Analyses of global food trends have found that the Western diet, popular in the United States, focuses heavily on meat—too heavily, as far as many nutritionists and health experts are concerned. However, many people in the United States and all over the world make the choice to be vegetarians: people who follow a diet of mainly plant-based foods and don’t eat meat, fish, or poultry.

Vegeterians are divided into several categories. Ovo-vegetarians eat dairy and eggs, while lacto-vegetarians include dairy products—but not eggs in their diet. Vegans eat no animal products at all and consume only foods from plant sources. Many people consider themselves semivegetarians or “flexitarians,” meaning that they eat fish or poultry or may occasionally eat red meat.

Throughout history, a number of religions—including Brahmanism, Buddhism, and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church—have advocated vegetarianism, mainly to prevent the killing or cruel treatment of animals. Vegetarianism has been shown to reduce carbon emissions and be better for the environment, and it is also more economical, as meat is more expensive than plant-based foods in most places.

Vegetarian diets tend to be higher in fiber and lower in fat, an inherently healthier diet. But when a vegetarian diet isn’t planned carefully, it may leave people deficient in protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and zinc, which come mainly from animals. Therefore, it’s important to incorporate other sources of these nutrients into the diet. Eggs, milk, nuts, legumes, tofu and other soy-based products, and vitamin supplements are popular choices.

Health benefits linked to vegetarianism include reduced risks of heart disease, osteoporosis, and cancer, as well as a longer life expectancy. German research published in 2005 found that for every 100 deaths in the general population, there were just 59 deaths in a study group consisting of nearly 2,000 vegetarians and flexitarians. However, giving up animal products entirely does not seem to be the healthiest approach: For every 100 deaths among vegans, there were just 66 among vegetarians and 60 among occasional meat eaters.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. Vegetarians can be at increased risk for gum disease from a lack of vitamin D and calcium. The Academy of General Dentistry suggests that vegetarians discuss food substitutions and vitamin supplementation with their dentist or a nutritionist.
  2. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word vegetarian debuted in 1839 and was popularized in 1847 after the founding of a group called the Vegetarian Society.
  3. In their writings, the early philosophers Plutarch (c. AD 46–c. 119), Ovid (43 BC–c. AD 17), and Seneca (c. 4 BC–AD 65) expressed their opposition to eating meat (or “dead carcass,” as Plutarch put it). Other famous vegetarians include Plato (c. 428–c. 348 BC), Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500 BC), and Socrates (c. 470–399 BC).