Diets, Recepies and Healthy Lifestyle by Pareizs-Uzturs.com

What is vegetarianism? Who is a vegetarian?

Concept of the vegetarianism is very broad. There are various its definitions, starting from a very simple decision not to eat meat and ending with a philosophy to live in such way not to cause suffering for animals and plants. There are various vegetarianism types:

• Lacto- ovo- vegetarianism is the most common type of vegetarianism in Europe and in Latvia. Lacto-ovo- vegetarians do not eat products that are from killed animals, including fish, animal fat and food that includes those products but they eat eggs and dairy products.
  

• Ovo-vegetarianism means that in the menu no killed animal products and dairy products are used.
  

• Vegans give up any animal products in their menu. Vegans do not eat products that come from killed animals, no eggs, no dairy products and sometimes even no honey. Vegans sometimes are called- the real vegetarianism.
  

• Fruitarians are the strictest type of vegetarianism. Fruitarians eat only those plants which can be got without doing any harm to the plant; moreover usually they are eaten fresh. Fruitarians eat fruit, seeds and various vegetables, for example, tomatoes and cucumbers but they do not eat such vegetables as kohlrabi, onions and potatoes. Fruitarians usually do not eat cereal and cereal products because grains are harvested by cutting the plants.

As a vegetarian is called anyone who belong to one of the vegetarianism type. People who do not eat any mammals or so called “red” meat but include in their menu poultry and/or fish, they are only partly vegetarians who sometimes are called as semi-vegetarians or pescovegetarians. These people often have decided to be a vegetarian and give up the meat step by step.

So vegetarian food completely excludes any killed animal products, including fish, animal fat and products that include these components. Vegetarian is someone who uses vegetarian menu.

It should be noted that vegetarians often give up non- food products, which are made of animal part- leather and often wool products, ordinary soap, different cosmetic products.