View source for Vegetarianism

{{Short description|Abstaining from the consumption of meat}}
{{distinguish|Veganism}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox
| bodystyle        = 
| above            = Vegetarianism
| abovestyle       = 
| image1           = [[File:Soy-whey-protein-diet.jpg|250px]]
| caption1         = 
| headerstyle      = background-color: pink
| header1          = 
| label2           = Description
| data2            = Diet derived from [[plants]], with or without [[Egg as food|eggs]] and [[dairy]]
| label4           = Varieties
| data4            = [[Ovo vegetarianism|Ovo]], [[Lacto vegetarianism|lacto]], [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism|Lacto-ovo]], [[veganism]], [[raw veganism]], [[fruitarianism]], [[Buddhist vegetarianism|Buddhist]], [[Jain vegetarianism|Jainist]], [[Jewish vegetarianism|Jewish]], [[Christian vegetarianism|Christian]], [[Sattvic diet|Sattvic]]
}}
'''Vegetarianism''' is the practice of abstaining from the [[Eating|consumption]] of [[meat]] ([[red meat]], [[poultry]], [[seafood]], [[insects as food|insects]], and the [[flesh]] of any other [[animal]])<!--NOTE: Specifying what is meant by "meat" is necessary because some people don't consider poultry or seafood "real meat", and they may think that they are still being vegetarians while they are eating either, as has been extensively discussed on the talk page. The specifics regarding this are mentioned below in both the lead and body of the article.-->. It may also include abstaining from eating all [[by-product]]s of [[animal slaughter]].<!--NOTE: See the sources and past talk page discussions for the addition of by-products of animal slaughter. Because many vegetarians are unaware of certain animal-derived products which are hidden in their foods or because they do not care if they consume them, and others are not vegetarians for ethical reasons, it was decided that "may also abstain," or some variation of that, is neutral and more accurate wording for this information.--><ref name="vegsoc.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=508|title=What is a vegetarian?|publisher=[[Vegetarian Society]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318164124/https://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=508|archive-date=March 18, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="navs-online.org">{{cite web|url=https://navs-online.org/articles/why-avoid-hidden-animal-ingredients/|title=Why Avoid Hidden Animal Ingredients?|publisher=North American Vegetarian Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318173332/https://navs-online.org/articles/why-avoid-hidden-animal-ingredients/|archive-date=March 18, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref> A person who practices vegetarianism is known as a '''vegetarian'''.

Vegetarianism may be adopted for various reasons. Many people [[ethics of eating meat|object to eating meat]] out of respect for [[Sentience|sentient]] animal life. Such ethical motivations have been codified [[vegetarianism and religion|under various religious beliefs]] as well as [[animal rights]] advocacy. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, [[Environmental vegetarianism|environmental]], cultural, [[aesthetic]], [[Economic vegetarianism|economic]], [[gastronomy|taste-related]], or relate to other [[personality psychology|personal]] [[preference]]s. [[Vegan]]s are regularly also described as vegetarians, especially by [[carnist]]s.

A small number of towns and cities around the world are exclusively vegetarian or have outlawed meat, including [[Rishikesh]] in India, which banned meat, fish, and eggs in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |title=India Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Meat and Fish in Rishikesh |url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2004/03/12/2004-03-12-india-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-meat-and-fish-in-rishikesh/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=Hindu Press International |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=This is world's first city where eating non-veg is illegal, sale, consumption of meat is prohibited |url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/travel/tripideas/this-is-world-s-first-city-where-eating-non-veg-is-illegal-sale-consumption-of-meat-is-prohibited-it-is-located-in-india-state-is/ar-AA1wvxGx |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=MSN}}</ref> A larger number of towns and cities are vegetarian-friendly.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=Jane |date=2013-09-23 |title=The best countries in the world for vegetarians |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/sep/23/best-countries-to-be-vegetarian |access-date=2025-05-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In other locations, finding vegetarian food can pose some difficulties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boyd |first=Ryan |date=2018-07-26 |title=The 10 Worst Countries in the World for Vegetarians |url=https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/the-10-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-being-vegetarian |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Fodors Travel Guide |language=en-US}}</ref>

There are many variations of the vegetarian diet: an [[ovo-vegetarian]] diet includes [[egg as food|eggs]] and a [[lacto-vegetarian]] diet includes [[dairy product]]s, while a [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism|lacto-ovo vegetarian]] diet includes both. As the strictest of vegetarian diets, a [[vegan]] diet excludes all [[animal product]]s, and can be accompanied by abstention from the use of animal-derived products, such as leather shoes.

Vegetarian diets pose some difficulties. For [[vitamin B12|vitamin B<sub>12</sub>]], depending on the presence or absence of eggs and [[dairy product]]s in the diet or other reliable B<sub>12</sub> sources, vegetarians may incur a [[nutritional deficiency]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-23 |title=The vegetarian diet |url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/the-vegetarian-diet/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=nhs.uk |language=en |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815115229/https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/the-vegetarian-diet/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Packaged and processed foods may contain minor quantities of animal ingredients.<ref name="navs-online.org"/><ref name="vegsoc.org2">{{cite web|url=https://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=729|title=Fact Sheets: Things to look out for if you are a vegetarian/vegan|date=September 2015|publisher=Vegetarian Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318175347/https://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=729|archive-date=March 18, 2018|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref> While some vegetarians scrutinize product labels for such ingredients, others do not object to consuming them, or are unaware of their presence.<ref name="navs-online.org"/><ref name="vrg.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/cheese.htm|title=What's in Your Cheese?|last=Keevican|first=Michael|date=November 5, 2003|publisher=Vegetarian Resource Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318175819/https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/cheese.htm|archive-date=March 18, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="VRG FAQ">{{cite web|url=https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htm#cheese|title=FAQ: Food Ingredients|publisher=Vegetarian Resource Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104203320/https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htm#cheese|archive-date=November 4, 2013|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The first written use of the term "vegetarian" originated in the early 19th century, when authors referred to a ''vegetable regimen'' diet.<ref>{{cite book|author=Preece|first=Rod|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uMnubkF5HjAC&pg=PA12|title=The origins of the term "vegetarian". In: Sins of the Flesh: A History of Ethical Vegetarian Thought|date=2008|publisher=University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver|isbn=978-0-7748-5849-6|author-link=Rod Preece|access-date=August 30, 2018|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220043/https://books.google.com/books?id=uMnubkF5HjAC&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref> Historically, 'vegetable' could be used to refer to any type of edible [[vegetation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definitions - IVU - International Vegetarian Union |url=https://ivu.org/definitions.html |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=ivu.org |archive-date=October 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021172543/https://ivu.org/definitions.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern dictionaries explain its origin as a [[compound (linguistics)|compound]] of ''[[vegetable]]'' ([[adjective]]) and the suffix ''[[wikt:-arian|-arian]]'' (in the sense of ''[[agriculture|agrarian]]'').<ref name="oed">{{cite web |title=Vegetarian |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=vegetarian |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper Inc. |access-date=April 30, 2019 |date=2019 |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706232449/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=vegetarian |url-status=live }}</ref> The term was popularized with the foundation of the [[Vegetarian Society]] in [[Manchester]] in 1847,<ref name=OED>''OED'' vol. 19, second edition (1989), p. 476; ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'' p. 2537; ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'', ''Oxford'', 1966, p. 972; ''The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology'' (1988), p. 1196; Colin Spencer, ''The Heretic's Feast. A History of Vegetarianism'', London 1993, p. 252. The ''OED'' writes that the word came into general use after the formation of the Vegetarian Society at Ramsgate in 1847, though it offers two examples of usage from 1839 and 1842: 
* 1839: "If I had had to be my own cook, I should inevitably become a vegetarian." (F. A. Kemble, ''Jrnl. Residence on Georgian Plantation'' (1863) 251)
* 1842: "To tell a healthy vegetarian that his diet is very uncongenial with the wants of his nature." (''Healthian'', Apr. 34) The 1839 occurrence remains under discussion; the Oxford English Dictionary's 1839 source is in fact an 1863 publication: [[Fanny Kemble]], ''Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation 1838–1839''. The original manuscript has not been located.</ref> although it has been used before in writing first attributed to actress, writer and [[abolitionist]] [[Fanny Kemble]], in her ''Journal of a Residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838–1839''.{{efn|Fanny Kemble (''Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839'', 1839): "The sight and smell of raw meat are especially odious to me, and I have often thought that if I had had to be my own cook, I should inevitably become a vegetarian, probably, indeed, return entirely to my green and salad days."<ref>Fanny Kemble, ''Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839'', Harper and Brothers, New York, 1863, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WaFiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA197 197–198].</ref>{{pb}}

Another early use was by [[Charles Lane (transcendentalist)|the editor]] of ''The Healthian'', a journal published by [[Alcott House]], in April 1842: "To tell a man, who is in the stocks for a given fault, that he cannot be so confined for such an offence, is ridiculous enough; but not more so than to tell a healthy vegetarian that his diet is very uncongenial with the wants of his nature, and contrary to reason."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100709210135/http://www.ivu.org/history/england19a/healthian.pdf ''The Healthian''], 1(5), April 1842, 34–35.{{pb}}
{{Cite web|url=https://ivu.org/history/vegetarian.html|title=History of Vegetarianism: Extracts from some journals 1842–48 – the earliest known uses of the word 'vegetarian'|last=Davis|first=John|publisher=[[International Vegetarian Union]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318223303/https://ivu.org/history/vegetarian.html|archive-date=18 March 2018|url-status=live|access-date=18 March 2018}}{{pb}}{{Cite web|url=https://ivu.org/history/kemble.html|title=History of Vegetarianism: Extracts from some journals 1842–48 – the earliest known uses of the word 'vegetarian' (Appendix 2 – The 1839 journal of Fanny Kemble)|last=Davis|first=John|publisher=International Vegetarian Union|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318222547/https://ivu.org/history/kemble.html|archive-date=18 March 2018|url-status=live|access-date=18 March 2018}}{{pb}}
John Davis, "Prototype Vegans", [https://issuu.com/vegan_society/docs/the-vegan-winter-2010/24 ''The Vegan''], Winter 2010, 22–23 (also [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928044045/http://www.vegansociety.com/feature-articles/prototype%20vegans.pdf here]).</ref>}} The earliest occurrences of the term seem to be related to [[Alcott House]]—a school on the north side of [[Ham Common, London]]—which was opened in July 1838 by [[James Pierrepont Greaves]].<ref name="veghistory">{{cite web |last=Davis |first=John |title=History of Vegetarianism: Extracts from some journals 1842–48 – the earliest known uses of the word 'vegetarian' |url=https://ivu.org/history/vegetarian.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318223303/https://ivu.org/history/vegetarian.html |archive-date=March 18, 2018 |access-date=March 18, 2018 |publisher=[[International Vegetarian Union]] |quote=In 1841 the [Alcott House] was re-invented as '''A Concordium, or Industry Harmony College''' though the building remained 'Alcott House'. Also in 1841 they began printing and publishing their own pamphlets, which now seem to be lost, but we have the relevant extracts, with the earliest known use of 'vegetarian', from their first journal which began in December 1841[.]}}</ref><ref name="Kemble">{{cite web |last=Davis |first=John |title=History of Vegetarianism: Extracts from some journals 1842–48 – the earliest known uses of the word 'vegetarian' (Appendix 2 – The 1839 journal of Fanny Kemble) |url=https://ivu.org/history/kemble.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318222547/https://ivu.org/history/kemble.html |archive-date=March 18, 2018 |access-date=March 18, 2018 |publisher=International Vegetarian Union}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ: Definitions|date=March 8, 2013 |website=IVU World Vegfest|publisher=[[International Vegetarian Union]] |url=https://www.worldvegfest.org/index.php/definitions|access-date=March 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416000814/https://www.worldvegfest.org/index.php/definitions|archive-date=April 16, 2015|quote=The term ''''Vegetarian'''' was first used around 1840 by the community closely associated with Alcott House School, near London, and they used it to refer exclusively to foods derived from plants—plus all the ethical values associated today with Veganism. [...] The word 'Vegetarian' was first formally used on September 30th of 1847 at Northwood Villa in Kent, England. The occasion is the inaugural meeting of The [[Vegetarian Society]].}}</ref> From 1841, it was known as ''A Concordium, or Industry Harmony College'', and the institution then began to publish its own pamphlet, ''The Healthian''. It provides some of the earliest appearances of the term "vegetarian".<ref name=veghistory/>

=== ''Vegetarian'' etymology ===
The term "vegetarian" has been in use since around 1839 to refer to what was previously called a vegetable regimen or diet.<ref>Rod Preece, ''Sins of the Flesh: A History of Ethical Vegetarian Thought'', Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2008, [https://books.google.com/books?id=uMnubkF5HjAC&pg=PA12 12] {{ISBN|978-0-7748-1510-9}}</ref> Its origin is an irregular compound of ''[[vegetable]]'' and the suffix ''[[wiktionary:-arian|-arian]]'' (in the sense of "supporter, believer" as in ''[[wiktionary:humanitarian|humanitarian]]'').<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=Definition of Vegetable |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetable |access-date=4 May 2024 |website=Merriam-Webster}}</ref><ref name="VegetusMyth">{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=John |date=1 June 2011 |title=The Vegetus Myth |url=https://www.vegsource.com/john-davis/the-vegetus-myth.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318213259/https://www.vegsource.com/john-davis/the-vegetus-myth.html |archive-date=18 March 2018 |access-date=18 March 2018 |website=VegSource |quote=Vegetarian can equally be seen as derived from the late Latin '{{lang|la|vegetabile}}' – meaning plant – as in {{lang|la|Regnum Vegetabile}} / Plant Kingdom. Hence vegetable, vegetation – and vegetarian. Though others suggest that 'vegetable' itself is derived from 'vegetus'. But it's very unlikely that the originators went through all that either – they really did just join 'vegetable+arian', as the dictionaries have said all along.}}</ref> 

==History==
{{Main|History of vegetarianism}}
In 2025, a study published in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' measured [[nitrogen isotope]] ratios in fossilized teeth and determined that [[Australopithecus]] was almost entirely vegetarian.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lüdecke |first1=Tina |last2=Robbins |first2=John A. |last3=Hopley |first3=Philip J. |last4=Balasse |first4=Marie |last5=Henry |first5=Amanda G. |title=''Australopithecus'' at Sterkfontein did not consume substantial mammalian meat |journal=Science |volume=387 |pages=309–314 |year=2025 |issue=6731 |doi=10.1126/science.adq7315 |pmid=39818884 |bibcode=2025Sci...387..309L }}</ref>

[[File:Tirthankar Parshvanath Bhagwan.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Parshwanatha]] founded [[Jain vegetarianism]] in the 9th century BCE]]
The earliest record of vegetarianism comes from the 9th century BCE,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Olivelle|first1=transl. from the original Sanskrit by Patrick|title=Upaniṣads|date=1998|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press|location=Oxford [u.a.]|isbn=978-0-19-283576-5|edition=Reissued}}</ref> inculcating tolerance towards all living beings.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bajpai|first1=Shiva|title=The History of India – From Ancient to Modern Times|date=2011|publisher=Himalayan Academy Publications (Hawaii, USA)|isbn=978-1-934145-38-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Spencer|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Spencer|title=The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism|publisher=Fourth Estate Classic House|pages=33–68, 69–84|isbn=978-0-87451-760-6|year=1996}}</ref> [[Parshwanatha]] and [[Mahavira]], the 23rd and 24th ''[[tirthankaras]]'' in [[Jainism]], respectively, revived and advocated [[ahimsa]] and [[Jain vegetarianism]] between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE; the most comprehensive and strictest form of vegetarianism.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmBjoAFMfjoC&q=Parshwanatha+vegetarian&pg=PA435 | title=People of India: Maharashtra| isbn=978-81-7991-100-6| last1=Singh| first1=Kumar Suresh| year=2004| publisher=Popular Prakashan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P-FqDgAAQBAJ&q=jain+food+strictest&pg=PA307| title=Food, Feasts, and Faith: An Encyclopedia of Food Culture in World Religions &#91;2 volumes&#93;| isbn=978-1-61069-412-4| last1=Fieldhouse| first1=Paul| date=April 17, 2017| publisher=Abc-Clio| access-date=November 22, 2020| archive-date=April 5, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220231/https://books.google.com/books?id=P-FqDgAAQBAJ&q=jain+food+strictest&pg=PA307| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_Xn3QW9wfQC&q=mahavira+6th+century+vegetarian&pg=PA165| title=Vegetarianism: A Guide for the Perplexed| isbn=978-1-4411-1529-4| last1=Walters| first1=Kerry| date=June 7, 2012| publisher=A&C Black| access-date=November 22, 2020| archive-date=April 5, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220044/https://books.google.com/books?id=h_Xn3QW9wfQC&q=mahavira+6th+century+vegetarian&pg=PA165| url-status=live}}</ref> In Indian culture, vegetarianism has been closely connected with the attitude of [[nonviolence]] towards animals (called ''[[ahimsa]]'' in India) for millennia and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.<ref name="rv">''Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama'', ed. [[Kerry S. Walters]] and Lisa Portmess, Albany 2001, p. 13–46.</ref> The [[Ācārāṅga Sūtra]] from 5th century BCE advocates Jain-vegetarianism and forbids the monks from walking on grass in order to avoid inflicting pain on them and prevent small insects dwelling inside from getting killed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.281046|title=Acharanga Sutra Part I Chapter I|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The ancient Indian work of the ''[[Tirukkuṟaḷ]]'', dated before the 5th century CE, explicitly and unambiguously emphasizes shunning meat and [[non-killing]] as a common man's virtues.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kamil Zvelebil |title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA155 |access-date=7 March 2018 |year=1973 |publisher=E. J. Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=90-04-03591-5 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220135/https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA155 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|156–171}}<ref>{{cite book|author=P.S. Sundaram|title=Kural (Tiruvalluvar)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPpv2F2RRgcC|year=1990|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-93-5118-015-9|access-date=September 20, 2021|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220115/https://books.google.com/books?id=aPpv2F2RRgcC|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|13}}<ref>{{cite book |author=A. A. Manavalan |title=Essays and Tributes on Tirukkural (1886–1986 AD) |year=2009 |publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies |location = Chennai|edition = 1}}</ref>{{Rp|127–129}} Chapter 26 of the Tirukkural, particularly [[couplet]]s 251–260, deals exclusively on moral vegetarianism or veganism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zvelebil |first=Kamil |title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA155 |access-date=7 March 2018|year=1973 |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden|isbn=90-04-03591-5 }}</ref>{{Rp|pp=156–171}}<ref>{{cite journal| last =Dharani| first =D.| title =Medicine in Thirukkural, The Universal Veda of Tamil Literature| journal =Proceedings of the Indian History Congress| volume =79| issue =2018–19| pages =101–108| year =2018| doi =| jstor =26906235| s2cid =}}</ref>

