supposed common YA reader, would eat them?
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There are many grades.
Eating only white meat. (not veg)
Eating only fish. (not veg)
Eating no meat but just dairy
Only eating meat if its going to waste (Freegan/Meagan)
No meat or eggs
No meat or any dairy
No meat or any animal products, even honey
Raw food vegans
Fruitarians who wont even kill a plant, but will eat the seeds and leaves.
I think raw food fruitarian is about the limit. Cant get much more fanatical than that.
Maybe breatharian?
Just the one.
A vegetarian is defined as someone who does not eat meat, fish, poultry nor slaughter by-products.
Its been that way since the word first entered dictionaries in 1847. I dont' understand why people have, in the last 10 years, tried to corrupt it.
The true definition is stronger than those attempts and will outlive them.
The veggie society defiend the word at the request of the Oxford and Chambers dictionaries, so, if anyone should know, its them.
They use the above defintion and here is how they expand on it:
"We define a vegetarian as someone living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits, with or without the use of dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or slaughter by-products."
Life can be very simple if we allow it to be.
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Lacto-ovo vegetarianism
NO red meat, fish or poultry
Eats dairy and eggs
Lacto vegetarianism
NO red meat, fish, poultry OR eggs
Eats dairy
Ovo vegetarianism
NO red meat, fish, poultry OR dairy
Eats eggs
Veganism
NO red meat, fish, poultry OR dairy, eggs, honey or any other animal by product. Veganism usually extends beyond just avoiding consuming animal products. It is a philosophical and or ethical point of view which, aims to minimize animal suffering by eliminating the use of all animal products such as leather, fur, wool and silk and avoiding products tested on animals.
Note: Pescetarians, Pollotarians and Flexitarians are NOT real vegetarians, they are simply are categories of omnivores.
Vegetarians do not eat ANY animals, regardless of whether the animals are mammals, marsupials, monotremes, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, arachnids, annelids, plankton, dinosaurs, trilobites, or even ravenous bugblatter beasts of Traal, for that matter. They're all animals and, therefore, vegetarians do not eat them. It's as simple as that. No grey areas.
Pescatarians, peschiparians*, pollotarians and flexitarians are NOT vegetarians - just wannabes who wanna hijack the term "vegetarian" for their own nefarious purposes. Their existence only serves to further confuse non-vegetarians about what vegetarians eat and don't eat.
Vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat ANY animals whatsoever. That includes fish, shellfish, etc. You are not a vegetarian if you eat fish. Simple as that.
Definition of a vegetarian from the Vegetarian Society:
'We define a vegetarian as someone living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits, with or without the use of dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or slaughter by-products.'
A couple more terms:
Flexitarian: person who is trying to eat vegetarian and makes teeny little allowances now and then; or someone on their way to being a vegetarian.
Opportunivore: a person who eats what is available.
Ovo-lacto-vegetarian (or any combination thereof): same thing as a vegetarian.
Vegan: neither eats nor uses any animal products at all. This includes leather, fur, down, silk, wool, etc etc. In the food department it includes the obvious - animal flesh (or any part of an animal)- as well as the not so obvious - honey (inconveniences the bees), Altoids (gelatin comes from animal bones), and so on.
Good question. Im not sure about people who say they're veggies, but eat certain meats........
Im a veggie and I will not eat any meat, fish or animal fats etc. I only buy things that have a veggie logo on, unless theyre obvious like carrots =]
If you are truly a vegetarian, you are either doing it for health reasons, or (most commonly) to save the lives of innocent creatures... both provide a strong incentive to stick with the lifestyle, so a true vegetarian would hardly find the reason to eat any animal whatsoever... and no, I wouldn't eat a cute little birdie. >.<
There is no central committee that decides what vegetarians can and cannot eat. It's a personal choice. Some people are just trying to cut back, others are very strict.