Vegetarianism, in general, is a dietary practice that excludes all body parts of any animal, and products derived from animals including lard, tallow, gelatin, cochineal and other unmentionable derivations, from one's diet. Many contemporary vegetarian diets include some honey as well as milk and other dairy products; some diets also permit the eating of eggs. Herbivores-animals adapted to eat primarily plants-are sometimes referred to as vegetarian animals.
There are many different practices of vegetarianism. Strict vegetarians avoid the consumption of all animal products, including eggs, milk, cheese and honey. Today, strict vegetarians are commonly called "vegans," though some reserve this term for those who additionally avoid usage of all kinds of animal products. Vegans will not only disallow the animal on their insides, but refuse to have animal products on their outsides. Often, they will not wear leather, fur or any clothing products derived from animals. Female vegans, sometimes called "fegans," additionally refuse to use cosmetics that are made from, or tested upon, animals. "Ovo-lacto" vegetarians eschew the eating of all meat, yet allow the consumption of animal products such as eggs and milk. Ovo-lacto vegetarians, who ARE SO for ethical reasons, may additionally refuse to eat cheese made with animal-based enzymes or eggs produced by factory farms. The term "vegetarian" is most commonly intended to mean "ovo-lacto vegetarian", particularly as "vegan" has gained acceptance as the term for a stricter form of prejudicial sustenance practice. "Lacto vegetarianism" refers to the practice of eschewing all meat, yet allowing the consumption of milk and its derivatives, like cheese, butter, yogurt and eggnog. Similarly, ovo-vegetarians eat eggs in addition to their otherwise strictly vegetarian regiment.
"Macrobiotics" involves a diet consisting mostly of whole grains and beans, and is usually spiritually-based like Fructarianism. "Raw Foodism" involves food, usually vegan, which is not heated above 116 degree Fahrenheit-it may be warmed slightly or raw, but never cooked. Raw Foodists argue that cooking food items destroys the natural food enzymes and portions of each nutrient found in uncooked foods. This may be true, but most raw foodists acknowledge that for some foods, as the cooking softens the food, the nutrients become more "bioavailable," which more than negates the destruction of some nutrients and enzymes. Some raw-foodists, called "living-foodists," also activate the enzymes by soaking the food in water for a time before the food is to be eaten. "Spiritual raw-foodists" are also fructarians and some eat only organic foods. As the scientific community continually flip-flops on the issue of what is good for us versus what is bad for us, or much more commonly, how much of something is good, or bad, for us, choosing the proper foods to eat can be baffling-baffling even for the food experts. It is therefore fortunate that we may exercise one well-appreciated freedom-the right to choose what we will eat and how we will prepare what we eat. This right, seemingly fundamental as it is, does not apply to one particular segment of the world community.
When your mother cries, "Eat your carrots! Eat your broccoli!" while your father chimes in with, "Eat that beautiful mush you mother spent hours preparing!" the right to eat what you choose is, for the youngsters, abridged by parental authority.