{{Quote box
 |quote  = '''Vegetarianism in ancient India'''<br />Throughout the whole country the people do not kill any living creature, nor drink intoxicating liquor, nor eat onions or garlic. The only exception is that of the Chandalas. That is the name for those who are (held to be) wicked men, and live apart from others. ... In that country they do not keep pigs and fowls, and do not sell live cattle; in the markets there are no butchers' shops and no dealers in intoxicating drink. In buying and selling commodities they use cowries. Only the Chandalas are fishermen and hunters, and sell flesh meat.
 |author = — [[Faxian]], Chinese pilgrim to India (4th/5th century CE)
 |source = A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms (translated by [[James Legge]])<ref>{{cite book |author=Faxian |author-link=Faxian |title=A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2124/2124-h/2124-h.htm |year=1886 |translator-last=Legge |translator-first=James |translator-link=James Legge |chapter=On To Mathura Or Muttra. Condition And Customs Of Central India; Of The Monks, Viharas, And Monasteries. |access-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215001158/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2124/2124-h/2124-h.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Bodhipaksa>{{cite book|author=Bodhipaksa|title=Vegetarianism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ro5QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT114|year=2016|publisher=Windhorse|isbn=978-19093-14-740|pages=|access-date=June 20, 2022|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220150/https://books.google.com/books?id=ro5QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT114|url-status=live}}</ref>
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Among the [[Hellenes]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], and others, vegetarianism had medical or [[ritual purification]] purposes. Vegetarianism was also practiced in [[ancient Greece]] and the earliest reliable evidence for vegetarian theory and practice in Greece dates from the 6th century BCE. The [[Orphism (religion)|Orphics]], a religious movement spreading in Greece at that time, also practiced and promoted vegetarianism.<ref>Spencer p. 38–55, 61–63; Haussleiter p. 79–157.</ref> Greek teacher [[Pythagoras]], who promoted the altruistic doctrine of [[metempsychosis]], may have practiced vegetarianism,<ref>{{cite book|last=Livio|first=Mario|author-link=Mario Livio|title=The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUARfgWRH14C|orig-date=2002|edition=First trade paperback|year=2003|publisher=[[Random House|Broadway Books]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-7679-0816-0|page=26|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313121951/https://books.google.com/books?id=bUARfgWRH14C|url-status=live}}</ref> but is also recorded as eating meat.<ref name="Zhmud">{{Cite book|last=Zhmud|first=Leonid|date=2012|title=Pythagoras and the Early Pythagoreans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=of-ghBD9q1QC&pg=PP235|translator1-last=Windle|translator1-first=Kevin|translator2-last=Ireland|translator2-first=Rosh|location=Oxford, England|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-928931-8|page=235|access-date=December 3, 2018|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220134/https://books.google.com/books?id=of-ghBD9q1QC&pg=PP235|url-status=live}}</ref> A fictionalized portrayal of Pythagoras appears in [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', in which he advocates a form of [[strict vegetarianism]].<ref name="Borlik">{{Cite book|last=Borlik|first=Todd A.|date=2011|title=Ecocriticism and Early Modern English Literature: Green Pastures|url=https://archive.org/details/ecocriticismearl0000borl|url-access=registration|location=New York City, New York and London, England|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-81924-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ecocriticismearl0000borl/page/189 189]–192}}</ref> It was through this portrayal that Pythagoras was best known to English-speakers throughout the early modern period and, prior to the coinage of the word "vegetarianism", vegetarians were referred to in English as "[[Pythagorean diet|Pythagoreans]]".<ref name="Borlik"/> Vegetarianism was also practiced about six centuries later in another instance (30&nbsp;BCE–50&nbsp;CE) in the northern [[Thracian]] region by the [[Moesi]] tribe (who inhabited present-day [[Serbia]] and [[Bulgaria]]), feeding themselves on honey, milk, and cheese.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of religion|edition=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjUOAQAAMAAJ&q=the+moesi+vegetarian|isbn=978-0-02-865982-4|last=Jones|first=Lindsay|year=2005|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |access-date=July 17, 2015|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220142/https://books.google.com/books?id=cjUOAQAAMAAJ&q=the+moesi+vegetarian|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Emperor Tenmu.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Emperor Tenmu]] began bans on killing and eating meat in 675 CE in [[Japan]].]]
In [[Japan]] in 675, the [[Emperor Tenmu]] prohibited the killing and the eating of meat during the busy farming period between April and September but excluded the eating of wild birds and wild animals. These bans and several others that followed over the centuries were overturned in the nineteenth century during the [[Meiji Restoration]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Watanabe|first=Zenjiro|title=Removal of the Ban on Meat: The Meat-Eating Culture of Japan at the Beginning of Westernization|url=https://www.kikkoman.co.jp/kiifc/foodculture/pdf_09/e_002_008.pdf|access-date=April 26, 2020|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429063516/http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/kiifc/foodculture/pdf_09/e_002_008.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In China, during the [[Song dynasty]], [[Buddhist cuisine]] became popular enough that vegetarian restaurants appeared where chefs used ingredients such as [[beans]], [[gluten]], root vegetables and [[Edible mushroom|mushrooms]] to create [[meat analogue]]s including pork, fowl, eggs and crab roe<ref>{{cite web|last=Koon|first=Wee Kek|title=Vegetarianism in China is nothing new: meat-free diets have ancient origins|date=November 21, 2019|url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3038384/vegetarianism-china-nothing-new-meat-free-diets|access-date=May 1, 2020|archive-date=March 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324055143/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3038384/vegetarianism-china-nothing-new-meat-free-diets|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Wang|first=Jenny|title=Buddhist food: how the healthy, vegetarian dishes full of seasonal ingredients can imitate meat with funguses and plants|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3097180/buddhist-food-how-healthy-vegetarian-dishes-full-seasonal|access-date=May 31, 2021|date=August 13, 2020|archive-date=June 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214300/https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3097180/buddhist-food-how-healthy-vegetarian-dishes-full-seasonal|url-status=live}}</ref> and many meat substitutes used even today such as [[tofu]], [[seitan]] and [[konjac]] originate in Chinese Buddhist cuisine.

[[File:Current FSSAI Veg and Non-veg Labels.svg|thumb|right|Labeling is mandatory in India to distinguish vegetarian products (green) from non-vegetarian products (brown).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Datta|first=P. T. Jyothi|date=September 4, 2001 |title=Health goes dotty with brown eggs & green milk|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2001/09/05/stories/14050204.htm|url-status=live|work=[[Hindu Business Line]]|location=New Delhi|publisher=Kasturi & Sons|publication-date=September 5, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319005736/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2001/09/05/stories/14050204.htm|archive-date=March 19, 2018|access-date=March 18, 2018|quote=For discerning consumers, a recent [[Ministry of Health and Family Welfare|Health Ministry]] notification had made it mandatory for packed food containing animal parts contained in a box, to sport a brown dot prominently on its label.}}</ref>]]
Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in [[late antiquity]], vegetarianism practically disappeared from Europe, as it did elsewhere, except in India.<ref>{{Cite journal | author = Passmore John | year = 1975 | title = The Treatment of Animals | journal = Journal of the History of Ideas | volume = 36 | pages = 196–201 | doi = 10.2307/2708924 | issue = 2 | jstor = 2708924 | pmid = 11610245 | s2cid = 43847928  |issn=0022-5037}}</ref> Several orders of [[monk]]s in [[medieval Europe]] restricted or banned the consumption of meat for [[ascetic]] reasons, but none of them eschewed fish.<ref>Lutterbach, Hubertus. "Der Fleischverzicht im Christentum", ''Saeculum'' 50/II (1999) p. 202.</ref> Moreover, the medieval definition of "fish" included such animals as seals, [[porpoise]]s, [[dolphin]]s, [[barnacle geese]], [[puffin]]s, and [[beavers]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mortimer|first=Ian|author-link=Ian Mortimer (historian)|date=January 2010|orig-date=Originally published in Great Britain in 2008 by [[Random House UK]]|chapter=What to Eat and Drink: Noble Households|editor1-last=Sulkin|editor1-first=Will|editor2-last=Hensgen|editor2-first=Jörg|title=The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England|chapter-format=Hardcover|edition=1st Touchstone hardcover|location=New York, NY|publisher=Touchstone ([[Simon & Schuster]])|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XqWVlAEACAAJ|page=140|isbn=978-1-4391-1289-2|quote=Seals, porpoises, dolphins, barnacle geese, puffins, and beavers are all classed as fish as their lives begin in the sea or in a river. Hence they are eaten gleefully, even on nonmeat days.}}</ref> Vegetarianism re-emerged during the [[Renaissance]],<ref>Spencer p. 180–200.</ref> becoming more widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1847, the first [[Vegetarian Society]] was founded in the United Kingdom;<ref>Spencer p. 252–253, 261–262.</ref> Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries followed. In 1886, the vegetarian colony [[Nueva Germania]] was founded in [[Paraguay]], though its vegetarian aspect would prove short-lived.<ref>Bauer, K., "The Domestication of Radical Ideas and Colonial Spaces", in M. Schulze, et al., eds., ''German Diasporic Experiences'' ([[Waterloo, ON]]: [[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]], 2008), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Uu90CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA348 pp. 345–358] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220134/https://books.google.com/books?id=Uu90CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA348 |date=April 5, 2023 }}.</ref>{{rp|345–358}} The [[International Vegetarian Union]], an association of the national societies, was founded in 1908. In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism grew during the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and—more recently—environmental and economic concerns.

== Vegetarian locations ==
{{Main|Vegetarianism by country}}
A small number of cities, towns, and intentional communities around the world are exclusively vegetarian where no meat is sold or consumed due to religious and cultural influences. In all-vegetarian locations, meat and sometimes other animal products are sometimes officially outlawed. In other exclusively vegetarian cities, meat is not sold or served due to cultural influences but is not officially outlawed. Some religious centers in India have banned all meat sales within municipal boundaries. For example, in 1956, Rishikesh banned the sale of meat, fish, and eggs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2004-03-12 |title=India Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Meat and Fish in Rishikesh – Hindu Press International |url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2004/03/12/2004-03-12-india-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-meat-and-fish-in-rishikesh/ |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Hinduism Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

Locations where residents are vegetarian and only vegetarian food is consumed within city limits include:
* [[Amirim]], Israel. Founded in 1958 on vegetarian principles, the town features vegetarian guest houses and had a population of 865 in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nightingale-Styczen |first=Marta |date=2017-05-16 |title=Welcome to Amirim, Israel's Vegetarian Haven on a Hill |url=https://outpostmagazine.com/welcome-amirim-israels-vegetarian-haven-hill/ |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=Outpost Magazine |language=en-CA}}</ref>
* [[Cheremshanka, Altai Republic]] in Russia
* [[Community of the Ark]], La Borie Noble, France. Founded in 1948 by [[Lanza del Vasto]] as a vegetarian, spiritual commune.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=TIME |date=1962-11-30 |title=Religion: A Head Start on Humanity |url=https://time.com/archive/6625756/religion-a-head-start-on-humanity/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Haridwar]] in Uttarakhand, India. In 2002 meat sales were banned in Haridwar. The ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-03-31 |title='Kannadigas are not Dravidians': Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin's Ugadi wishes spark debate |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bengaluru-news/kannadigas-are-not-dravidians-tamil-nadu-cm-mk-stalins-ugadi-wishes-spark-debate-101743393029957.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250331121958/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bengaluru-news/kannadigas-are-not-dravidians-tamil-nadu-cm-mk-stalins-ugadi-wishes-spark-debate-101743393029957.html |archive-date=March 31, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-31 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[New Vrindaban]] in West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1968 by [[Kirtanananda Swami]], New Virndaban is a vegetarian, intentional community.<ref>Welcome sign at entrance to Temple of Understanding Circle Drive</ref> 
* [[Palitana]] in Gujarat, India. In 2014, Palitana banned meat sales.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-02 |title=In India, The World's First Vegetarian City |url=http://www.indiadivine.org/news/hinduism-in-the-news/in-india-the-worlds-first-vegetarian-city-r861 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163742/http://www.indiadivine.org/news/hinduism-in-the-news/in-india-the-worlds-first-vegetarian-city-r861 |archive-date=2015-04-02 |access-date=2025-04-22}}</ref>
* [[Pushkar]] in Rajasthan, India. Pushkar is one of the world's oldest cities and a religious center. Because of its holy status and number of temples, Pushkar is a vegetarian city where the sale of meat, fish, eggs, and alcohol are all banned.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Rituparna |date=2017-02-09 |title=What Nobody Tells You About Pushkar |url=https://www.indiafoodnetwork.in/food-stories/what-nobody-tells-you-about-pushkar |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=www.indiafoodnetwork.in |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Rishikesh]] in Uttarakhand, India. In 1956, Rishikesh banned the sale of meat, fish, and eggs.<ref name=":0" />
* [[Tirumala]] in Andhra Pradesh, India
* [[The Farm (Tennessee)|The Farm]] in Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1971 by [[Stephen Gaskin]] and 300 spiritual seekers as a vegan, intentional community.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Windolf |first=Jim |date=2007-04-05 |title=Sex, Drugs, and Soybeans |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/05/thefarm200705?srsltid=AfmBOoqfOFNPf1qzj1MyYgdzgXsWjOVJUX1PQoJ2rKfHMh-h7Mfz2P5R |access-date=2025-03-27 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Former all-vegetarian locations ===
* [[Alcott House]] in Surrey, United Kingdom
* [[Ephrata Cloister]] in Pennsylvania, United States
* [[Fruitlands (transcendental center)|Fruitlands]] in Massachusetts, United States
* [[Octagon City, Kansas]], United States
* [[The Sanctuary (community)]] in West Sussex, United Kingdom

=== Heavily-vegetarian locations ===
The percentage of vegetarians varies by country. India has the highest percentage of vegetarian residents, and Mexico has the second highest percentage of vegetarian residents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Veganism by Country 2025 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/veganism-by-country |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=World Population Review |language=en}}</ref> In general, vegetarians are a minority.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-08-24 |title=In U.S., 4% Identify as Vegetarian, 1% as Vegan |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/510038/identify-vegetarian-vegan.aspx |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=Gallup |language=en}}</ref> However, a number of cities and towns around the world have much larger vegetarian populations who constitute a majority of municipal residents. Heavily-vegetarian locations include:
* [[Bengaluru]] the capital of Karnataka, India
* [[Chennai]] the capital of Tamil Nadu, India
* [[Chiang Mai]] in Thailand
* [[Loma Linda, California]] in the United States
* [[Shashamane]] in Oromia Region, Ethiopia
* [[Varanasi]] in Uttar Pradesh, India

==Varieties==
[[File:Vegan Gardein Tofu Foods Display (cropped1).jpg|thumb|right|A variety of [[Veganism|vegan]] and vegetarian [[Delicatessen|deli]] [[food]]s]]
[[File:Veggie burger miikkahoo flickr creative commons.jpg|thumb|right|A vegetarian hamburger with potato slices]] 
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
|+ Comparison of the main vegetarian diets
! !! [[Meat]] !! [[Egg (food)|Eggs]] !! [[Dairy product|Dairy]]
|-
! [[Ovo vegetarianism]]
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}}
|-
! [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism]]
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}}
|-
! [[Lacto vegetarianism]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}}
|-
! [[Vegan]] diet
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
|}

There are a number of vegetarian diets that exclude or include various foods:

* [[Fruitarianism]] permits only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S0002-8223(09)00700-7/fulltext|title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets|journal=Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics|volume=109|issue=7|pages=1266–1282|doi=10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027|date=July 2009|access-date=January 6, 2016|pmid=19562864|vauthors=Craig WJ, Mangels AR|s2cid=7906168|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728114525/https://jandonline.org/article/S0002-8223%2809%2900700-7/fulltext|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* [[Macrobiotic diet]]s consist mostly of [[whole grain]]s and [[bean]]s.
* [[Lacto vegetarianism]] includes dairy products but not eggs.
* [[Ovo vegetarianism]] includes eggs but not dairy products.
* [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism]] (or ovo-lacto vegetarianism) includes animal products such as eggs, milk, and honey.
* [[Sattvic diet]] (also known as yogic diet), a [[plant-based diet]] which may also include dairy and honey, but excludes eggs, [[Lentil|red lentils]], [[durian]], mushrooms, ''[[allium]]s'', [[blue cheese]]s, fermented foods or sauces, and alcoholic drinks. Coffee, [[Tea|black or green tea]], [[chocolate]], [[nutmeg]], and any other type of stimulant (including excessively [[Pungency|pungent]] spices) are sometimes excluded, as well.
* [[Veganism]] excludes all animal flesh and by-products, such as eggs, milk, honey,<ref name="Slate">{{cite web|url=https://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2008/07/the_great_vegan_honey_debate.html|title=The Great Vegan Honey Debate: Is honey the dairy of the insect world?|last=Engber|first=Daniel|date=July 30, 2008|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309213633/https://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2008/07/the_great_vegan_honey_debate.html|archive-date=March 9, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=March 9, 2018}}</ref> [[edible bird's nest]] and items refined or manufactured through any such product, such as animal-tested [[baking soda]] or white sugar refined with [[bone char]].
** [[Raw foodism#Raw veganism|Raw veganism]] includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. Food must not be heated above {{Convert|118|F}} to be considered "raw". Usually, raw vegan food is only ever "cooked" with a [[food dehydrator]] at low temperatures.

{{Comparison of special diets}}

Within the "[[wikt:ovo-|ovo-]]" groups, there are many who refuse to consume fertilized [[egg]]s (with [[Balut (food)|balut]] being an extreme example); however, such distinction is typically not specifically addressed.

Some vegetarians also avoid products that may use animal ingredients not included in their labels or which use animal products in their manufacturing. For example, sugars that are whitened with [[bone char]], cheeses that use animal [[rennet]] ([[enzyme]]s from animal stomach lining), gelatin (derived from the [[collagen]] inside animals' skin, bones, and [[connective tissue]]), some [[Sugarcane|cane sugar]] (but not [[Sugar beet|beet sugar]]) and beverages (such as apple juice and alcohol) clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and [[sturgeon]], while other vegetarians are unaware of, or do not mind, such ingredients.<ref name="navs-online.org"/><ref name="vegsoc.org2"/><ref name=vrg.org/> In the 21st century, 90% of rennet and [[chymosin]] used in cheesemaking are derived from industrial [[fermentation]] processes, which satisfy both [[kosher foods|kosher]] and [[Islamic dietary laws|halal]] requirements.<ref name="johnson2017">{{cite journal | last=Johnson | first=M.E. | title=A 100-Year Review: Cheese production and quality | journal=Journal of Dairy Science | volume=100 | issue=12 | year=2017 | issn=0022-0302 | doi=10.3168/jds.2017-12979 | pages=9952–9965|pmid=29153182|url=https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(17)31054-8/fulltext| doi-access=free }}</ref>

Individuals sometimes label themselves "vegetarian" while practicing a [[Flexitarianism|semi-vegetarian]] diet,<ref name="Barr">{{cite journal |vauthors=Barr SI, Chapman GE | title = Perceptions and practices of self-defined current vegetarian and nonvegetarian women| journal = Journal of the American Dietetic Association | volume = 102 | issue = 3 | pages = 354–360 | date = March 2002 | pmid = 11902368 | doi = 10.1016/S0002-8223(02)90083-0 }}</ref><ref name=newsweek.com>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/vegetarians-who-eat-meat-75433|title=Vegetarians Who Eat Meat|last=Yabroff|first=Jennie|date=December 30, 2009|website=[[Newsweek]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319023944/http://www.newsweek.com/vegetarians-who-eat-meat-75433|archive-date=March 19, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref><!--NOTE: Older archived copies state the title as "No More Sacred Cows" and date as December 31, 2009, consistent with old citation this replaced. The retitling is common, but the date change seems like a typo by Newsweek. Regardless, data from the most updated live and archive copies were used. If either the title or date are changed, an appropriate archived copy with that data should replace this archived copy, with url-status=dead. Original link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/228720 --><ref>Gale, Catharine R. et al. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000531/http://www.edu-lib.us/bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/bmj.39030.675069.55v1?hrss=1 "IQ in childhood and vegetarianism in adulthood: 1970 British cohort study"]}}, ''British Medial Journal'', December 15, 2006, vol 333, issue 7581, p. 245.</ref> as some dictionary definitions describe vegetarianism as sometimes including the consumption of fish,<ref name="Shorter Oxford">[[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]] (2002 and 2007) defines "vegetarian" (noun) as "A person who on principle abstains from animal food; ''esp.'' one who avoids meat but will eat dairy produce and eggs and sometimes also fish ([[cf.]] VEGAN ''noun'')."</ref> or only include [[mammal]]ian flesh as part of their definition of meat,<ref name="Shorter Oxford"/><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|dictionary=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|title=Meat|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meat|access-date=March 18, 2018|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319025828/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meat|archive-date=March 19, 2018|url-status=live|quote=Definition of meat [2a]: 2b; ''also'': flesh of a mammal as opposed to fowl or fish}}</ref> while other definitions exclude fish and all animal flesh.<ref name="Vegsoc.org, fish">{{cite web|url=https://www.vegsoc.org/fish|title=Vegetarians don't eat fish, shellfish or crustacea, but they can still enjoy one of the healthiest diets available|publisher=Vegetarian Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113323/https://www.vegsoc.org/fish|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=March 18, 2018|quote=Many things have changed since the Vegetarian Society was founded way back in 1847, but fish have always been cold-blooded water dwelling animals and vegetarians do not eat animals.}}</ref> In other cases, individuals may describe themselves as "flexitarian".<ref name=newsweek.com/><ref name="americandialect.org">{{Cite news|date=January 13, 2004|title=2003 Words of the Year|url=https://www.americandialect.org/2003_words_of_the_year|url-status=live|publisher=[[American Dialect Society]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319030627/https://www.americandialect.org/2003_words_of_the_year|archive-date=March 19, 2018|access-date=March 18, 2018|quote='''Most Useful''': word or phrase which most fills a need for a new word – ''Winner '''flexitarian''': noun, a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat. 31–41''}}</ref>
These diets may be followed by those who reduce animal flesh consumed as a way of transitioning to a complete vegetarian diet or for health, ethical, environmental, or other reasons. Semi-vegetarian diets include:
* [[Pescetarianism]], which includes fish and possibly other forms of seafood.
* [[Pollotarianism]], which includes chicken and possibly other poultry.

