Classification Of Vegetarians

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Classification Of Vegetarians

According to the research, there are a number of different types of vegetarians. The first four listed are considered to be "true" vegetarians because by definition the term vegetarian diet is composed mainly of plant foods and may or may not include eggs and dairy products. Any person who chooses to omit animal products uses a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diets are often classified by the extent to which animal products are excluded ("Vegetarian Diet" 39). The table below provides information on the classification of vegetarians and what each type consumes.

In Havala’s book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian, she states, "Many people today are using the term ‘vegetarian’ loosely to mean that they are consciously reducing their intake of animal products." The actual number of people who never eat meat, fish, or poultry is about 1% of the adult population (4). According to The Vegetarian Resource Group, they stated 2.5% of the population was considered to be vegetarian (1). This is because the term vegetarian actually means consuming no meat, poultry, or fish. Not "I eat turkey only on Thanksgiving," or "I eat fish once in a while." A vegetarian consistently avoids all flesh foods as well as by-products of meat, fish, and poultry (Havala 4).

Basic foods in a vegetarian’s diet are cereal grains and bread, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Some vegetarians may use various products made from soybeans, such as tofu, or bean curd, soybean milk, and miso. Some vegetarians use foods that resemble meat, poultry, or fish in texture, color, and flavor, but that are manufactured from soybeans or other plants ("Vegetarianism" 59).

Advantages Of Being A Vegetarian

Comp...

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...diet—is highly personal. It’s nobody’s business but your own" (174).

Work Cited

Havala, Suzanne. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian. New York, NY:

Macmillian Publishing, 1999.

"How Many Vegetarians Are There?" Poll on Vegetarianism in the US—The Vegetarian

Resource Group. 28 March 2000. 18 April 2000. http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/poll2000.htm.

Inge, Karen. "Vegetarianism." Nutridate. May 1996. Ebsco Host. 3 February 2000.

Kirschmann, Gayla J. and John D. Kirschmann. Nutrition Almanac. Fourth Edition. New

York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

Mooradian, Teresa. Letter to the author. (29 March 2000).

Mooradian, Teresa. Letter to the author. (6 April 2000).

"Vegetarian Diet." ADA Manual of Clinical Dietetics. NA. 39-49.

"Vegetarianism." Collier’s Encyclopedia. [43rd Ed.] 1992.

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