There are more and more people who refuse to eat meat and call themselves vegetarians or vegans. These are two increasingly popular dietary regimes and even life philosophy.
The word “vegetarian” comes from the Latin word “vegetus”, which means strong, healthy, fresh, fun. Many famous people were vegetarians, including Pythagoras or Leonardo da Vinci. Pythagoras said that those who kill animals to eat them, can also kill people. Leonardo da Vinci predicted that the time will come when people will assess animal killers the same way people are now assess condemned killers. Perhaps these statements sound radical, but, as we said at the beginning, vegetarianism or veganism are not only diets, but also attitude towards life.
Nutritional properties of vegetarianism and veganism
Vegetarianism is a way of life, refusing to eat any meat, poultry and fish, mainly due to certain ethical, moral, physical and social beliefs. The strictest vegetarians are vegans who completely refuse food that involve animal abuse and killing. Not all vegetarians are vegans, but all vegans are vegetarians.
Part of the camp represented by vegetarians are “Pesco” – people who are allowed to eat fish, and “Pollo” – those who are allowed to eat poultry. Many vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products. Vegans do not eat dairy products or eggs, and even honey (because bees carry honey for themselves as they need it to survive); they do not wear leather clothing, fur, silk. All cosmetics and medicines that they use must be cruelty free. Vegans cannot go to circus, because it forces animals to entertain the audience.