Semi-vegetarianism is contested by vegetarian groups, such as the [[Vegetarian Society]], which states that vegetarianism excludes all animal flesh.<ref name="Vegsoc.org, fish"/>

Consumption of eggs is not considered to be a part of a vegetarian diet in India, as egg is an animal product that gives birth to the next generation of the relevant species.

== Health research ==
{{Quote box
 |quote = On average, vegetarians consume a lower proportion of calories from fat (particularly saturated fatty acids), fewer overall calories, more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, than do non-vegetarians. Vegetarians generally have a lower body mass index. These characteristics and other lifestyle factors associated with a vegetarian diet may contribute to the positive health outcomes that have been identified among vegetarians.
|source = ''Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010'' – A report issued by the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] and the [[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]]<ref>{{cite report |chapter=Chapter 5: Building Healthy Eating Patterns |title=Dietary Guidelines for Americans |year=2010 |chapter-url=http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/Chapter5.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001728/http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/Chapter5.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>
|width = 25%
}}
[[File:Countries (States and Subnational Regions) and Their Positions on Vegetarian Diets in Food-Based Dietary Guidelines.svg|thumb|[[Countries]]' positions on vegetarian diets within their food-based [[dietary guidelines]]:
{{legend|#019c00|Supporters}}
{{legend|#ffc502|Informers}}
{{legend|#ff8800|Uninformed}}
{{legend|#c11f1f|Critics}}
{{legend|#bababa|No guidelines}}
{{legend|#616161|Guideline not analysed}}]]
[[File:Acorn Soup (4827753894).jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Acorn noodle soup]]]]
[[File:Fruit Stall in Barcelona Market.jpg|thumb|right|A fruit stall in [[Barcelona]]]]

In Western countries, the most common motive for people practicing vegetarianism is health consciousness.<ref>{{cite news |title=Study reveals biggest motivation for people to consider turning vegetarian |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/health-is-the-biggest-motivation-for-people-to-consider-turning-vegetarian-study-6351364/ |access-date=March 26, 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=April 7, 2020 |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430220616/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/health-is-the-biggest-motivation-for-people-to-consider-turning-vegetarian-study-6351364/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hopwood |first1=Christopher J. |last2=Bleidorn |first2=Wiebke |last3=Schwaba |first3=Ted |last4=Chen |first4=Sophia |date=2020-04-02 |title=Health, environmental, and animal rights motives for vegetarian eating |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=15 |issue=4 |article-number=e0230609 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0230609 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=7117663 |pmid=32240198 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1530609H |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics]] has stated that at all stages of life, a properly planned vegetarian diet can be "healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."<ref name="ada-09">{{cite journal |vauthors=Craig WJ, Mangels AR |title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets |journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=1266–82 |date=July 2009 |pmid=19562864 |doi=10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027 |s2cid=7906168 |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954 |access-date=May 23, 2021 |archive-date=April 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419062508/https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Vegetarian diets offer lower levels of [[saturated fat]], [[cholesterol]] and animal protein, and higher levels of carbohydrates, [[Dietary fiber|fibre]], [[magnesium]], [[potassium]], [[folate]], [[vitamin]]s [[vitamin C|C]] and [[vitamin E|E]], and [[phytochemical]]s.<ref name=ada-09/><ref name="pmid19321569">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fraser GE | title = Vegetarian diets: what do we know of their effects on common chronic diseases? | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 89 | issue = 5 | pages = 1607S–1612S | year = 2009 | pmid = 19321569 | pmc = 2677008 | doi = 10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736K }}</ref>

=== Bones ===
Studies have shown that a (non-lacto) vegetarian diet may increase the risk of calcium deficiency and low [[bone mineral density]].<ref name="Li 2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Li|first1=Jianfeng |last2=Zhou|first2=Ruiyun|last3=Huang|first3=Wei|last4=Wang|first4=Jianjun |date=2020|title=Bone loss, low height, and low weight in different populations and district: a meta-analysis between vegans and non-vegans|pmid=33061885 |journal=Food and Nutrition Research|volume=64|doi=10.29219/fnr.v64.3315|issn=1654-661X|pmc=7534950}}</ref> A 2019 review found that vegetarians have lower bone mineral density at the [[femur|femoral neck]] and [[Lumbar vertebrae|lumbar spine]] compared to omnivores.<ref name="Iguacel 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Iguacel |first1=Isabel |last2=Miguel-Berges |first2=María L |last3=Gómez-Bruton |first3=Alejandro |last4=Moreno |first4=Luis A |last5=Julián |first5=Cristina |title=Veganism, vegetarianism, bone mineral density, and fracture risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Nutrition Reviews |date=January 2019 |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1093/nutrit/nuy045 |pmid=30376075 |s2cid=53111636 |url=http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/84310 |doi-access=free |access-date=August 26, 2020 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026160333/http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/84310 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2020 meta-analysis found that infants fed a lacto-vegetarian diet exhibited normal growth and development.<ref name="Li 2020"/> A 2021 review found no differences in growth between vegetarian and meat-eating children.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Comité Nacional de Crecimiento y Desarrollo|date=August 2021|title=Growth in children and in the offspring whose mothers adhere to vegetarian diets: Literature review|journal=Archivos Argentinos de Pediatria|volume=119|issue=4|pages=S77–S106|doi=10.5546/aap.2021.S77|issn=1668-3501|pmid=34309323|s2cid=242376642 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Diabetes ===
Vegetarian diets are under preliminary research for their potential to help people with [[type 2 diabetes]].<ref name=ada-09/><ref name=pap>{{cite journal |vauthors=Papamichou D, Panagiotakos DB, Itsiopoulos C |title=Dietary patterns and management of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials |journal=Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=531–543 |date=June 2019 |pmid=30952576 |doi=10.1016/j.numecd.2019.02.004 |s2cid=86497236 |type=Systematic Review}}</ref><ref name="Vig">{{cite journal|display-authors=3 | last1=Viguiliouk | first1=Effie | last2=Kendall | first2=Cyril WC. | last3=Kahleová | first3=Hana | last4=Rahelić | first4=Dario | last5=Salas-Salvadó | first5=Jordi | last6=Choo | first6=Vivian L. | last7=Mejia | first7=Sonia Blanco | last8=Stewart | first8=Sarah E. | last9=Leiter | first9=Lawrence A. | last10=Jenkins | first10=David JA. | last11=Sievenpiper | first11=John L. | title=Effect of vegetarian dietary patterns on cardiometabolic risk factors in diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials | journal=Clinical Nutrition | volume=38 | issue=3 | year=2019 | issn=0261-5614 | pmid=29960809 | doi=10.1016/j.clnu.2018.05.032 | pages=1133–1145| s2cid=49649078 }}</ref>

=== Cardiovascular system ===
Meta-analyses have reported a reduced risk of death from [[ischemic heart disease]] and from [[cerebrovascular disease]] among vegetarians.<ref name=nutsoc>{{cite journal | last1=Zampelas | first1=Antonis | last2=Magriplis | first2=Emmanuella | title=Dietary patterns and risk of cardiovascular diseases: a review of the evidence | journal=The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society | volume=79 | issue=1 | date=2019-06-28 | issn=0029-6651 | pmid=31250769 | doi=10.1017/s0029665119000946 | pages=68–75| s2cid=195757764 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Mental health===
Reviews of vegan and vegetarian diets showed a possible association with [[depression (mood)|depression]] and [[anxiety]], particularly among people under 26 years old.<ref name="iguacel">{{cite journal |last1=Iguacel |first1=Isabel |last2=Huybrechts |first2=Inge |last3=Moreno |first3=Luis A. |last4=Michels |first4=Nathalie |title=Vegetarianism and veganism compared with mental health and cognitive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Nutrition Reviews| date=June 1, 2020 |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=361–381 |issn=0029-6643 |doi=10.1093/nutrit/nuaa030 |pmid=32483598|hdl=1854/LU-8680862 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ocklenburg|first1=Sebastian |last2=Borawski|first2=Jette|date=2021-11-01|title=Vegetarian diet and depression scores: A meta-analysis |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032721007771|journal=Journal of Affective Disorders|volume=294|pages=813–815|doi=10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.098|pmid=34375207|issn=0165-0327|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Another review found no significant associations between a vegetarian diet and depression or anxiety.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Askari, Mohammadreza |author2=Daneshzad, Elnaz |author3=Mofrad, Manije Darooghegi |author4=Bellissimo, Nick |author5=Suitor, Katherine |author6=Azadbakht, Leila|year=2020|title=Vegetarian diet and the risk of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies|journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition|volume=4|issue=1|pages=261–271|doi=10.1080/10408398.2020.1814991|pmid=32885996|s2cid=221497075}}</ref>

===Eating disorders===
The [[American Dietetic Association]] discussed that vegetarian diets may be more common among adolescents with [[eating disorder]]s, indicating that vegetarian diets do not cause eating disorders, but rather "vegetarian diets may be selected to camouflage an existing eating disorder".<ref name="adajournal"><!-- The URL in this citation is problematic, as it is updated every year or so, but it provides the most recent full text whereas a link to the ADA journal site does not. -->{{cite journal |vauthors=Craig WJ, Mangels AR |title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets |journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=1266–1282 |year=2009 |pmid=19562864 |doi=10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027 |s2cid=7906168 |url=https://www.andeal.org/vault/2440/web/JADA_VEG.pdf |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206001616/https://www.andeal.org/vault/2440/web/JADA_VEG.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Mortality risk===
A 2012 study found a reduced risk in [[Mortality rate|all-cause mortality]] in vegetarians.<ref>{{Cite journal|display-authors=3| last1=Huang|first1=Tao|last2=Yang|first2=Bin|last3=Zheng|first3=Jusheng|last4=Li|first4=Guipu|last5=Wahlqvist|first5=Mark L.|last6=Li|first6=Duo|date=2012|title=Cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence in vegetarians: a meta-analysis and systematic review|journal=Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism |volume=60|issue=4|pages=233–240 |doi=10.1159/000337301|issn=1421-9697|pmid=22677895|s2cid=3671512|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2017 review found a lower mortality (−25%) from ischemic heart disease.<ref name="Dinu">{{cite journal | last1=Dinu | first1=Monica | last2=Abbate | first2=Rosanna | last3=Gensini | first3=Gian Franco | last4=Casini | first4=Alessandro | last5=Sofi | first5=Francesco | title=Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies | journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition| volume=57 | issue=17 | date=June 13, 2017 | issn=1040-8398 | doi=10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447 | pages=3640–3649|pmid=26853923| bibcode=2017CRFSN..57.3640D | hdl=2158/1079985 | s2cid=10073754 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>

==Diet composition and nutrition==
{{Main|Vegetarian nutrition|vegan nutrition}}
Western vegetarian diets are typically high in [[carotenoid]]s, but relatively low in [[omega-3 fatty acid]]s and [[vitamin B12|vitamin B<sub>12</sub>]].<ref name=Key2006>{{cite journal |vauthors=Key TJ, Appleby PN, Rosell MS | title = Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets | journal = Proceedings of the Nutrition Society | volume = 65 | issue = 1 | pages = 35–41 | year = 2006 | pmid = 16441942 | doi = 10.1079/PNS2005481 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.486.6411 | s2cid = 3796770 }}</ref> Vegans can have particularly low intake of [[vitamin B]] and [[calcium]] if they do not eat enough items such as [[collard greens]], [[Leaf vegetable|leafy greens]], [[tempeh]] and [[tofu]] (soy).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Craig|first=W. J.|date=2009|title=Health effects of vegan diets|journal=American Journal of Clinical Nutrition|volume=89 | issue = 5 |pages=1627S–33S|doi=10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736n|pmid=19279075|doi-access=free}}</ref> High levels of dietary fiber, [[folic acid]], vitamins C and E, and magnesium, and low consumption of saturated fat are all considered to be beneficial aspects of a vegetarian diet.<ref name=Davey>{{cite journal |vauthors=Davey GK, Spencer EA, Appleby PN, Allen NE, Knox KH, Key TJ | title = EPIC-Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33 883 meat-eaters and 31 546 non meat-eaters in the UK | journal = Public Health Nutrition | volume = 6 | issue = 3 | pages = 259–69 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12740075 | doi = 10.1079/PHN2002430 | doi-access = free }}</ref> A well planned vegetarian diet will provide all nutrients in a meat-eater's diet to the same level for all stages of life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Vegetarian_and_vegan_eating |title=Vegetarian and vegan eating &#124; Better Health Channel |work=Better Health Channel |publisher=Betterhealth.vic.gov.au |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402113541/http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Vegetarian_and_vegan_eating |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref>

===Protein===
Protein intake in vegetarian diets tends to be lower than in meat diets but can meet the daily requirements for most people.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Peter Emery| first = Tom Sanders| title = Molecular Basis of Human Nutrition| publisher = Taylor & Francis Ltd|year=2002| page = 32| isbn = 978-0-7484-0753-8}}</ref> Studies at [[Harvard University]] as well as other studies conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, [[New Zealand]], and various European countries, confirmed that vegetarian diets provide sufficient protein intake as long as a variety of plant sources are available and consumed.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Brenda Davis| first = Vesanto Melina| title = The New Becoming Vegetarian| publisher = Book Publishing Company|year=2003| pages = 57–58| isbn = 978-1-57067-144-9}}</ref>

===Iron===
Vegetarian diets typically contain similar levels of iron to non-vegetarian diets, but this has lower [[bioavailability]] than iron from meat sources, and its absorption can sometimes be inhibited by other dietary constituents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=782 |title=Vegetarian Society - Factsheet - Iron |publisher=Vegsoc.org |date=September 22, 2014 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429230632/http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=782 |archive-date=April 29, 2013 }}</ref> According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, consuming food that contains vitamin C, such as citrus fruit or juices, tomatoes, or broccoli, is a good way to increase the amount of iron absorbed at a meal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/nutshell.htm#iron |title=Vegetarianism in a Nutshell |publisher=Vrg.org |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626122237/http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/nutshell.htm#iron |url-status=live }}</ref> Vegetarian foods rich in iron include [[black turtle bean|black beans]], [[cashew]]s, [[hempseed]], [[kidney bean]]s, [[broccoli]], [[lentil]]s, [[oatmeal]], [[raisin]]s, [[jaggery]], [[spinach]], [[cabbage]], lettuce, [[black-eyed pea]]s, [[soybean]]s, many [[breakfast cereal]]s, [[sunflower seed]]s, [[chickpea]]s, [[tomato juice]], [[tempeh]], [[molasses]], [[thyme]], and [[whole-wheat bread]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://goveg.com/essential_nutrients.asp#iron |title=// Health Issues // Optimal Vegan Nutrition |publisher=Goveg.com |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404064615/http://www.goveg.com/essential_nutrients.asp#iron |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2023}} The related vegan diets can often be higher in iron than vegetarian diets, because dairy products are low in iron.<ref name=Davey/> Iron stores often tend to be lower in vegetarians than non-vegetarians, and a few small studies report very high rates of iron deficiency (up to 40%,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Waldmann A, Koschizke JW, Leitzmann C, Hahn A | title = Dietary Iron Intake and Iron Status of German Female Vegans: Results of the German Vegan Study | journal = Ann Nutr Metab | volume = 48 | issue = 2 | pages = 103–108 | year = 2004 | pmid = 14988640 | doi = 10.1159/000077045 | s2cid = 21370991 | url = http://www.repo.uni-hannover.de/handle/123456789/2754 | access-date = September 3, 2018 | archive-date = November 16, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181116213523/https://www.repo.uni-hannover.de/handle/123456789/2754 | url-status = live }}</ref> and 58%<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Krajcovicová-Kudlácková M, Simoncic R, Béderová A, Grancicová E, Magálová T | title = Influence of vegetarian and mixed nutrition on selected haematological and biochemical parameters in children | journal = Nahrung | volume = 41 | issue = 5 | pages = 311–14 | year = 1997 | pmid = 9399258 | doi = 10.1002/food.19970410513 }}</ref> of the respective vegetarian or vegan groups). However, the [[American Dietetic Association]] states that iron deficiency is no more common in vegetarians than non-vegetarians (adult males are rarely iron deficient); iron deficiency [[Anemia|anaemia]] is rare no matter the diet.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Craig WJ, Mangels AR | title = Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets | journal = Journal of the American Dietetic Association | volume = 109 | issue = 7 | pages = 1266–82 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19562864 | doi = 10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027 | s2cid = 7906168 | url = https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954 | access-date = May 23, 2021 | archive-date = April 19, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210419062508/https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Vitamin B<sub>12</sub>===
[[Vitamin B12|Vitamin B<sub>12</sub>]] is not generally present in plants but is naturally found in foods of animal origin.<ref name="lpi">{{cite web|date=June 4, 2015|title=Vitamin B12|publisher=Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR|url=https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-B12|access-date=April 30, 2019|archive-date=November 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117190259/https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-B12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ODS_B12">{{cite web |url=https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Vitaminb12-HealthProfessional/ |title=Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B<sub>12</sub> |access-date=November 13, 2009 |publisher=US National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements |archive-date=November 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125222656/http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminB12.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism|Lacto-ovo vegetarians]] can obtain B<sub>12</sub> from [[dairy product]]s and eggs, and vegans can obtain it from manufactured [[Food fortification|fortified food]]s (including [[plant-based diet|plant-based]] products and [[breakfast cereal]]s) and dietary supplements.<ref name=lpi/><ref name="Vegan Society B12 factsheet">{{cite web|title=What Every Vegan Should Know About Vitamin B12|publisher=Vegan Society|date=October 31, 2001|url=http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/nutrition/b12.aspx|access-date=October 27, 2010|archive-date=December 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220140454/http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/nutrition/b12.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b/ |title=Vitamins and minerals - B vitamins and folic acid |publisher=UK National Health Service |date=March 3, 2017 |access-date=April 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121090421/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A strict vegan diet avoiding consumption of all animal products risks vitamin B<sub>12</sub> deficiency, which can lead to [[hyperhomocysteinemia]], a risk factor for several health disorders, including [[anemia]], [[neurological deficit]]s, [[gastrointestinal]] problems, [[platelet]] disorders, and increased risk for [[cardiovascular diseases]].<ref name=lpi/><ref name="Obersby">{{cite journal|last1=Obersby|first1=Derek|last2=Chappell|first2=David C.|last3=Dunnett|first3=Andrew|last4=Tsiami|first4=Amalia A.|date=January 8, 2013|title=Plasma total homocysteine status of vegetarians compared with omnivores: a systematic review and meta-analysis|journal=British Journal of Nutrition|volume=109|issue=5|pages=785–794|doi=10.1017/s000711451200520x|issn=0007-1145|pmid=23298782|doi-access=free|url=https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/928/1/Plasma%20total%20homocysteine%20status%20of%20vegetarians%20compared%20with%20omnivores.pdf|access-date=March 18, 2020|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025103512/https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/928/1/Plasma%20total%20homocysteine%20status%20of%20vegetarians%20compared%20with%20omnivores.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Dietary Reference Intake|recommended daily dietary intake]] of B<sub>12</sub> in the United States and Canada is 0.4 [[microgram|mcg]] (ages 0–6 months), rising to 1.8 mcg (9–13 years), 2.4 mcg (14+ years), and 2.8 mcg (lactating female).<ref name="ODS_B12"/> While the body's daily requirement for vitamin B<sub>12</sub> is in [[microgram]] amounts, deficiency of the vitamin through strict practice of a vegetarian diet without supplementation can increase the risk of several chronic diseases.<ref name=lpi/><ref name=Obersby/><ref name="ODS_B12"/>

===Fatty acids===
Plant-based, or vegetarian, sources of [[Omega 3]] fatty acids include [[soy]], [[walnut]]s, pumpkin seeds, [[canola oil]], [[kiwifruit]], [[hempseed]], [[algae]], [[chia seed]], [[flaxseed]], echium seed and [[Leaf vegetable|leafy vegetables]] such as lettuce, [[spinach]], [[cabbage]] and [[portulaca oleracea|purslane]]. Purslane contains more Omega 3 than any other known leafy green. [[Olive]]s (and [[olive oil]]) are another important plant source of unsaturated fatty acids. Plant foods can provide [[alpha-linolenic acid]] which the human body uses to synthesize the long-chain n-3 fatty acids [[Eicosapentaenoic acid|EPA]] and [[Docosahexaenoic acid|DHA]]. EPA and DHA can be obtained directly in high amounts from oily fish, fish oil, or algae oil. Vegetarians, and particularly vegans, have lower levels of EPA and DHA than meat-eaters. While the health effects of low levels of EPA and DHA are unknown, it is unlikely that supplementation with alpha-linolenic acid will significantly increase levels.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rosell MS, Lloyd-Wright Z, Appleby PN, Sanders TA, Allen NE, Key TJ | title = Long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in plasma in British meat-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men | journal = Am J Clin Nutr | volume = 82 | issue = 2 | pages = 327–34 | year = 2003 | pmid = 16087975 | doi = 10.1093/ajcn.82.2.327 | doi-access = free }}</ref>{{Clarify|date=May 2011}}. Significantly, for vegetarians, certain [[algae]] such as [[spirulina (dietary supplement)|spirulina]] are good sources of [[gamma-linolenic acid]] (GLA), [[alpha-linolenic acid]] (ALA), [[linoleic acid]] (LA), [[stearidonic acid]] (SDA), [[eicosapentaenoic acid]] (EPA), [[docosahexaenoic acid]] (DHA), and [[arachidonic acid]] (AA).<ref name="uzbek">{{cite journal |author1=Babadzhanov A |author2=Abdusamatova N |author3=Yusupova F |author4=Faizullaeva N |author5=Mezhlumyan LG |author6=Malikova MKh | title = Chemical Composition of Spirulina platensis Cultivated in Uzbekistan | journal = Chemistry of Natural Compounds | volume = 40 | issue = 3 | pages = 276–279 | year = 2004 | doi = 10.1023/B:CONC.0000039141.98247.e8|bibcode=2004CNatC..40..276B |s2cid=23130198 }}</ref><ref name="biomass">{{cite journal |vauthors=Tokuşoglu Ö, Uunal MK | title = Biomass Nutrient Profiles of Three Microalgae: Spirulina platensis, Chlorella vulgaris, and Isochrisis galena | journal=Journal of Food Science | volume = 68 | issue = 4 | pages = 1144–1148 | year = 2003 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2003.tb09615.x }}</ref>

===Calcium===
[[Calcium]] intake in vegetarians and vegans can be similar to non-vegetarians, as long as the diet is properly planned.<ref name="Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics">{{cite web|title=Meeting Calcium Recommendations on a Vegan Diet|url=http://vegetariannutrition.net/docs/Calcium-Vegetarian-Nutrition.pdf|publisher=Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics|access-date=April 29, 2014|archive-date=April 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429045652/http://vegetariannutrition.net/docs/Calcium-Vegetarian-Nutrition.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Lacto-ovo vegetarians that include dairy products can still obtain calcium from dairy sources like milk, yogurt, and cheese.<ref name="Calcium Fact Sheet">{{cite web|title=Calcium Fact Sheet|url=https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/|access-date=April 29, 2014|archive-date=April 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429075612/http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Non-dairy milks that are fortified with calcium, such as soymilk and [[almond milk]] can also contribute a significant amount of calcium in the diet.<ref name="Mangels">{{cite web|last=Mangels|first=Reed|title=Calcium in the Vegan Diet|url=http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.php|access-date=April 29, 2014|archive-date=May 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530003649/http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.php|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Broccoli]], [[Chinese cabbage|bok choy]], and [[kale]] have also been found to have calcium that is well absorbed in the body.<ref name="Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics"/><ref name="Calcium Fact Sheet"/><ref name="Overview of Calcium">{{cite report|author=((Institute of Medicine (US) Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium))|veditors=Ross AC, Taylor CL, Yaktine AL, et al.|title=Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D|series=Vol. 2, Overview of Calcium|place=Washington, DC|publisher=National Academies Press|year=2011|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56060/?report=reader|access-date=April 29, 2014|archive-date=September 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904031151/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56060/?report=reader|url-status=live}}</ref> Though the calcium content per serving is lower in these vegetables than a glass of milk, the absorption of the calcium into the body is higher.<ref name="Calcium Fact Sheet"/><ref name="Overview of Calcium"/> Other foods that contain calcium include calcium-set tofu, blackstrap molasses, [[Turnip|turnip greens]], mustard greens, soybeans, tempeh, almonds, okra, dried figs, and [[tahini]].<ref name="Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics"/><ref name="Mangels"/> Though calcium can be found in [[Spinach]], [[swiss chard]], [[bean]]s and [[Beet|beet greens]], they are generally not considered to be a good source since the calcium binds to oxalic acid and is poorly absorbed into the body.<ref name="Calcium Fact Sheet"/> Phytic acid found in nuts, seeds, and beans may also impact calcium absorption rates.<ref name="Calcium Fact Sheet"/> See the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements for calcium needs for various ages,<ref name="Calcium Fact Sheet"/> the Vegetarian Resource Group<ref name="Mangels"/> and the Vegetarian Nutrition Calcium Fact Sheet from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics<ref name="Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics"/> for more specifics on how to obtain adequate calcium intake on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

===Vitamin D===
{{Further|Vitamin D}}
Vitamin D needs can be met via the human body's own generation upon sufficient and sensible exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light in sunlight.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vitamin D is Synthesized From Cholesterol and Found in Cholesterol-Rich Foods|url=http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Vitamin-D.html|publisher=Cholesterol and Health|access-date=February 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817204329/http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Vitamin-D.html|archive-date=August 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Crissey SD, Ange KD, Jacobsen KL, Slifka KA, Bowen PE, Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis M, Langman CB, Sadler W, Kahn S, Ward A | title = Serum concentrations of lipids, vitamin D metabolites, retinol, retinyl esters, tocopherols and selected carotenoids in twelve captive wild felid species at four zoos | journal = The Journal of Nutrition | volume = 133 | issue = 1 | pages = 160–6 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12514284 | doi = 10.1093/jn/133.1.160 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Products including milk, [[soy milk]] and [[cereal grain]]s may be [[Food fortification|fortified]] to provide a source of vitamin D.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp|title=Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D|publisher=National Institutes of Health|access-date=September 10, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716065832/http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp |archive-date=July 16, 2007}}</ref> For those who do not get adequate sun exposure or food sources, vitamin D supplementation may be necessary.

====Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>====
* [[Plants]]
** [[Alfalfa]] (''Medicago sativa subsp. sativa''), shoot: 4.8 μg (192 IU) vitamin D<sub>2</sub>, 0.1 μg (4 IU) vitamin D<sub>3</sub><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=606|title=Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases|publisher=Sun.ars-grin.gov|access-date=March 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016051622/http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=606|archive-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref>
* [[Fungus]], from USDA nutrient database,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/index.html |title=USDA nutrient database&nbsp;– ''use the keyword 'portabella' and then click submit'' |access-date=March 9, 2012 |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222164135/http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/index.html }}</ref> per 100 g:
** Mushrooms, portabella, exposed to [[ultraviolet light]], raw: Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>: 11.2 μg (446 IU)
** Mushrooms, portabella, exposed to ultraviolet light, grilled: Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>: 13.1 μg (524 IU)
** Mushrooms, shiitake, dried: Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>: 3.9 μg (154 IU)
** Mushrooms, shiitake, raw: Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>: 0.4 μg (18 IU)
** Mushrooms, portabella, raw: Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>: 0.3 μg (10 IU)
** Mushroom powder, any species, illuminated with sunlight or artificial ultraviolet light sources

Vitamin D<sub>2</sub>, or [[ergocalciferol]] is found in fungus (except [[alfalfa]] which is a [[plantae]]) and created from [[viosterol]], which in turn is created when ultraviolet light activates [[ergosterol]] (which is found in fungi and named as a [[sterol]] from [[ergot]]). Any [[Ultraviolet light|UV]]-irradiated fungus including [[yeast]] form vitamin D<sub>2</sub>.<ref name=Bowerman>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-31-he-eat31-story.html |title=If mushrooms see the light |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 31, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2010 |first=Susan |last=Bowerman |archive-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904135924/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/31/health/he-eat31 |url-status=live }}</ref> Human bioavailability of vitamin D<sub>2</sub> from vitamin D<sub>2</sub>-enhanced button mushrooms via UV-B irradiation is effective in improving vitamin D status and not different from a vitamin D<sub>2</sub> supplement according to study.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Bioavailability of vitamin D2 from UV-B-irradiated button mushrooms in healthy adults deficient in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D: a randomized controlled trial|journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition|date=May 4, 2011|author1=P Urbain|author2=F Singler|author3=G Ihorst|author4=H-K Biesalski|author5=H Bertz|issue=8|pages= 965–971|doi= 10.1038/ejcn.2011.53|volume=65|pmid=21540874|doi-access=free}}</ref> For example, vitamin D<sub>2</sub> from UV-irradiated yeast baked into bread is bioavailable.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Bioavailability and Efficacy of Vitamin D 2 from UV-Irradiated Yeast in Growing, Vitamin D-Deficient Rats |date=May 24, 2012 |pmid=21332187 |doi=10.1021/jf104679c |volume=59 |issue=6 |pmc=3235799 |vauthors=Hohman EE, Martin BR, Lachcik PJ, Gordon DT, Fleet JC, Weaver CM |journal=J. Agric. Food Chem. |pages=2341–6}}</ref>
By visual assessment or using a chromometer, no significant discoloration of irradiated mushrooms, as measured by the degree of "whiteness", was observed<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Koyyalamudi SR, Jeong SC, Song CH, Cho KY, Pang G | title = Vitamin D<sub>2</sub> formation and bioavailability from Agaricus bisporus button mushrooms treated with ultraviolet irradiation | journal = Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | volume = 57 | issue = 8 | pages = 3351–5 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19281276 | doi = 10.1021/jf803908q | bibcode = 2009JAFC...57.3351K }}</ref> making it hard to discover if they have been treated without labeling. Claims have been made that a normal serving (approx. 3 oz or 1/2 cup, or 60 grams) of mushrooms treated with ultraviolet light increase their vitamin D content to levels up to 80 micrograms,<ref>{{cite web |author=Using Fresh Mushrooms as a Source of Vitamin D |url=http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/using-fresh-mushrooms-as-a-source-of-vitamin-d.html |title=Using Fresh Mushrooms as a Source of Vitamin D / Nutrition / Healthy Eating |publisher=Fitday.com |access-date=September 12, 2012 |archive-date=September 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923065357/http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/using-fresh-mushrooms-as-a-source-of-vitamin-d.html |url-status=live }}</ref> or 2700 IU if exposed to just 5 minutes of UV light after being harvested.<ref>{{Cite news|title =Bringing Mushrooms Out of the Dark|date =April 18, 2006|url =http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12370708|work =MSNBC|access-date =August 6, 2007|archive-date =November 1, 2007|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071101072649/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12370708}}</ref>

===Choline===
{{Main|Choline}}
[[Choline]] is a nutrient that helps transfer signals between nerve cells and is involved in liver function. It is highest in dairy foods and meat but it is possible to be obtained through a vegan diet.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parkinson|first=Caroline|date=August 30, 2019|title=The brain nutrient vegans need to know about|website=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49509504|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=May 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521124416/https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49509504|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Ethics and diet==

===General===
{{Main|Ethics of eating meat}}
With regard to the ethics of eating meat, scholars consider vegetarianism an [[ideology]] and a [[social movement]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Gorvett|first=Zaria|title=The hidden biases that drive anti-vegan hatred|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200203-the-hidden-biases-that-drive-anti-vegan-hatred|access-date=September 26, 2020|website=www.bbc.com|date=February 4, 2020 |archive-date=February 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209122636/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200203-the-hidden-biases-that-drive-anti-vegan-hatred|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Review of Adam D. Shprintzen's "The Vegetarian Crusade" |website=History News Network |date=November 11, 2013 |url=http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/153600 |access-date=September 26, 2020 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122035734/http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/153600 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ethical reasons for choosing vegetarianism vary and are usually predicated on the interests of [[non-human animals]]. In many societies, controversies and debates have arisen over the ethics of eating animals. Some people, while not vegetarians, refuse to eat the flesh of certain animals due to cultural [[taboo]], such as cats, dogs, horses or rabbits. Others support meat eating for scientific, nutritional and cultural reasons, including religious ones. Some meat eaters abstain from the meat of animals reared in particular ways, such as [[factory farms]], or avoid certain meats, such as [[veal]] or [[foie gras]]. Some people follow vegetarian or [[Veganism|vegan]] diets not because of moral concerns involving the raising or consumption of animals in general, but because of concerns about the specific treatment and practices involved in the processing of animals for food. Others still avoid meat out of concern that meat production places a greater burden on the environment than production of an equivalent amount of plant [[protein]].<ref>Searchinger, T.D., Wirsenius, S., Beringer, T. et al. Assessing the efficiency of changes in land use for mitigating climate change. Nature 564, 249–253 (2018). {{doi|10.1038/s41586-018-0757-z}}</ref> Ethical objections based on consideration for animals are generally divided into opposition to the act of killing in general, and opposition to certain [[Intensive farming|agricultural practices]] surrounding the [[animal husbandry|production]] of meat.

=== Ethics of killing for food ===
{{Main|Bioethics}}
Ethical vegetarians believe that killing an animal, like killing a human, especially one who has equal or lesser cognitive abilities than the animals in question, can only be justified in extreme circumstances and that consuming a living creature for its enjoyable taste, convenience, or [[nutrition]] value is not a sufficient cause.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Lindeman M., Väänänen M. | year = 2000 | title = Measurement of ethical food choice motives | journal = Appetite | volume = 34 | issue = 1| pages = 55–59 | doi = 10.1006/appe.1999.0293 | pmid = 10744892 | s2cid = 37406748 }}</ref> Another common view is that humans are morally conscious of their behavior in a way other animals are not, and therefore subject to higher standards.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Why the Naive Argument against Moral Vegetarianism Really is Naive|journal=Environmental Values|year=2001|pages=103–112|volume=10|issue=1|doi=10.3197/096327101129340769|author=David Benatar|bibcode=2001EnvV...10..103B }}</ref> [[Jeff McMahan (philosopher)|Jeff McMahan]] proposes that denying the right to life and humane treatment to animals with equal or greater cognitive abilities than mentally disabled humans is an arbitrary and discriminatory practice based on habit instead of logic.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McMahan|first1=Jeff|title=The Ethics of Killing|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Opponents of ethical vegetarianism argue that animals are not [[Moral equivalence|moral equals]] to humans and so consider the comparison of eating livestock with killing people to be fallacious. This view does not excuse cruelty, but maintains that animals do not possess the rights a human has.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/anim-eth/#SH2b |title=Animals and Ethics [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy&#93; |publisher=Iep.utm.edu |date=January 13, 2010 |access-date=September 12, 2012 |archive-date=July 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705222257/http://www.iep.utm.edu/anim-eth/#SH2b |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Dairy and eggs ===
One of the main differences between a [[vegan]] and a [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism|lacto-ovo vegetarian diet]] is the avoidance of both [[Egg as food|eggs]] and [[dairy product]]s such as milk, cheese, butter and yogurt. [[Veganism#Ethical veganism|Ethical vegans]] do not consume dairy or eggs because they state that their production causes the animal suffering or a premature death.<ref name=marcus>{{cite book|title=Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating|author=Erik Marcus|year=2000|publisher=McBooks Press, Incorporated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hHjqs43t8oC|isbn=978-1-59013-344-6|access-date=October 27, 2015|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220137/https://books.google.com/books?id=3hHjqs43t8oC|url-status=live}}</ref>

To produce milk from [[dairy cattle]], farmers separate calves from their mothers soon after birth to retain cow milk for human consumption.<ref name=milk>{{cite web|title=Dairy cows and welfare|author=Vegetarian Society|url=http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=556|access-date=October 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506181359/http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=556|archive-date=May 6, 2013}}</ref>

=== Treatment of animals ===
{{main|Animal rights}}
[[Ethical vegetarianism]] has become popular in developed countries particularly because of the spread of [[factory farming]] and environmental consciousness. Some believe that the current mass-demand for meat cannot be satisfied without a mass-production system that disregards the welfare of animals, while others believe that practices like well-managed [[free range|free-range]] farming or the consumption of [[game (hunting)|game]] (particularly from species whose natural predators have been significantly eliminated) could substantially alleviate consumer demand for mass-produced meat.<ref>
{{cite journal
| last1                 = Ruby
| first1                = Matthew B.
| title                 = Vegetarianism. A blossoming field of study
| journal = Appetite
| date      = 2012
| volume                = 58
| issue                 = 1
| pages                 = 141–150
| issn                  = 1095-8304
| doi                   = 10.1016/j.appet.2011.09.019
| pmid = 22001025
| s2cid = 30991920
}}
</ref>

==Religion and diet==
{{Main|Vegetarianism and religion}}
[[Jainism]] teaches vegetarianism as moral conduct, as do some<ref>{{cite web| author = Kochhal, M.| title = Vegetarianism: Jainism and vegetarianism (ahisma)| url = http://www.cs.wayne.edu/~manishk/vegetarianism.htm| date = October 2004| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720113316/http://www.cs.wayne.edu/~manishk/vegetarianism.htm| archive-date = July 20, 2011}}</ref> sects of [[Hinduism]]. Buddhism in general does not prohibit meat eating, but [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]] encourages vegetarianism as beneficial for developing compassion.<ref>Teachings on Love, Thich Nhat Hanh, Berkeley: [[Parallax Press]], 1998.</ref> Other denominations that advocate a vegetarian diet include the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]], the [[Rastafari movement]], the [[Ananda Marga]] movement and the [[Hare Krishnas]]. [[Sikhism]]<ref>''Junior Encyclopaedia of Sikhism'' (1985)l by H. S. Singha; p. 124 {{ISBN|0-7069-2844-X}} / 0-7069-2844-X</ref><!-- is this it? {{cite book|last=Singha|first=H. S.|title=Junior encyclopaedia of Sikhism|publisher=Vikas|year=1985|page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uD0vAAAAYAAJ|isbn=0-7069-2844-X}}--><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sgpc.net/sikhism/sikhism4.asp |title=Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee |publisher=Sgpc.net |access-date=August 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525060825/http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/sikhism4.asp |archive-date=May 25, 2009 }}</ref> does not equate spirituality with diet and does not specify a vegetarian or meat diet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sikhs.org/meat.htm |title=The Sikhism Home Page |publisher=Sikhs.org |date=February 15, 1980 |access-date=August 29, 2009 |archive-date=June 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607010055/http://www.sikhs.org/meat.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Baháʼí Faith===
While there are no dietary restrictions in the [[Baháʼí Faith]], [[`Abdu'l-Bahá]], the son of the religion's founder, noted that a vegetarian diet consisting of fruits and grains was desirable, except for people with a weak constitution or those that are sick.<ref name="PSmith">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title= Diet |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 978-1-85168-184-6 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/121 121–122] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/121 }}</ref> He stated that there are no requirements that Baháʼís become vegetarian, but that a future society should gradually become vegetarian.<ref name="PSmith"/><ref>{{cite book |author = Esslemont, J.E. |author-link = John Esslemont |year = 1980 |title = Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era |edition = 5th |publisher = Baháʼí Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA |isbn = 978-0-87743-160-2 |url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/o/BNE/bne-83.html.iso8859-1 |access-date = October 23, 2010 |archive-date = November 7, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181107103940/http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/o/BNE/bne-83.html.iso8859-1 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = `Abdu'l-Bahá |editor = MacNutt |author-link = `Abdu'l-Bahá |year = 1912 |publication-date = 1982 |title = The Promulgation of Universal Peace |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, US |isbn = 978-0-87743-172-5 |url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-60.html.iso8859-1 |access-date = October 23, 2010 |archive-date = April 26, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200426051144/https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-60.html.iso8859-1 |url-status = live }}</ref> `Abdu'l-Bahá also stated that killing animals was contrary to compassion.{{r|PSmith}} While [[Shoghi Effendi]], the head of the Bahá'í Faith in the first half of the 20th century, stated that a purely vegetarian diet would be preferable since it avoided killing animals,<ref>{{cite web|title = Writings Concerning Health, Healing, and Nutrition|url = http://bahai-library.com/compilation_health_healing_nutrition#III|access-date = May 25, 2009|author = Research Department, Universal House of Justice|archive-date = November 12, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030452/https://bahai-library.com/compilation_health_healing_nutrition#III|url-status = live}}</ref> both he and the [[Universal House of Justice]], the governing body of the Baháʼís have stated that these teachings do not constitute a Baháʼí practice and that Baháʼís can choose to eat whatever they wish but should be respectful of others' beliefs.{{r|PSmith}}

===Buddhism===
{{Main|Buddhist vegetarianism}}
[[File:Sign promoting vegetarianism at Key Monastery, Spiti, India.jpg|thumb|Sign promoting vegetarianism at [[Key Monastery]], [[Spiti]], India]]
Theravadins in general eat meat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd21.htm |title=Buddhist Studies: Vegetarianism |website=Buddhanet.net |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108124629/http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd21.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> If Buddhist monks "see, hear or know" a living animal was killed specifically for them to eat, they must refuse it or else incur an offense.<ref name=Gunasekara>{{cite web |author=V. A. Gunasekara |title=Buddhism and Vegetarianism, The Rationale for the Buddha's Views on the Consumption of Meat |website=Buddhanet.net |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebdha069.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007043230/http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebdha069.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2013}}</ref> However, this does not include eating meat which was given as alms or commercially purchased. In the Theravada canon, [[Shakyamuni Buddha]] did not make any comment discouraging them from eating meat (except specific types, such as human, [[elephant meat|elephant]], [[Horse meat|horse]], [[Dog meat|dog]], [[Snake meat|snake]], lion, tiger, leopard, [[Bear meat|bear]], and hyena flesh<ref>Mahavagga Pali – Bhesajjakkhandhaka – Vinaya Pitaka</ref>) but he specifically refused to institute vegetarianism in his monastic code when a suggestion had been made.{{efn|"The rule of vegetarianism was the fifth of a list of rules which Devadatta had proposed to the Buddha. Devadatta was the founder of the tapasa movement in Buddhism and his special rules involved ascetic and austere practices (forest-dwelling, wearing only rags, etc). The Buddha rejected all the proposed revisions of Devadatta, and it was in this context that he reiterated the tikoiparisuddha rule. (On this see the author's Western Buddhism and a Theravada heterodoxy, BSQ Tracts on Buddhism."<ref name=Gunasekara/>}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/meat.html |title=Buddhism and Eating Meat |publisher=Urbandharma.org |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=August 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815212610/http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/meat.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In several [[Sanskrit]] texts of [[Mahayana Buddhism]], Buddha instructs his followers to avoid meat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.serv-online.org/Eileen-Weintraub.htm |title=Life as a Vegetarian Tibetan Buddhist Practitioner |publisher=Serv-online.org |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=July 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730034051/http://www.serv-online.org/Eileen-Weintraub.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmqSoNsRSx8C |title=Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary - Google Books |date=November 1999 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |isbn=978-0-691-00948-3 |last1=Gyatso |first1=Janet |publisher=Princeton University Press |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220140/https://books.google.com/books?id=lmqSoNsRSx8C |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXAUkoM0esMC |title=The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin |date=June 3, 2014 |publisher=Shambhala |access-date=March 31, 2015 |isbn=978-1-55939-874-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tathagatagarbha Buddhism (18) |website=webspawner.com |url=http://www.webspawner.com/users/tathagatagarbha18/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105032808/http://www.webspawner.com/users/tathagatagarbha18/index.html |archive-date=November 5, 2013}}</ref> However, each branch of Mahayana Buddhism selects which sutra to follow, and some branches, including the majority of Tibetan and Japanese Buddhists, actually do eat meat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vegetarianism and Animal Ethics in Tibetan Buddhism |url=https://international.ucla.edu/apc/event/13526#:~:text=Vegetarianism%20lies%20at%20the%20center,allows%20monks%20to%20eat%20meat. |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=international.ucla.edu |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521000229/https://international.ucla.edu/apc/event/13526#:~:text=Vegetarianism%20lies%20at%20the%20center,allows%20monks%20to%20eat%20meat. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780824851774/pdf#page=265 |doi=10.1515/9780824851774 |title=Going Forth |isbn=978-0-8248-5177-4 |editor1-last=Bodiford |editor1-first=William M. |date=2017 }}</ref>

Meanwhile, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese Buddhism (in some sectors of [[East Asian Buddhism]]) monks and nuns are expected to abstain from meat, and traditionally, to abstain from eggs and dairy as well.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kieschnick |first=John |title=Buddhist Vegetarianism in China |date=2005 |work=Of Tripod and Palate: Food, Politics, and Religion in Traditional China |pages=186–212 |editor-last=Sterckx |editor-first=Roel |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |doi=10.1057/9781403979278_10 |isbn=978-1-4039-7927-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol |title=Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist teachings on abstaining from meat |date=2004 |publisher=Shambhala Publications |isbn=978-08-3482-410-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxJ8x9f8BNYC}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |author=Yujin Lee |title=The nutritional status of vegetarian Buddhist nuns compared to omnivorous women in South Korea |publisher=Justus-Liebig-University |place=Giessen, Germany |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56344913.pdf |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412012945/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56344913.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ho-Pham |first1=LT |last2=Nguyen |first2=PLT |last3=Le |first3=TTT |last4=Doan |first4=TAT |last5=Tran |first5=NT |last6=Le |first6=TA |last7=Nguyen |first7=TV |date=7 April 2009 |title=Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: a study in Buddhist nuns |journal=Osteoporosis International |volume=20 |issue=12 |pages=2087–2093 |doi=10.1007/s00198-009-0916-z |pmid=19350341 |s2cid=20305849 |issn=1433-2965}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Davidson |first=Jo Ann |year=2007 |title=World Religions and the Vegetarian Diet |magazine=Perspective Digest |volume=12 |issue=1 |at=Article 3 |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=pd |access-date=31 March 2022 |archive-date=July 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731124258/https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=pd |url-status=live }}</ref>

Different Buddhist traditions have differing teachings on diet, which may also vary for ordained monks and nuns compared to others. Many interpret the [[Five Precepts|precept]] "not to kill" to require abstinence from meat, but not all. In Taiwan, ''su'' vegetarianism excludes not only all animal products but also vegetables in the [[allium]] family (which have the characteristic aroma of onion and garlic): onion, garlic, scallions, leeks, chives, or shallots.

===Christianity===
{{Main|Christian vegetarianism}}

Various groups within Christianity have practiced specific dietary restrictions for various reasons.<ref name=Vatican>{{cite web|title=Code of Canon Law|publisher=vatican.va|access-date=July 28, 2013|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4O.HTM#37|archive-date=November 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129223503/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4O.HTM#37|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Council of Jerusalem]] in around 50 AD, recommended Christians keep following some of the Jewish food laws concerning meat. The early sect known as the [[Ebionites]] are considered to have practiced vegetarianism. Surviving fragments from their [[Gospel of the Ebionites#Vegetarianism|Gospel]] indicate their belief that – as Christ is the Passover sacrifice and eating the Passover lamb is no longer required – a vegetarian diet may (or should) be observed. However, orthodox Christianity does not accept their teaching as authentic. Indeed, their specific injunction to strict vegetarianism was cited as one of the Ebionites' "errors".<ref>Epiphanius, ''Panarion'', 30.22.4</ref><ref>Isidore of Seville, ''Etymologies'', VIII.v.36</ref>

At a much later time, the [[Bible Christian Church (vegetarian)|Bible Christian Church]] founded by Reverend [[William Cowherd]] in 1809 followed a vegetarian diet.<ref name=desc>{{cite web|url=http://www.ivu.org/history/thesis/bible-christian.html|title=The Bible Christian Church|publisher=International Vegetarian Union|access-date=January 23, 2012|archive-date=May 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505020050/http://www.ivu.org/history/thesis/bible-christian.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cowherd was one of the philosophical forerunners of the [[Vegetarian Society]].<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=827|title=History of Vegetarianism – Early Ideas|publisher=The Vegetarian Society|access-date=July 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716205137/http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=827|archive-date=July 16, 2012}}; Gregory, James (2007) ''Of Victorians and Vegetarians''. London: I. B. Tauris pp.&nbsp;30–35.</ref> Cowherd encouraged members to abstain from eating of meat as a form of [[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]].<ref name=oxford>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101006496/|title=William Cowherd (brief information)|publisher=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|access-date=July 8, 2008|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331022711/http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101006496/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]] are encouraged to engage in healthy eating practices, and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets are recommended by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Nutrition Council (GCNC). They have also sponsored and participated in many scientific studies exploring the impact of dietary decisions upon health outcomes.<ref name=sdada1>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdada.org/position.htm |title=Position Statement on Vegetarian Diet |publisher=Sdada.org |access-date=September 12, 2012 |archive-date=May 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529062331/http://sdada.org/position.htm}}</ref> The GCNC has in addition adapted the [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]]'s [[Food guide pyramid#USDA food pyramid|food pyramid]] for a vegetarian dietary approach.<ref name=sdada1/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Vegetarian Food Pyramid |url=http://www.sdada.org/Pyramid-Vegetarian-01.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513033958/http://www.sdada.org/Pyramid-Vegetarian-01.jpg|archive-date=May 13, 2013 }}</ref> However, the only kinds of meat specifically frowned upon by the SDA health message are [[unclean animals|unclean meats]], or those forbidden in scripture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdada.org/sdahealth.htm |title=The Seventh-day Adventist Health Message |publisher=Sdada.org |access-date=November 28, 2012 |archive-date=May 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513031730/http://www.sdada.org/sdahealth.htm}}</ref>

Additionally, some [[monastic orders]] follow a [[pescatarian]] diet, and members of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] follow a vegan diet during fasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_fasting.aspx |title=Living an Orthodox Life: Fasting |publisher=Orthodoxinfo.com |date=May 27, 1997 |access-date=February 3, 2010 |archive-date=September 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925050218/http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_fasting.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also a strong association between the [[Quakers]] and vegetarianism dating back at least to the 18th century. The association grew in prominence during the 19th century, coupled with growing Quaker concerns in connection with alcohol consumption, anti-vivisection and social purity. The association between the Quaker tradition and vegetarianism, however, becomes most significant with the founding of the Friends' Vegetarian Society in 1902 "to spread a kindlier way of living amongst the Society of Friends."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ivu.org/history/thesis/quakers.html |title=The Great War and the Interwar Period |publisher=ivu.org |access-date=August 14, 2009 |archive-date=February 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217224500/http://ivu.org/history/thesis/quakers.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Seventh-day Adventist====
[[File:San health food.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sanitarium Health Food Company|Sanitarium]] products for sale]]The [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] is well known for presenting a health message that recommends [[Christian vegetarianism|vegetarianism]] and expects adherence to the [[Kashrut|kosher]] laws in Leviticus 11. Obedience to these laws means abstinence from pork, shellfish, and other animals proscribed as "[[unclean animals|unclean]]". The church discourages its members from consuming [[alcoholic beverage]]s, [[tobacco]] or illegal drugs (compare [[Christianity and alcohol]]). In addition, some Adventists avoid [[coffee]], [[tea]], [[cola]], and other beverages containing [[caffeine]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The pioneers of the Adventist Church had much to do with the common acceptance of [[breakfast cereal]]s into the Western diet, and the "modern commercial concept of cereal food" originated among Adventists.<ref>{{cite web |title=breakfast cereal |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/78499/breakfast-cereal |website=Britannica.com |access-date=July 16, 2016 |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403134921/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/78499/breakfast-cereal |url-status=live }}<!-- need to replace this with a secondary (not tertiary) source, and remove the quotation--></ref> [[John Harvey Kellogg]] was one of the early founders of Adventist health work. His development of breakfast cereals as a health food led to the founding of [[Kellogg Company|Kellogg's]] by his brother [[William K. Kellogg|William]]. In both [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], the church-owned [[Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company]] is a leading manufacturer of health and vegetarian-related products, most prominently [[Weet-Bix]]. Kellogg encouraged his students [[Daniel H. Kress]] and [[Lauretta E. Kress]] to study medicine together at the [[University of Michigan Medical School]] and become public advocates of vegetarianism; together they published an important vegetarian cookbook and became early founders of what was later [[Washington Adventist Hospital]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kress |first1=Daniel |last2=Kress |first2=Loretta |title=Under the Guiding Hand: Life Experiences of the Doctors Kress |date=1932 |publisher=College Press |location=Washington, DC}}</ref>

Research funded by the U.S. [[National Institutes of Health]] has shown that the average Adventist in [[California]] lives 4 to 10 years longer than the average Californian. [[Adventist Health Studies|The research]], as cited by the cover story of the November 2005 issue of ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', asserts that Adventists live longer because they do not smoke or drink alcohol, have a day of rest every week, and maintain a healthy, low-fat vegetarian diet that is rich in nuts and beans.<ref>{{cite magazine
| url = http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=anh&an=18574682
| last = Buettner
| first = Dan
| title = The Secrets of Long Life
| magazine = [[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]
| date = November 16, 2005
| volume = 208
| issue = 5
| pages = 2–27
| issn = 0027-9358
| access-date = June 6, 2006
| archive-date = November 30, 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201130165751/http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=anh&an=18574682
| url-status = live
}} [http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/feature1/index.html Excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116202303/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/feature1/index.html |date=November 16, 2007 }}. See also ''National Geographic'', "[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/sights_n_sounds/index.html Sights & Sounds of Longevity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722215402/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/sights_n_sounds/index.html |date=July 22, 2016 }}"</ref> The cohesiveness of Adventists' social networks has also been put forward as an explanation for their extended lifespan.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Gina
| last = Kolata
| title = A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in School
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/health/03aging.html
| work = The New York Times
| date = January 3, 2007
| access-date = February 20, 2017
| archive-date = May 17, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170517110147/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/health/03aging.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
Since [[Dan Buettner]]'s 2005 ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' story about Adventist longevity, his book, ''The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest'', named [[Loma Linda, California]], a "[[Blue Zone|blue zone]]" because of the large concentration of Seventh-day Adventists. He cites the Adventist emphasis on health, diet, and Sabbath-keeping as primary factors for Adventist longevity.<ref>{{cite web|author=Elizabeth Lechleitner|date=May 27, 2008 |title=Researcher says California Adventists are America's 'Blue Zone'|website=Adventist News Network |url=http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1211899368/index.html.en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225110752/http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1211899368/index.html.en |archive-date=February 25, 2009}}</ref>

An estimated 35% of Adventists practice vegetarianism or [[veganism]], according to a 2002 worldwide survey of local church leaders.<ref>"[http://www.adventist.org/world_church/official_meetings/2002annualcouncil/strategic-issues-report.pdf Three Strategic Issues: A World Survey]". [[General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists]], 2002. See question 26, on page 14 etc. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202185642/http://www.adventist.org/world_church/official_meetings/2002annualcouncil/strategic-issues-report.pdf |date=December 2, 2008 }}</ref><ref>See also "The Myth of Vegetarianism" Keith Lockhart. ''Spectrum'' 34 (Winter 2006), p22–27</ref> North American Adventist health study recruitments from 2001 to 2007 found a similar prevalence of vegetarianism/veganism. A small majority of Adventists, 54%, were conventional meat-eaters. Of the remaining 46% it was found that 28% were [[Ovo vegetarianism|Ovo]]/[[Lacto vegetarianism|Lacto]]-[[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism|vegetarians]], 10% were [[Pescetarianism|Pesco-vegetarians]] and 8% were vegans. It is common for Adventists who choose to eat meat to also eat plant-based foods; 6% of the "meat-eaters" group restricted their intake of meat/fish to no more than once per week.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adventist Health Study-2 {{!}} Adventist Health Study|url=https://adventisthealthstudy.org/studies/AHS-2|access-date=January 5, 2021|website=adventisthealthstudy.org|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107145925/https://adventisthealthstudy.org/studies/AHS-2|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Hinduism===
{{Main|Diet in Hinduism}}
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Vegetarian Curry.jpeg
| image2            = The Complete Meal.jpg
| image3            = '8' A Thali, a traditional style of serving meal in India.jpg
| footer            = Illustrative of vegetarian Hindu meals
| footer_align      = center
}}
Though there is no strict rule on what to consume and what not to, the food habits of Hindus vary according to their specific caste and sub-caste, community, location, custom and varying traditions. Historically and currently, a majority of [[Hindus]] (about 70%) eat meat, while a large proportion of Hindus are vegetarian (about 30%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm |website=The Hindu |title=Sci Tech / Speaking Of Science: Changes in the Indian menu over the ages |date=October 21, 2004 |access-date=February 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826122930/http://www.hinduonnet.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm |archive-date=August 26, 2010 }}</ref>

Some sects of [[Hinduism]] such as [[Vaishnavism]] follow the purest form of vegetarianism as an ideal while [[Shaktism]] and [[Tantric hinduism|Tantric]] sects freely consume chicken, mutton (goat and sheep meat), fish and eggs. The reasons stated by [[Jains]] and [[Vaishnav]]as are: the principle of nonviolence (''[[ahimsa]]'') applied to animals;<ref>Tähtinen, Unto: ''Ahimsa. Non-Violence in Indian Tradition'', London 1976, p. 107–109.</ref> the intention to offer only "pure" (vegetarian) food to a deity and then to receive it back as ''[[prasada]]''; and the conviction that a [[sattvic diet|''sattvic'' diet]] is beneficial for a healthy body. A ''sattvic'' diet is [[Lacto vegetarianism|lacto-vegetarian]], which includes dairy, but excludes eggs.<ref>Paul Insel (2013), Discovering Nutrition, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, {{ISBN|978-1284021165}}, page 231</ref> An overwhelming majority of the Hindus consider the cow to be a holy and sacred animal whose [[Cattle slaughter in India|slaughter]] for meat is forbidden. Thus, [[beef]] is a taboo for the majority of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs<ref>{{cite news|title=The states where cow slaughter is legal in India|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-no-beef-nation/|work=The Indian Express|date=October 8, 2015|access-date=November 26, 2015|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125132322/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-no-beef-nation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Islam===
{{See also|Animals in Islam|Islamic dietary laws}}
Some followers of Islam, or Muslims, chose to be vegetarian for health, ethical, or personal reasons. However, the choice to become vegetarian for non-medical reasons can sometimes be controversial due to conflicting [[fatwas]] and differing interpretations of the [[Quran]]. Though some more traditional Muslims may keep quiet about their vegetarian diet, the number of vegetarian Muslims is increasing.<ref name="huffpostca">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/anila-muhammad/vegetarian-msulim_b_3124110.html|title=Vegetarian Muslim: Turning Away From a Meat-Based Diet|work=[[Huffington Post]]|access-date=June 14, 2016|archive-date=June 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614030807/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/anila-muhammad/vegetarian-msulim_b_3124110.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Muslims can't be vegetarian">{{cite web |url=http://ipaki.com/content/html/28/1203.html |title=Muslims can't be Vegetarian? : Islam: Dietery Law |publisher=Ipaki.com |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220035357/http://ipaki.com/content/html/28/1203.html }}</ref>

Sri Lankan Sufi master [[Bawa Muhaiyaddeen]], who established The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship of North America in Philadelphia.{{Clarification needed|date=January 2023}} The former [[President of India|Indian president]] Dr. [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]] was also famously a vegetarian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/apj-abdul-kalams-death-anniversary-10-lesser-known-facts-about-the-11th-president-of-india-2247985.html|title=APJ Abdul Kalam's Death Anniversary: 10 Lesser Known Facts About the 11th President of India|website=News18|date=July 27, 2019|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-date=February 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211233828/https://www.news18.com/news/india/apj-abdul-kalams-death-anniversary-10-lesser-known-facts-about-the-11th-president-of-india-2247985.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="kalam">{{cite web |url=http://www.lokpriya.com/personalities/scientists/kalam.html |title=lokpriya! |publisher=Lokpriya.com |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321042322/http://www.lokpriya.com/personalities/scientists/kalam.html |archive-date=March 21, 2015 }}</ref>

In January 1996, The International Vegetarian Union announced the formation of the Muslim Vegetarian/Vegan Society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ivu.org/news/1-96/muslim.html |title=IVU News – Islam and Vegetarianism |publisher=Ivu.org |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=May 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505120844/http://www.ivu.org/news/1-96/muslim.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many non-vegetarian Muslims will select vegetarian (or seafood) options when dining in non-[[halal]] restaurants. However, this is a matter of not having the right kind of meat rather than preferring not to eat meat on the whole.<ref name="Muslims can't be vegetarian"/>

===Jainism===
{{Main|Jain vegetarianism}}
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Jain Vegetarianism Illustration.jpg|thumb|The food choices of Jains are based on the value of [[Ahimsa|Ahimsa (non-violence)]].]]
Followers of [[Jainism]] believe that all living organisms, including microorganisms, are living and have a soul, and have one or more senses out of five senses. They go to great lengths to minimise any harm to any living organism. Most Jains are lacto-vegetarians, but more devout Jains do not eat root vegetables, because they believe that root vegetables contain many more microorganisms as compared to other vegetables, and that, by eating them, violence against these microorganisms is inevitable. They therefore prefer eating beans and fruits, whose cultivation involves killing fewer microorganisms. No products obtained from already-dead animals are allowed because of potential violence against decomposing microorganisms.<ref>[http://www.jainstudy.org/JSC6.02-Vegetarianism.htm "Vegetarianism Good For The Self And Good For The Environment"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101203447/http://www.jainstudy.org/JSC6.02-Vegetarianism.htm |date=January 1, 2016 }} at The Jain Study Circle</ref><ref>[http://www.vsc.org/spiritual.htm "Spiritual Traditions and Vegetarianism"] at the Vegetarian Society of Colorado website. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301215408/http://www.vsc.org/spiritual.htm |date=March 1, 2014 }}</ref> Some particularly dedicated individuals are [[fruitarianism|fruitarians]].<ref>Matthews, Warren: ''World Religions'', 4th edition, Belmont: [[Thomson/Wadsworth]] 2005, p. 180. {{ISBN|0-534-52762-0}}</ref> Honey is forbidden, being the regurgitation of nectar by bees<ref>{{cite web|author=Noah Lewis|title=Why honey is not vegan|website=vegetus.org|url=http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm|access-date=December 30, 2015|archive-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105235044/http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and potentially containing eggs, excreta and dead bees. Many Jains do not consume plant parts that grow underground such as roots and bulbs, because the plants themselves and tiny animals may be killed when the plants are pulled up.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jainism Sect |website=JainUniversity.org |url=http://www.jainuniversity.org/jainism.aspx|archive-date=October 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002010300/http://www.jainuniversity.org/jainism.aspx}}</ref>

===Judaism===
{{Main|Jewish vegetarianism}}
While classical Jewish law neither requires nor prohibits the consumption of meat, Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding [[Jewish ethics#Treatment of animals|animal welfare]], [[Jewish ethics#Environmental ethics|environmental ethics]], moral character, and [[Jewish ethics#Health and self-respect|health]] as reasons for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.<ref>Mary L. Zamore, ed. The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic (New York, NY: CCAR Press, 2011).</ref>

Rabbis may advocate vegetarianism or veganism primarily because of concerns about animal welfare, especially in light of the traditional prohibition on causing unnecessary "pain to living creatures" ([[Tza'ar ba'alei chayim|tza'ar ba'alei hayyim]]).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPOODwAAQBAJ|title=Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and New Directions|last1=Labendz|first1=Jacob Ari|last2=Yanklowitz|first2=Shmuly|date=March 25, 2019|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-7361-1|access-date=November 27, 2019|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220129/https://books.google.com/books?id=KPOODwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Rabbis and Vegetarianism: An Evolving Tradition|last=Kalechofsky|first=Roberta|publisher=Micah Publications|year=1995}}</ref> Some Jewish vegetarian groups and activists believe that the [[halakha|halakhic]] permission to eat meat is a temporary leniency for those who are not ready yet to accept the vegetarian diet.<ref>{{cite web |title=Judaism & Vegetarianism |publisher=Jewishveg.com |url=http://www.jewishveg.com/torah.html |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902154013/http://www.jewishveg.com/torah.html |archive-date=September 2, 2009 }}</ref>

The [[book of Daniel]] starts in its first chapter with the benefits of vegetarianism.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et3401.htm | title=Daniel 1 / Hebrew Bible in English / Mechon-Mamre }}</ref> Due to its size, its late time of origin and its revealing content, the book is of particular importance for the time of the following exile, which lasts now for 2000 years and technically still goes on until the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. A diet described as "pulse and water" is presented along benefits such as accordance with the biblical dietary laws, health, beauty, wisdom and vision. Vegetarianism can be seen as a safeguard around the dietary laws or the beautification of them.

Jewish vegetarianism and veganism have become especially popular among [[Israeli Jews]]. In 2016, Israel was described as "the most vegan country on Earth", as five percent of its population eschewed all animal products.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thetower.org/article/how-israel-became-the-global-center-of-veganism/|title=How Israel Became the Global Center of Veganism|work=The Tower|access-date=May 23, 2018|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223220922/http://www.thetower.org/article/how-israel-became-the-global-center-of-veganism/|url-status=live}}</ref> Interest in veganism has grown among both non-Orthodox and Orthodox Jews in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/197361/life-after-brisket|title=The Rise of Israel's Orthodox Vegan Movement|website=Tablet Magazine|access-date=May 23, 2018|date=February 16, 2016|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509192452/https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/197361/life-after-brisket|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Rastafari===
Within the Afro-Caribbean community, a minority are [[Rastafari movement|Rastafari]] and follow the dietary regulations with varying degrees of strictness. The most orthodox eat only "[[Ital]]" or natural foods, in which the matching of herbs or spices with vegetables is the result of long tradition originating from the African ancestry and cultural heritage of Rastafari.<ref>Osborne, L (1980), ''The Rasta Cookbook'', 3rd ed. Mac Donald, London.</ref> "Ital", which is derived from the word vital, means essential to human existence. Ital cooking in its strictest form prohibits the use of salt, meat (especially pork), preservatives, colorings, flavorings and anything artificial.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ital Cooking|url=http://eatjamaican.com/ital-recipes/rastafarian-cooking.html|publisher=Eat Jamaican|access-date=March 31, 2015|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807190919/https://www.eatjamaican.com/ital-recipes/rastafarian-cooking.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Most Rastafari are vegetarian.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors=Kebede A, Knotternus D |title=Beyond the pales of babylon: the ideational components and social psychological foundations of rastafari |journal=Sociological Perspectives |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=499–517 |year=1998 |doi=10.2307/1389561 |jstor=1389561 |s2cid=147000068|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Sikhism===
{{Main|Diet in Sikhism}}
[[File:Langar.jpg|thumb|At the Sikh [[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]], all people eat a vegetarian meal as equals.]]
The tenets of [[Sikhism]] do not advocate a particular stance on either vegetarianism or the consumption of meat,<ref name = "SHP">{{cite web |url=http://www.sikhs.org/meat_au.htm |title=Sikhism Religion of the Sikh People |publisher=Sikhs.org |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=December 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228061910/http://www.sikhs.org/meat_au.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>I.J. Singh, ''Sikhs and Sikhism'', Manohar, Delhi {{ISBN|978-81-7304-058-0}}: "Throughout Sikh history, there have been movements or subsects of Sikhism which have espoused vegetarianism. I think there is no basis for such dogma or practice in Sikhism."</ref><ref>Surindar Singh Kohli, ''Guru Granth Sahib, An Analytical Study'', Singh Bros. Amritsar {{ISBN|81-7205-060-7}}: "The ideas of devotion and service in Vaishnavism have been accepted by Adi Granth, but the insistence of Vaishnavas on vegetarian diet has been rejected."</ref><ref name="hsp">Gopal Singh, ''History of the Sikh People'', World Sikh Univ. Press, Delhi, {{ISBN|978-81-7023-139-4}}: "Nowadays in the Community Kitchen attached to the Sikh temples, and called the Guru's Kitchen (or ''Guru-ka-langar''), meat dishes are not served at all. Maybe it is on account of its being, perhaps, expensive or not easy to keep for long. Or perhaps the Vaishnava tradition is too strong to be shaken off."</ref> but leave the decision of diet to the individual.<ref name="fool">Randip Singh, ''[http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/8828-fools-who-wrangle-over-flesh.html Fools Who Wrangle Over Flesh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626010926/http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/8828-fools-who-wrangle-over-flesh.html |date=June 26, 2010 }}'', Sikh Philosophy Network, December 7, 2006. Retrieved January 15, 2010.</ref> The tenth guru, [[Guru Gobind Singh]], however, prohibited "Amritdhari" Sikhs, or those that follow the [[Sikh Rehat Maryada]] (the Official Sikh Code of Conduct)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/sikh-dharma-manual.html |title=Sikh Reht Maryada, The Definition of Sikh, Sikh Conduct & Conventions, Sikh Religion Living, India |publisher=sgpc.net |access-date=August 29, 2009 |archive-date=August 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820234942/http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/sikh-dharma-manual.html}}</ref> from eating [[Kutha meat]], or meat which has been obtained from animals which have been killed in a ritualistic way. This is understood to have been for the political reason of maintaining independence from the then-new Muslim hegemony, as Muslims largely adhere to the ritualistic [[halal]] diet.{{r|SHP|fool}}

"Amritdharis" that belong to some Sikh sects (e.g. [[Akhand Kirtani Jatha]], [[Damdami Taksal]], [[Namdhari]]<ref>Jane Srivastava, "[http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1541 Vegetarianism and Meat-Eating in 8 Religions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614225808/http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1541 |date=June 14, 2011 }}", ''[[Hinduism Today]]'', Spring 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2010.</ref> and Rarionwalay,<ref>Gyani Sher Singh, ''Philosophy of Sikhism'', Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar: "As a true Vaisnavite, Kabir remained a strict vegetarian. Kabir, far from defying Brahmanical tradition as to the eating of meat, would not permit so much as the plucking of a flower (G.G.S. p. 479), whereas Nanak deemed all such scruples to be superstitions."</ref> etc.) are vehemently against the consumption of meat and eggs (though they do consume and encourage the consumption of milk, butter and cheese).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sikhwomen.com/Community/Volunteer/langar.htm |title=Volunteer. Guru Ka Langar. Mata Khivi Made Langar a Reality |publisher=Sikhwomen.com |date=March 6, 2005 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=May 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502042059/http://www.sikhwomen.com/Community/Volunteer/langar.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> This vegetarian stance has been traced back to the times of the [[British Raj]], with the advent of many new [[Vaishnava]] converts.<ref name="fool"/> In response to the varying views on diet throughout the Sikh population, [[Sikh Gurus]] have sought to clarify the Sikh view on diet, stressing their preference only for simplicity of diet. [[Guru Nanak]] said that over-consumption of food ([[Lobh]], Greed) involves a drain on the Earth's resources and thus on life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sikhs.org/meat_gn.htm |title=Sikhism Home Page |publisher=Sikhs.org |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=June 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627192504/http://www.sikhs.org/meat_gn.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Prithi Pal |title=The History of Sikh Gurus|publisher=Lotus Press|location=New Delhi|year=2006|page=38|chapter=3 Guru Amar Das|isbn=978-81-8382-075-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhGkVkhUuqoC}}</ref> Passages from the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' (the holy book of Sikhs, also known as the ''Adi Granth'') say that it is "foolish" to argue for the superiority of animal life, because though all life is related, only human life carries more importance: "Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. Who can define what is meat and what is not meat? Who knows where the sin lies, being a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian?"<ref name="fool"/> The Sikh [[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]], or free temple meal, is largely lacto-vegetarian, though this is understood to be a result of efforts to present a meal that is respectful of the diets of any person who would wish to dine, rather than out of dogma.{{r|hsp|fool}}

==Environment and diet==
{{Main|Environmental vegetarianism}}
{{Further|Food vs. feed}}
Environmental vegetarianism is based on the concern that the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through [[factory farming]], is [[environmentalism|environmentally]] [[sustainable development|unsustainable]]. According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to [[environmental degradation]] worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contribute on a "massive scale" to air and water pollution, [[land degradation]], climate change, and [[Biodiversity loss|loss of biodiversity]]. The initiative concluded that "the livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM |title=Livestock's Long Shadow – Environmental issues and options |publisher=Fao.org |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726214204/http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition, animal agriculture is a large source of greenhouse gases. According to a 2006 report it is responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as estimated in 100-year CO<sub>2</sub> equivalents. Livestock sources (including enteric fermentation and manure) account for about 3.1 percent of US anthropogenic GHG emissions expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents.<ref>EPA. 2011. Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks: 1990–2009. United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 430-R-11-005. 459 pp.</ref> This EPA estimate is based on methodologies agreed to by the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC, with 100-year global warming potentials from the IPCC Second Assessment Report used in estimating GHG emissions as carbon dioxide equivalents.

Meat produced in a laboratory (called [[in vitro meat]]) may be more environmentally sustainable than regularly produced meat.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926635.600-comment-growing-m |title=Comment: Lab-grown meat could ease food shortage |last=Olsson |first=Anna |periodical=New Scientist |date=July 8, 2008 |access-date=November 17, 2008 |archive-date=December 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227154639/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926635.600-comment-growing-m |url-status=live }}</ref> Reactions of vegetarians vary.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17113214 |title=Could vegetarians eat a 'test tube' burger? - BBC News |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=February 23, 2012 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |work=BBC News |last1=Izundu |first1=Chi Chi |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403084652/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17113214 |url-status=live }}</ref> Rearing a relatively small number of grazing animals can be beneficial, as the Food Climate Research Network at Surrey University reports: "A little bit of livestock production is probably a good thing for the environment".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/nov/11/food.climatechange |title=Why eating less meat could cut global warming &#124; Environment |work=Guardian.co.uk |date=November 10, 2007 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626180221/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/nov/11/food.climatechange |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2009, [[Ghent]], Belgium, was reported to be "the first [city] in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week" for environmental reasons, when local authorities decided to implement a "weekly meatless day". Civil servants would eat vegetarian meals one day per week, in recognition of the United Nations' report. Posters were put up by local authorities to encourage the population to take part on vegetarian days, and "veggie street maps" were printed to highlight vegetarian restaurants. In September 2009, schools in Ghent are due to have a weekly ''veggiedag'' ("vegetarian day") too.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mason |first=Chris |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8046970.stm |title=Europe &#124; Belgian city plans 'veggie' days |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date=May 12, 2009 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=May 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523194537/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8046970.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Public opinion and acceptance of meat-free food is expected to be more successful if its descriptive words focus less on the health aspects and more on the flavor.<ref>{{Cite news|title=How To Get Meat Eaters To Eat More Plant-Based Foods? Make Their Mouths Water|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/02/10/692114918/how-to-get-meat-eaters-to-eat-more-plant-based-foods-make-their-mouths-water|website=NPR.org|access-date=February 11, 2019|archive-date=February 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211022315/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/02/10/692114918/how-to-get-meat-eaters-to-eat-more-plant-based-foods-make-their-mouths-water|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Labor conditions and diet==
Some groups, such as [[PETA]], promote vegetarianism as a way to offset poor treatment and working conditions of workers in the contemporary [[meat industry]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goveg.com/workerrights.asp|title=Killing for a Living: How the Meat Industry Exploits Workers|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-date=March 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310171835/http://www.goveg.com/workerrights.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> These groups cite studies showing the psychological damage caused by working in the meat industry, especially in factory and industrialised settings, and argue that the meat industry violates its labourers' human rights by assigning difficult and distressing tasks without adequate counselling, training and debriefing.<ref name="labor">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105/4.htm |title=Worker Health and Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry |publisher=Hrw.org |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=June 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612080111/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105/4.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="labor2">{{cite web |url=http://www.ncrlc.com/academic-SR-webpages/food_safety.html |title=Food Safety, the Slaughterhouse, and Rights |publisher=Ncrlc.com |date=March 30, 2004 |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=December 23, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071223175929/http://www.ncrlc.com/academic-SR-webpages/food_safety.html}}</ref><ref name="labor3">[http://www.safework.sa.gov.au/contentPages/docs/meatCultureLiteratureReviewV81.pdf Positive Safety Culture. The key to a safer meat industry] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412054210/http://www.safework.sa.gov.au/contentPages/docs/meatCultureLiteratureReviewV81.pdf |date=April 12, 2011 }}, A literature review July 2000, safework.sa.gov.au</ref> However, the working conditions of agricultural workers as a whole, particularly non-permanent workers, remain poor and well below conditions prevailing in other economic sectors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/agri/wkingcond.htm |title=Sectoral Policies Department (SECTOR) |publisher=Ilo.org |access-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604191552/http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/agri/wkingcond.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Accidents, including pesticide poisoning, among farmers and plantation workers contribute to increased health risks, including increased mortality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Working conditions in agriculture |url=http://www.evb.ch/en/p5785.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203125355/http://www.evb.ch/en/p5785.html |archive-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> According to the [[International Labour Organization]], agriculture is one of the three most dangerous jobs in the world{{clarify|date=March 2021}}.<ref>World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development, Published by World Bank Publications p. 207</ref>

==Economics and diet==
Some vegetarians are economic vegetarians who avoid meat due to cost considerations. Vegetarians also have an impact on the economy. In 2022, sales of vegetarian food in the UK was estimated at £1.16 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vegetarian & plant-based food product sales UK 2022 {{!}} Statista |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/319948/vegetarian-products-sales-value-in-the-united-kingdom-uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110064940/https://www.statista.com/statistics/319948/vegetarian-products-sales-value-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Statista |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> The US-based Plant Based Food Association found that the sales of plant-based foods in the U.S. alone amounts to $13.7 billion a year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vegetarianism is good for the economy too |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/12/vegetarianism-is-good-for-the-economy-too/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250323172434/https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/12/vegetarianism-is-good-for-the-economy-too/ |archive-date=March 23, 2025 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Vegans have been found to influence the business at restaurants through what is referred to as the [[Veganism#Vegan veto vote|vegan veto vote]]. 

=== Economic vegetarianism ===
Similar to environmental vegetarianism is the concept of [[economic vegetarianism]]. An economic vegetarian is someone who practices vegetarianism from either the philosophical viewpoint concerning issues such as public health and curbing world starvation, the belief that the consumption of meat is economically unsound, part of a conscious [[simple living]] strategy or just out of necessity. According to the [[Worldwatch Institute]], "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease their health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldwatch.org/press/news/1998/07/02 |title=United States Leads World Meat Stampede|publisher=WorldWatch Institute |access-date=February 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517050751/http://www.worldwatch.org/press/news/1998/07/02/ |archive-date=May 17, 2008}}</ref> According to estimates in 2016, adoption of vegetarianism would contribute substantially to global healthcare and environmental savings.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Springmann |first1=Marco |last2=Godfray |first2=H.C.J. |last3=Raynar |first3=Mike |last4=Scarborough |first4=Peter |date=February 9, 2016 |title=Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change |url=https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2016/03/16/1523119113.full.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=113 |issue=15 |pages=4146–4151 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1523119113 |pmid=27001851 |pmc=4839446 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |bibcode=2016PNAS..113.4146S |doi-access=free |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708194554/https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2016/03/16/1523119113.full.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Demographics==
Prejudice researcher Gordon Hodson argues that vegetarians and vegans frequently face [[discrimination]] where eating meat is held as a cultural norm.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Prejudice Against "Group X" (Asexuals)|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/without-prejudice/201209/prejudice-against-group-x-asexuals|magazine=[[Psychology Today]]|last=Hodson|first=Gordon|date=September 1, 2012|access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref>

===Turnover===
Research suggests that, at least in the United States, vegetarianism has a high turnover rate, with less than 20% of adopters persisting for more than a year.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1007/s11196-018-9543-3 |title=The Politics and the Demographics of Veganism: Notes for a Critical Analysis|year=2018 |last1=Martinelli|first1=Dario|last2=Berkmanienė|first2=Aušra|journal=International Journal for the Semiotics of Law|volume=31|issue=3|pages=501–530 |s2cid=149235953}}</ref> Research shows that lacking social support contributes to lapses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Melnick |first1=Meredith |title=Turns Out, Your Vegetarianism Probably Is Just A Phase |work=HuffPost |date=May 12, 2014 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vegetarian-phase_n_6270584 |archive-date=March 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323020140/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vegetarian-phase_n_6270584 }} [https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/vegetarian-phase_us_6270584 Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023071424/https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/vegetarian-phase_us_6270584 |date=October 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Schultz |first1=Colin |title=Most Vegetarians Lapse After Only a Year |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/most-vegetarians-lapse-after-only-year-180953565/ |access-date=February 27, 2021 |date=December 9, 2014 |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305044724/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/most-vegetarians-lapse-after-only-year-180953565/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2022}} A 2019 analysis found that adhering to any kind of restricted diet (gluten-free, vegetarian, kosher, teetotal) was associated with feelings of loneliness and increased social isolation.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Food restriction and the experience of social isolation |journal= Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|year= 2020|doi=10.1037/pspi0000223|last1= Woolley|first1= Kaitlin|last2= Fishbach|first2= Ayelet|last3= Wang|first3= Ronghan (Michelle)|volume= 119|issue= 3|pages= 657–671 |pmid= 31724417|s2cid= 208018174}}</ref>

Vegetarians or vegans who adopted their diet abruptly might be more likely to eventually abandon it when compared to individuals adopting their diet gradually with incremental changes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Haverstock|first1=Katie|last2=Forgays|first2=Deborah Kirby|date=June 1, 2012|title=To eat or not to eat. A comparison of current and former animal product limiters|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666312000906|journal=Appetite|volume=58|issue=3|pages=1030–1036|doi=10.1016/j.appet.2012.02.048|pmid=22387715|s2cid=13886878|issn=0195-6663|access-date=March 20, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806013344/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666312000906|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Country-specific information===
{{main|Vegetarianism by country}}

The rate of vegetarianism by country varies substantially from relatively low levels in countries such as the Netherlands (5%)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vegetariers.nl/bewust/veelgestelde-vragen/hoeveel-vegetariers-zijn-er|language=nl|title=Hoeveel vegetariërs zijn er?|website=vegetariers.nl|access-date=December 13, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022039/https://www.vegetariers.nl/bewust/veelgestelde-vragen/hoeveel-vegetariers-zijn-er|url-status=live}}</ref> to more considerable levels in India (20–40%).<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|date=April 3, 2018|title=The myth of the Indian vegetarian nation|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122|access-date=November 12, 2020|archive-date=August 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808011417/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43581122|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=June 4, 2014|title=Nutritional profile of Indian vegetarian diets – the Indian Migration Study (IMS)|journal=Nutrition Journal|volume=13|doi=10.1186/1475-2891-13-55|pmid=24899080|pmc = 4055802|last1 = Shridhar|first1 = Krithiga|last2 = Dhillon|first2 = Preet Kaur|last3 = Bowen|first3 = Liza|last4 = Kinra|first4 = Sanjay|last5 = Bharathi|first5 = Ankalmadugu Venkatsubbareddy|last6 = Prabhakaran|first6 = Dorairaj|last7 = Reddy|first7 = Kolli Srinath|last8 = Ebrahim|first8 = Shah|article-number = 55 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Estimates for the number of vegetarians per country can be subject to methodological difficulties, as respondents may identify as vegetarian even if they include some meat in their diet, and thus some researchers suggest the percentage of vegetarians may be significantly overestimated.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Why Are There So Few Vegetarians?|magazine=[[Psychology Today]]|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/animals-and-us/201109/why-are-there-so-few-vegetarians|last=Herzog|first=Hal|date=September 6, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2021}}</ref>

==Media==
Vegetarianism is occasionally [[List of fictional vegetarian characters|depicted in mass media]]. Some scholars have argued that [[mass media]] serves as a "source of information for individuals" interested in vegetarianism or [[veganism]],<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Reymond |first=Stephane |date=June 1, 2016 |title=Vegetarianism/Veganism: A Sociological Analysis |type=Masters |publisher=Texas A&M University |url=https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/157868/REYMOND-THESIS-2016.pdf |pages=39, 41, 57 |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007215518/https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/157868/REYMOND-THESIS-2016.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> while there are "increasing social sanctions against eating meat".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rothgerber |first1=Hank |date=November 12, 2012 |title=Real Men Don't Eat (Vegetable) Quiche: Masculinity and the Justification of Meat Consumption |url=https://foodethics.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_foodethik/Rothgerber__Hank_2012._Real_Men_Dont_Eat_-Vegetable-__Quiche._Masculinity_and_the_Justification_of_Meat_Consumption.pdf |journal=Psychology of Men & Masculinity |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=2–3 |doi=10.1037/a0030379 |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920042212/https://foodethics.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_foodethik/Rothgerber__Hank_2012._Real_Men_Dont_Eat_-Vegetable-__Quiche._Masculinity_and_the_Justification_of_Meat_Consumption.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Consumer Attitudes Towards Environm">{{cite journal |last1=Sanchez-Sabate |first1=Ruben |last2=Sabaté |first2=Joan |date=April 2019 |title=Consumer Attitudes Towards Environmental Concerns of Meat Consumption: A Systematic Review |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=16 |issue=7 |page=1220 |doi=10.3390/ijerph16071220 |pmid=30959755 |pmc=6479556 |bibcode=2019IJERP..16.1220S |doi-access=free }}</ref> Over time, societal attitudes of vegetarianism have changed, as have perceptions of vegetarianism in popular culture, leading to more "vegetarian sentiment".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://themillions.com/2018/06/what-the-caged-bird-feels-a-list-of-writers-in-support-of-vegetarianism.html |title=What the Caged Bird Feels: A List of Writers in Support of Vegetarianism |last=Kim |first=Elizabeth Solis |date=June 29, 2018 |website=[[The Millions]] |access-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007120153/https://themillions.com/2018/06/what-the-caged-bird-feels-a-list-of-writers-in-support-of-vegetarianism.html |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Even so, there are still existing "meat-based" food metaphors which infuse daily speech,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/how-the-rise-of-veganism-may-tenderise-fictional-language-106576 |title=How the rise of veganism may tenderise fictional language |last=Hazmah |first=Shareena Z. |date=November 22, 2018 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |access-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124225850/https://theconversation.com/how-the-rise-of-veganism-may-tenderise-fictional-language-106576 |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and those who are vegetarian and vegan are met with "acceptance, tolerance, or hostility" after they divulge they are vegetarian or vegan.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Lindquist |first=Anna |date=May 2013 |chapter=Introduction |title=Beyond Hippies and Rabbit Food: The Social Effects of Vegetarianism and Veganism |type=Undergraduate |publisher=[[University of Puget Sound]] |chapter-url=https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=csoc_theses |access-date=December 3, 2020 |pages=1, 3, 6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009005124/https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=csoc_theses |archive-date=October 9, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some writers, such as John L. Cunningham, editor of the Vegetarian Resource Group's newsletter, have argued for "more sympathetic vegetarian characters in the mass media".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cunningham |first=June L. |date=June 2002 |title=Notes from the Editor |url=https://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/2002jun.htm |magazine=The Vegetarian Resource Group Newsletter |publisher=Vegetarian Resource Group |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618044614/https://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/2002jun.htm |archive-date=June 18, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Literature===
In Western literature, vegetarianism, and topics that relate to it, have informed a "gamut of literary genres", whether [[literary fiction]] or those fictions focusing on [[utopias]], [[dystopias]], or [[apocalypses]], with authors shaped by questions about human identity and "our relation to the environment", implicating vegetarianism and veganism.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/20/top-10-books-about-vegetarians |title=Top 10 books about vegetarians |last=Kirshenbaum |first=Binnie |date=November 20, 2019 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229181842/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/20/top-10-books-about-vegetarians |archive-date=February 29, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theoxfordblue.co.uk/2020/09/01/love-death-and-quorn-vegetarianism-in-literature/ |title=Love, death and Quorn: vegetarianism in literature |last=Khulusi |first=Ella |date=September 1, 2020 |website=The Oxford Blue |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012025604/https://www.theoxfordblue.co.uk/2020/09/01/love-death-and-quorn-vegetarianism-in-literature/ |archive-date=October 12, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Others have pointed to the lack of "memorable characters" who are vegetarian.<ref name="Martin2016">{{cite news |url=https://lithub.com/5-fictional-vegetarians-who-defy-stereotypes/ |title=5 Fictional Vegetarians Who Defy Stereotypes |last=Martin |first=Kristen |date=August 17, 2016 |work=Lit Hub |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617192439/https://lithub.com/5-fictional-vegetarians-who-defy-stereotypes/ |archive-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref> There are also vegetarian themes in [[horror fiction]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Packham |first1=Jimmy |date=September 14, 2019 |title=Children of the Quorn: The Vegetarian, Raw, and the Horrors of Vegetarianism |url=https://gothicnaturejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Packham_78-102_Gothic-Nature-1_2019.pdf |journal=Gothic Nature |volume=1 |pages=78–102 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331062307/https://gothicnaturejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Packham_78-102_Gothic-Nature-1_2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[science fiction]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Bulleid |first=Joshua |date=2020 |editor1-last=Kendal |editor1-first=Zachary |editor2-last=Smith |editor2-first=Aisling |editor3-last=Champion |editor3-first=Giulia |editor4-last=Milner |editor4-first=Andrew |chapter=Better Societies for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: Vegetarianism and the Utopian Tradition |title=Ethical Futures and Global Science Fiction |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKbMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |pages=65–66 |isbn=978-3-030-27893-9 |access-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212023409/https://books.google.com/books?id=hKbMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |url-status=live }}</ref> and poetry.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rourke |first=Lee |date=May 11, 2015 |title=Trauma, vegetarianism, and poetry: the best new novels |url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4872/trauma-vegetarianism-and-poetry-the-best-new-novels |magazine=[[New Humanist]] |location=[[London]] |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724221027/https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4872/trauma-vegetarianism-and-poetry-the-best-new-novels |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1818, [[Mary Shelley]] published the novel ''[[Frankenstein]]''. Writer and [[animal rights]] advocate [[Carol J. Adams]] argued in her seminal book, ''[[The Sexual Politics of Meat]]'' that [[Frankenstein's monster|the unnamed creature]] in the novel was a vegetarian.<ref>{{cite book |last=Adams |first=Carol J. |year=2010 |orig-date=1990 |chapter=Frankenstein's Vegetarian Monster |title=The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory |edition=20th Anniversary |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_uK-RFEqfu0C&pg=PA148 |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |pages=148–161 |isbn=978-1-4411-7328-7 |access-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212023406/https://books.google.com/books?id=_uK-RFEqfu0C&pg=PA148 |url-status=live }}</ref> She argued that the book was "indebted to the vegetarian climate" of its day and that vegetarianism is a major theme in the novel as a whole. She notes that the creature gives an "emotional speech" talking about its dietary principles, which makes it a "more sympathetic being" than others. She also said that it connected with [[Vegetarianism in the Romantic Era]] who believed that the [[Garden of Eden]] was meatless, rewrote the myth of [[Prometheus]], the ideas of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], and [[feminist]] symbolism. Adams concludes that it is more likely that the "vegetarian revelations" in the novel are "silenced" due to the lack of a "framework into which we can assimilate them." Apart from Adams, scholar Suzanne Samples pointed to "gendered spaces of eating and consumption" within [[Victorian era|Victorian England]] which influenced literary characters of the time.<ref name="samples">{{cite thesis |last=Samples |first=Suzanne |date=August 3, 2013 |title=Disorderly Eating in Victorian England |type=PhD |publisher=[[Auburn University]] |url=https://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/3775/DISSERTATION2013Samples.pdf;jsessionid=D4DD20AEADBEECFE93EDD75AE969B7DC?sequence=2 |access-date=December 10, 2020 |pages=ii, 1-31, 39-40, 57-58 |archive-date=October 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008213232/https://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/3775/DISSERTATION2013Samples.pdf;jsessionid=D4DD20AEADBEECFE93EDD75AE969B7DC?sequence=2 |url-status=live }}</ref> This included works such as [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]'s poem titled ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (poem)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]],'' [[Christina Rossetti]]'s volume of poetry titled ''[[Goblin Market and Other Poems]]'', [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'', [[Mary Seacole]]'s autographical account titled ''[[Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands]]'', and [[Anthony Trollope]]'s novel titled ''[[Orley Farm (novel)|Orley Farm]]''. Samples also argued that [[vegetarianism in the Victorian era]] "presented a unique lifestyle choice that avoided meat but promoted an awareness of health", which initially was seen as rebellious but later became more normalized.<ref name="samples" />

In [[Irene Clyde]]'s 1909 [[feminist utopia]]n novel, ''[[Beatrice the Sixteenth]]'', Mary Hatherley accidentally [[Time travel|travels through time]], discovering a [[lost world]], which is a [[Postgenderism|postgender]] society named Armeria, with the inhabitants following a strict vegetarian diet, having ceased to slaughter animals for over a thousand years. Some reviewers of the book praised the vegetarianism of the Armerians.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=G.|first=A.|date=January 1910|title=In Womanland|url=https://www.nevillegoddardbooks.com/PDF%20BOOKS/theosophist_v31_n4_jan_1910.pdf|journal=The Theosophist|volume=31|issue=4|page=538|access-date=December 12, 2022|archive-date=November 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127142618/https://www.nevillegoddardbooks.com/PDF%20BOOKS/theosophist_v31_n4_jan_1910.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[James Joyce]]'s 1922 novel, ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'' is said to have vegetarian themes. Scholar Peter Adkins argued that while Joyce was critical of the vegetarianism of George A.E. Russell, the novel engages with "questions of animal ethics through its portrayal of Ireland's cattle industry, animal slaughter and the cultural currency of meat," unlike some of his other novels. He also stated that the novel "historicizes and theorizes animal life and death," and that it demonstrates the ways that symbolism and materiality of meat are "co-opted within patriarchal political structures," putting it in the same space as theorists like [[Carol J. Adams]], [[Donna J. Haraway]], [[Laura Wright]], and [[Cary Wolfe]], and writers such as [[J. M. Coetzee]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adkins |first1=Peter |date=2017 |title=The Eyes of That Cow: Eating Animals and Theorizing Vegetarianism in James Joyce'sUlysses |journal=Humanities |volume=6 |issue=46 |pages=2–6 |doi=10.3390/H6030046 |s2cid=157246928 |doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11820/9ff4960b-064d-4cc4-a54c-a0a1f50fbff9 |hdl-access=free }} [https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/3/46 ALT URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212023409/https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/3/46 |date=December 12, 2022 }}</ref>

In 1997, S. Reneé Wheeler wrote in the ''Vegetarian Journal'', saying that "finding books with vegetarian themes" is important for helping children "feel legitimate in being vegetarian."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wheeler |first=S. Reneé |title=The Importance of Vegetarian Culture |journal=Vegetarian Journal |date=September–October 1997 |volume=16 |issue=5 |url=https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj97sep/979cult.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119074124/https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj97sep/979cult.htm |archive-date=January 19, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=December 10, 2020}}</ref> In 2004, writer [[J. M. Coetzee]] argued that since the "mode of consciousness of nonhuman species is quite different from human consciousness," it is hard for writers to realize this for animals, with a "temptation to project upon them feelings and thoughts that [[Anthropomorphism|may belong only to our own human mind and heart]]," and stated that reviewers have ignored the presence of animals in his books. He also stated that animals are present in his "fiction either not at all or in a merely subsidiary role" because they occupy "a subsidiary place in our lives" and argued that it is not "possible to write about the inner lives of animals in any complex way."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Coetzee |first=J.M. |subject-link=J. M. Coetzee |interviewer=Henrik Engström |title=Animals, Humans, Cruelty and Literature: A Rare Interview with J. M. Coetzee |url=http://www.satyamag.com/may04/coetzee.html |publisher=Setya |location=Sweden |date=May 2004 |work=Djurens Rätt |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014003320/http://www.satyamag.com/may04/coetzee.html |archive-date=October 14, 2020 |url-status=live}} Reprinted from Djurens Rätt (magazine)</ref>

In 2014, ''[[The New Yorker]]'' published a [[short story]] by [[Jonathan Lethem]] titled "Pending Vegan"<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lethem |first=Jonathan |date=March 31, 2014 |title=Pending Vegan |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/pending-vegan |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |location=United States |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022094643/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/pending-vegan |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> which follows "one family, a husband and wife and their four-year-old twin daughters" on a trip to [[SeaWorld]] in [[San Diego]], [[California]]. The protagonist of the story, Paul Espeseth, renames himself "Pending Vegan" in order to acknowledge his "increasing uneasiness with the relationship between man and beast."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Lethem |first=Jonathan |interviewer=Cressida Leyshon |title=This Week in Fiction: Jonathan Lethem |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/this-week-in-fiction-jonathan-lethem |location=United States |date=March 30, 2014 |work=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116131207/http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/this-week-in-fiction-jonathan-lethem |archive-date=January 16, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, a three-part Korean novel by [[Han Kang]] titled ''[[The Vegetarian]]'' was published in the U.S.,{{efn|It was published in 2015 in the U.K. and in [[South Korea]] in 2007}} which focuses on a woman named Young-hye, who "sees vegetarianism as a way of not inflicting harm on anything," with eating meat symbolizing human violence itself, and later identifies as a plant rather than as a human "and stops eating entirely."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Kang |first=Han |subject-link=Han Kang |title=K-Literature Writers: Han Kang |url=https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/15724 |publisher=Digital Library of Korean Literature |location=Online |date=October 20, 2014 |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210211740/https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/15724 |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some argued the book was 
more about [[mental illness]] than vegetarianism.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crf.org.sg/blogs/uncategorized/reading-while-vegan-review-of-sapiens |title=Reading While Vegan: Review of 'Sapiens' |last=Jacobs |first=George |date=2020 |website=Center for a Responsible Future |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007180433/https://www.crf.org.sg/blogs/uncategorized/reading-while-vegan-review-of-sapiens |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Others compared it to fictional works by [[Margaret Atwood]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Chloë |year=2020 |chapter=Vegan madness: Han Kang's The Vegetarian |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003014270/chapters/10.4324/9781003014270-16 |editor1-last=Jenkins |editor1-first=Stephanie |editor2-last=Montford |editor2-first=Kelly Struthers |editor3-last=Taylor |editor3-first=Chloë |title=Disability and Animality Crip Perspectives in Critical Animal Studies |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003014270 |language=en |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |doi=10.4324/9781003014270 |isbn=978-1-003-01427-0 |s2cid=214241975 |access-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405220130/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003014270/disability-animality-chlo%C3%AB-taylor-kelly-struthers-montford-stephanie-jenkins |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Television===
Vegetarians, and vegetarian themes, have appeared in various TV shows, such as ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''[[True Blood]]'', ''[[The Simpsons]]'', ''[[King of the Hill]]'', and ''[[South Park]]''.<ref name="publicbooks">{{cite web |url=https://www.publicbooks.org/the-vegan-resistance/ |title=The Vegan Resistance |last=Zieger |first=Susan |date=July 26, 2017 |website=Public Books |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323032039/https://www.publicbooks.org/the-vegan-resistance/ |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="avclub" /><ref name="siegel2015" /><ref name=commentary />

Mr. [[Spock]] of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' has been called "television's first vegetarian." He and his fellow [[Vulcans]] do not eat meat due to a "philosophy of non-violence."<ref name="Laughton">{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/you-dont-win-friends-with-saladtvs-best-and-worst-vegetarians-20150918-gjpo0b.html |title='You don't win friends with salad': TV's best (and worst) vegetarians |last=Laughton |first=Ellen |date=September 21, 2015 |work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906233350/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/you-dont-win-friends-with-saladtvs-best-and-worst-vegetarians-20150918-gjpo0b.html |archive-date=September 6, 2020}}</ref> He is identified as vegetarian following an episode where he was "transported back to pre-civilised times" and ate meat, and in Richard Marranca, in an issue of the ''Vegetarian Journal'', said that for Spock, like [[Kwai Chang Caine]] in [[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|''Kung Fu'']], "vegetarianism was something authentic and taken for granted; it was the right thing to do based on compassion and logic."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marranca |first=Richard |title=Vegging Out with Kung Fu and Star Trek |journal=Vegetarian Journal |date=2007 |issue=4 |url=https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue4/2007_issue4_vegging_out.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211014925/https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue4/2007_issue4_vegging_out.php |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=December 10, 2020}}</ref>

In 1995, ''The Simpsons'' episode "[[Lisa the Vegetarian]]" aired. Before recording their lines for the episode, showrunner David Mirkin, who had recently stopped consuming meat, gave Linda and Paul McCartney "a container of his favorite turkey substitute," with both voicing characters in an episode which focused around vegetarianism.<ref name="siegel2015">{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/culture/2015/10/the-simpsons-lisa-the-vegetarian-episode-changed-the-image-of-vegetarians-on-tv.html |title=Celebrating "Lisa the Vegetarian," the Simpsons Episode That Changed the Image of Vegetarians on TV |last=Siegel |first=Alan |date=October 12, 2015 |website=[[Slate (website)|Slate]] |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328051904/https://slate.com/culture/2015/10/the-simpsons-lisa-the-vegetarian-episode-changed-the-image-of-vegetarians-on-tv.html |archive-date=March 28, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Critic Alan Siegel said that before the episode vegetarians had been portrayed as "rarely as anything but one-dimensional hippies" but that this episode was different as it was "told from the point of view of the person becoming a vegetarian." He said that the episode was one of the "first times on television that vegetarians saw an honest depiction of themselves" and of people's reaction to their dietary choices. The idea for the episode was originally proposed by [[David X. Cohen]] and the McCartneys agreed on the condition that Lisa remain a vegetarian, with both satisfied with how the episode turned out.<ref name="siegel2015" /> In the episode, Lisa decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo. Her schoolmates and family members ridicule her for her beliefs, but with the help of Apu as well as [[Paul McCartney|Paul]] and [[Linda McCartney]], she commits to vegetarianism.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season7/page5.shtml |title=Lisa the Vegetarian |access-date=November 30, 2008 |author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |year=2000 |publisher=[[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309230714/https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season7/page5.shtml|archive-date=March 9, 2005}}</ref> The staff promised that she would remain a vegetarian,<ref name="NZ">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sideswipe/news/article.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10593582 |title=Sideswipe: McCartney keeps Lisa vegetarian |date=August 28, 2009 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=August 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220021534/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sideswipe/news/article.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10593582 |archive-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2007/tv/news/simpsons-chat-closes-paley-fest-1117961291/ |title='Simpsons' chat closes Paley fest |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=March 16, 2007 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=December 28, 2008|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324120018/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961291.html?categoryid=14&cs=1|archive-date=March 24, 2007}}</ref> resulting in one of the few permanent character changes made in the show.<ref name="Groening">Groening, Matt (2005). Commentary for "Lisa the Vegetarian", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a173417/david-mirkin-the-simpsons.html |title=David Mirkin ('The Simpsons') |last=French |first=Dan |date=August 24, 2009 |website=[[Digital Spy]] |access-date=August 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528214815/http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/interviews/a173417/david-mirkin-the-simpsons/|archive-date=May 28, 2018}}</ref> In an August 2020 interview, McCartney said that he and is wife were worried that Lisa "would be a vegetarian for a week, then Homer would persuade her to eat a hot dog," but were assured by the producers that she would remain that way, and he was delighted that they "kept their word."<ref>{{cite interview |last=McCartney |first=Paul |interviewer=Dylan Jones |title=At home with Paul McCartney: His most candid interview yet |type=Online |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/paul-mccartney-interview |work=[[GQ (magazine)|GQ]] |date=August 4, 2020 |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210110859/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/paul-mccartney-interview |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 1998, the ''[[King of the Hill]]'' episode "And They Call It Bobby Love" aired on FOX. In the episode, "[[Bobby Hill (King of the Hill)|Bobby]] has a relationship with a vegetarian named Marie. She later dumps him after he eats a steak in front of her."<ref name="avclub">{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/10-episodes-that-made-iking-of-the-hilli-one-of-th-99687 |title=10 episodes that made King Of The Hill one of the most human cartoons ever |last=Koski |first=Genevieve |date=July 3, 2013 |publisher=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610051623/https://tv.avclub.com/10-episodes-that-made-king-of-the-hill-one-of-the-most-1798239025 |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the March 2002 ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Fun with Veal]]", [[Stan Marsh]] becomes a vegetarian after he learns that veal is made of baby cows, which Cartman makes fun of. The episode ends with the boys, including Stan, getting grounded, but not before going out with their parents for burgers, meaning that Stan is no longer a vegetarian. In the DVD commentary, the creators said they wanted to balance their message of not eating baby animals, by at the same time not advocating people abstain from meat consumption altogether.<ref name=commentary>{{cite video | people=Trey Parker, Matt Stone|year=2005|title=South Park: The Complete Sixth Season: "Freak Strike"|medium=DVD|publisher=Comedy Central}}</ref>

[[Aang]], in the animated series ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' was vegetarian. According to the show's creators, "Buddhism and [[Taoism]] have been huge inspirations behind the idea for ''Avatar''."<ref name="NickMagInterview2" /> As shown in "The King of Omashu"<ref name="The King of Omashu">{{cite episode|title=The King of Omashu|airdate=2005-03-18|season=1|number=5|credits=Director: Anthony Lioi; Writer: John O'Bryan|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> and "The Headband",<ref name="The Headband">{{cite episode|title=The Headband|airdate=2007-09-28|season=3|number=2|credits=Director: Joaquim dos Santos; Writer: John O'Bryan|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> a notable aspect of Aang's character is his vegetarian diet,<ref name="Dean">{{Cite web|url=https://www.diversetechgeek.com/10-vegetarian-cartoon-characters/|title=10 noteworthy vegetarian cartoon characters|last1=Dean|first1=Anthony|website=Diverse Tech Geek|access-date=September 6, 2020|date=November 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906204226/https://www.diversetechgeek.com/10-vegetarian-cartoon-characters/|archive-date=September 6, 2020}}</ref> which is consistent with [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Taoism]].<ref name="NickMagInterview2">{{cite journal|last=DiMartino|first=Michael Dante|author-link=Michael Dante DiMartino|author2=Konietzko, Bryan|title=Myth Conceptions|journal=Nickelodeon Magazine|page=7|date=2006|issue=Winter 2006}}</ref> In the [[Brahmajala Sutta (Theravada)|Brahmajala Sutra]], a Buddhist code of ethics, vegetarianism is encouraged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.purifymind.com/BrahmaNetSutra.htm|title=Brahmajala Sutra Translated Text|access-date=2008-02-12|last=Jing|first=Fanwang|publisher=Purify Out Mind|page=4|quote=He must not create the causes ... and shall not intentionally kill any living creature.| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204235921/http://www.purifymind.com/BrahmaNetSutra.htm| archive-date= 4 February 2008 |url-status= live}}</ref>

Other fictional characters who are vegetarians include [[Count Duckula#Count Duckula|Count Duckula]] in ''[[Count Duckula]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.viva.org.uk/what-we-do/celebrity-supporters/count-duckula|title=Count Duckula|website=[[Viva! (organisation)|VIVA!]]|date=September 20, 2013 |access-date=December 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511162230/https://www.viva.org.uk/what-we-do/celebrity-supporters/count-duckula|archive-date=May 11, 2015|url-status=live |author1=Admin }}</ref> [[Beast Boy]] in ''[[Teen Titans (TV series)|Teen Titans]]'' and ''[[Teen Titans Go!]]'', [[List of Supernatural characters#Vampires|Lenore]] in ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'',<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-cast-then-and-now |title=The Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast 20 years later... |last=Bayley |first=Leanne |date=March 2017 |work=[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour]] |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715183045/http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-cast-then-and-now |archive-date=July 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Shaggy Rogers|Norville "Shaggy" Rogers]] in the animated series ''[[What's New, Scooby Doo?]]''.<ref name="screenrant2020" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Thienenkamp|first=Marius|url=https://comicsverse.com/saving-human-lives-vegetarian-superheroes-animal-rights/|title=Saving Human Lives Only? Vegetarian Superheroes and Animal Rights|website=Comicsverse|date=January 26, 2015|access-date=December 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229171850/https://comicsverse.com/saving-human-lives-vegetarian-superheroes-animal-rights/|archive-date=December 29, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Before the latter animated series, Shaggy was known for having an "enormous appetite" earlier in the Scooby-Doo franchise. The decision to make Shaggy a vegetarian occurred after his voice actor, [[Casey Kasem]], convinced the producers to do so, since he was a vegan who supported [[animal rights]] and opposed [[factory farming]], saying he would refuse to voice Shaggy unless the character was vegetarian.<ref name="screenrant2020">{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/scooby-doo-shaggy-vegetarian-casey-kasem-true-story/|title=Why Scooby-Doo Made Shaggy A Vegetarian: True Story Explained|last=Raymond|first=Nicholas|website=[[Screen Rant]]|access-date=September 6, 2020|date=May 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604031413/https://screenrant.com/scooby-doo-shaggy-vegetarian-casey-kasem-true-story/|archive-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Laughton" />

An October 2019 ''[[South Park]]'' episode, "[[Let Them Eat Goo]]", featured a vegetarian character.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foodrepublic.com/2018/02/07/okja-convincing-case-vegetarianism/ |title=Why Okja Is A More Convincing Case For Vegetarianism |last=Do |first=Tiffany |date=February 7, 2018 |website=Food Republic |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011174939/https://www.foodrepublic.com/2018/02/07/okja-convincing-case-vegetarianism/ |archive-date=October 11, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/south-park-takes-on-the-impossible-burger-while-cartma-1839119348|title=South Park takes on the Impossible Burger, while Cartman and Randy's antics drive another strong episode|last=Hugar|first=John|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|access-date=December 10, 2020|date=October 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103014434/https://tv.avclub.com/south-park-takes-on-the-impossible-burger-while-cartma-1839119348|archive-date=November 3, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, [[Steven Universe (character)|Steven Universe]], the protagonist in the show ''[[Steven Universe]]'' and the limited epilogue series, ''[[Steven Universe Future]]'', is a vegetarian. In the episode "Snow Day" of ''[[Steven Universe Future]]'', Steven tells the Gems he lives with that he has been a vegetarian for a month, drinks protein shakes and mentions that he does "his own skincare routine."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/everyone-is-growing-up-fast-on-steven-universe-future-1840444830|last=Searles|first=Jourdain|title=Everyone is growing up fast on Steven Universe Future|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=December 21, 2019|access-date=September 6, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607081658/https://tv.avclub.com/everyone-is-growing-up-fast-on-steven-universe-future-1840444830|archive-date=June 7, 2020}}</ref>

===Film===
In the 1999 film, ''[[Notting Hill (film)|Notting Hill]]'', Keziah, played by Emma Bernard is a vegetarian. In one scene, Keziah tells William "Will" Thacker (played by [[Hugh Grant]]), that she is a [[fruitarian]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-strange-world-of-fruitarians-who-only-eat-raw-fruit/|title=Inside the Strange World of 'Fruitarians,' Who Only Eat Raw Fruit|last=Marthe|first=Emalie|website=[[Vice News]]|access-date=September 30, 2020|date=September 3, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201001001519/https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5exq4/inside-the-strange-world-of-fruitarians-who-only-eat-raw-fruit|archive-date=October 1, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> She says she believes that "fruits and vegetables have feeling", meaning she opposes cooking them, only eating things that have "actually fallen off a tree or bush" and that are dead already, leading to what some describe as a negative depiction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unherd.com/2019/03/what-will-the-woke-folk-make-of-notting-hill/|title=What will the woke folk make of Notting Hill?|last=Tyrone|first=Nick|website=[[UnHerd]]|access-date=September 30, 2020|date=March 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211152149/https://unherd.com/2019/03/what-will-the-woke-folk-make-of-notting-hill/|archive-date=December 11, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2000 film, ''[[But I'm A Cheerleader]]'', before Megan, one of the film's protagonists, is sent to a [[conversion therapy]] camp, her parents and others claim she is a lesbian because she is a vegetarian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://old.post-gazette.com/movies/20000915cheer.asp|title=It's hard to know what to make of 'But I'm a Cheerleader'|last=Paris|first=Barry|website=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|access-date=September 6, 2020|date=September 15, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408202723/https://old.post-gazette.com/movies/20000915cheer.asp|archive-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref> ''[[Legally Blonde]]'', a 2001 film, also featured a vegetarian—Elle Woods. When she introduces herself at [[Harvard Law School]], she describes herself and her dog as "Gemini vegetarians".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a32065693/legally-blonde-3/|title=Legally Blonde 3: Release Date, Spoilers, Cast, Trailer And Plot Lines|first=Blair|last=Olivia|date=May 19, 2010|work=[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]|access-date=September 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608075808/https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a32065693/legally-blonde-3/|archive-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref>

In the 2012 film, ''[[Life of Pi (film)|Life of Pi]]'', Pi, played by [[Suraj Sharma]], is a vegetarian based on his 3 religions: Hindu, Christian, and Muslim. And in the ship scene, one Taiwanese Sailor, played by Bo-Chieh Wang, is a vegetarian from his Buddhism religion to eat rice and the vegetarian gravy.

In the 2018 Hollywood blockbuster, ''[[Black Panther (film)|Black Panther]]'', M'Baku (voiced by [[Winston Duke]]), the Jabari tribe leader who lives in the mountains of Wakanda, declares to a White CIA agent named Everett Ross (voiced by [[Martin Freeman]]), "if you say one more word, I'll feed you to my children!" After Everett is shaken by these words, he jokes, saying he is kidding because all those in his tribe, including himself, are vegetarians.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/2/20/17033330/winston-duke-mbaku-black-panther-breakout |title=M'Baku Is the Best Surprise of 'Black Panther' |last=Giorgis |first=Hannah |date=February 20, 2018 |website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417152603/https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/2/20/17033330/winston-duke-mbaku-black-panther-breakout |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some praised this scene for challenging a stereotype of Black culture and the perception of what vegetarians look like.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eater.com/2018/2/16/17020564/black-panther-food-wakanda |title='Black Panther' Challenges a Bogus Food Stereotype |last=Selvam |first=Ashok |date=February 16, 2018 |website=[[Eater (website)|Eater]] |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031639/https://www.eater.com/2018/2/16/17020564/black-panther-food-wakanda |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Duke later said that some Black outlets cooked vegan meals for him, and said that the scene is "kind of teaching kids that eating vegetables is cool," which is something he is for.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/04/black-panther-star-winston-duke-talks-mbakus-vegetarian-co-signs |title='Black Panther' Star Winston Duke Talks M'Baku's Vegetarian Co-Signs |last=Elder |first=Sajae |date=April 24, 2018 |website=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040543/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/04/black-panther-star-winston-duke-talks-mbakus-vegetarian-co-signs |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Vegetarian themes have also been noted in the ''Twilight'' [[Twilight (novel series)|novel]] (2005–2008) and [[The Twilight Saga (film series)|film]] franchise (2008–2012), ''[[The Road]]'' (2006) and ''[[The Year of the Flood]]'' (2009).<ref name="publicbooks" /> In March 2020, scholar Nathan Poirer reviewed ''Thinking Veganism in Literature and Culture: Towards a Vegan Theory'', a book edited by Emelia Quinn and Benjamin Westwood, and he concluded that veganism could "infiltrate popular culture without being perceived as threatening," while noting others who contribute to the book examining vegan cinema that "challenges the normality of human supremacy by situating humans as potential prey," and stating that the essays outline ways veganism can be successful in popular culture.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Poirier |first1=Nathan |date=March 13, 2020 |title= Thinking Veganism in Literature and Culture: Towards a Vegan Theory [Review] |journal=The Journal of Popular Culture |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=235–237 |doi=10.1111/jpcu.12876 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Reviewers said that the Netflix original film, ''[[Okja]]'', which focused on [[factory farming]], talks about [[genetically modified]] animals, and features a [[Radical environmentalism|radical environmentalist]] group, had an impact on people's diets. Some said the film would convince audience members to become vegetarians, saying the film encourages people to eat less meat, comparing it to the impact of the documentaries ''[[Food, Inc.]]'', ''[[Blackfish]]'', ''[[The Cove (film)|The Cove]]'', and ''[[Cowspiracy]]'',  Jonathan Safran Foer's book, ''[[Eating Animals]]'', the films ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'', ''[[Babe (film)|Babe]]'',  and ''[[Chicken Run]]'', and to the themes of ''[[Watership Down]]''. The film was also described as the "ultimate vegetarian film."<ref>{{cite web|last=Phillip|first=Tom|url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-people-who-saw-okja-and-became-vegetarians|title=The People Who Saw Okja and Became Vegetarians|website=[[GQ]]|date=January 26, 2018|access-date=March 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226023656/https://www.gq.com/story/the-people-who-saw-okja-and-became-vegetarians|archive-date=February 26, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Leszkiewicz|first=Anna|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2017/07/how-okja-combines-two-netflix-trends-make-ultimate-vegetarian-film|title=How Okja combines two Netflix trends to make the ultimate vegetarian film|website=[[New Statesman]]|orig-date=July 4, 2017|date=October 4, 2023|access-date=March 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915105323/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2017/07/how-okja-combines-two-netflix-trends-make-ultimate-vegetarian-film|archive-date=September 15, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> The film's co-writer, [[Jon Ronson]], who is also vegetarian, said that while the film will "turn people vegetarian", this was not his intention nor that of director Bong Joon-ho. In an interview with [[The Independent]], Joon-ho said that he did not "expect the entire audience to convert to veganism after watching the film" and said that he does not have an issue with [[meat consumption]], but asked the audience to consider where their food comes from, and said if that happens, then the "level of meat consumption will gradually decline."<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Neil|first=Shana|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/okja-just-might-convince-you-go-vegetarian-1017294/|title='Okja' Just Might Convince You to Go Vegetarian|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=June 28, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206165037/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/okja-just-might-convince-you-go-vegetarian-1017294/|archive-date=February 6, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Loughrey|first=Clarisse |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/okja-interview-bong-joon-ho-release-date-netflix-veganism-vegan-cannes-controversy-a7807771.html|title=Okja interview: Bong Joon-ho on GM foods, his chaotic mindscape, and the Netflix controversy|website=[[The Independent]]|date=June 28, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217214225/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/okja-interview-bong-joon-ho-release-date-netflix-veganism-vegan-cannes-controversy-a7807771.html|archive-date=February 17, 2025|url-status=live}}</ref> Joon-Ho told LA Times that in his view, the [[food industry]] is "always trying to do is try to thicken the walls of the slaughterhouse so that nobody can peer inside it," with LA Times noting that Joon-Ho became vegan after visiting a slaugherhouse in South Korea, but ended the diet change after two months.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ellwood|first=Gregory|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-en-mn-bong-joon-ho-okja-20171109-story.html|title=With its real-world messaging, 'Okja' and director Bong Joon-ho tap into something special|newspaper=[[LA Times]]|date=November 9, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415011913/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-en-mn-bong-joon-ho-okja-20171109-story.html|archive-date=April 15, 2024|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Paul Dano]], who plays Jay in the film, also told [[GQ]] that, while he is a meat-eater, it made him want to "be more conscientious consumer" and said it is easy to "forget that when we put our dollar down we are supporting something."<ref>{{cite web|last=Phillip|first=Tom|url=https://www.gq.com/story/paul-dano-okja|title=How Okja's Paul Dano Pulled Off a Masterfully Human Performance Alongside a Giant CGI Pig|website=[[GQ]]|date=June 27, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701145211/https://www.gq.com/story/paul-dano-okja|archive-date=July 1, 2017|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Other scholars noted vegetarian themes in the films ''[[The Fault in Our Stars (film)|The Fault in Our Stars]]'',<ref name="thehub">{{cite news |url=http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2013/10/23/vegetarian-awareness-month/ |title=Celebrate Vegetarian Awareness Month with Vegetarian Characters in YA Lit |last=Lind |first=Jessica |date=October 23, 2013 |work=[[Young Adult Library Services Association]] |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603044358/http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2013/10/23/vegetarian-awareness-month/ |archive-date=June 3, 2016}}</ref> ''[[The Princess Diaries (film)|The Princess Diaries]]'' series,<ref name="Martin2016" /><ref name="thehub" /> and the 2009 film, ''[[Vegetarian (film)|Vegetarian]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/vegetarian-1117942042/|title=Review: 'Vegetarian'|first=Justin|last=Chang|date=February 1, 2010|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=October 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703221048/https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/vegetarian-1117942042/|archive-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref>

==See also==

<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order and add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
* [[European Vegetarian Union]]
* [[International Vegetarian Union]]
* [[List of vegetarians]]
* [[Plant-based diet]]
* [[ProVeg International]]
* [[Vegetarian and vegan symbolism]]
* [[Vegetarian cuisine]]
* [[Vegetarian Diet Pyramid]]
* [[Vegetarian nutrition]]
* [[Women and vegetarianism and veganism advocacy]]
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links
|wikt=Vegetarianism
|b=no
|q=Vegetarianism
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|commons=Category:Vegetarianism
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|voy=Vegetarian and vegan food
|species=no}}
* [https://www.pdfmx.com/the-complete-vegetarian-cookbook-pdf-free/ The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook]
* [https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/49949 The Logic of Vegetarianism: Essays and Dialogues by Henry S. Salt]
{{Veganism and vegetarianism|state=expanded}}
{{People in veganism and vegetarianism}}
{{Diets}}
{{Animal rights}}
{{Simple living}}
{{Virtues}}
{{Meat}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Food|Medicine}}

[[Category:Vegetarianism| ]]
[[Category:Vegetables|*]]
[[Category:Diets]]
[[Category:Applied ethics]]
[[Category:Intentional living]]
[[Category:Nonviolence]]