How vegetarians live: you didn’t know this

Where does vegetarianism come from? Who are vegetarians and why did they choose this path for themselves? Let's try to figure it out.

What is vegetarianism?

Vegetarianism is a way of life characterized primarily by a diet that excludes the consumption of the flesh of any animals (i.e. meat, poultry, fish, etc.). Vegetarians also often refuse to use other animal products both in the diet (mammalian milk, eggs) and in everyday life (fur, leather, glycerin, etc.).

History of vegetarianism

Vegetarianism has been practiced for thousands of years in countries where religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism were common. Vegetarians were also adherents of various philosophical schools (for example, the Pythagoreans) and representatives of the creative and scientific intelligentsia. In India, according to various sources, from 20% to 70% of the country's total population are vegetarians. Therefore, before the term “vegetarianism” appeared, this diet was called “Indian” or “Pythagorean”.

The word "vegetarian" came into use in 1842 by the founders of the "British Vegetarian Society", it comes from the Latin vegetus, which means "strong, healthy, fresh, vigorous", as in the phrase homo vegetus, which means a spiritually and physically developed person. Initially, “vegetarian” meant a harmonious way of life from a philosophical and moral point of view, and not a way of eating.

Vegetarian celebrities

Vegetarianism is an important step towards a perfect society, and those who reflect on its benefits will find themselves on a par with such people as Socrates, Plato, Plutarch, John Milton, Sir Isaac Newton, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Lamartine, Percy Billy Shelley, George Bernard Shaw, Rabindranath Tagore.

Among vegetarians there are many famous scientists, artists, politicians, athletes, actors, etc. Celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Pythagoras, Paul McCartney, Leonardo da Vinci, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi were or became vegetarians. , Franz Kafka, Steve Jobs, Marilyn Manson and others. Some historical groups of people, such as the Pythagoreans and Roman gladiators, were also vegetarians. The vegetarianism of some other famous people, such as Hitler, is controversial.

Vegetarian Basics

Vegetarians do not eat meat, poultry, fish or seafood of animal origin. Dairy products and eggs are ignored by only a portion of vegetarians. Honey is also a controversial product. Mushrooms are traditionally classified as plant foods, although modern science classifies them as a separate kingdom.

Some vegetarians, in addition to food, also ignore:

1. clothing and other products, parts of which are made of fur, leather, etc.

2. products containing components of animal origin (such as glycerin, gelatin)

3. products tested on animals.

Reasons for vegetarianism

Why do people end up depriving themselves of the delights of eating delicious and appetizing foods? What reasons lie behind the fact that they limit themselves in food? Consider in order.

1. Dietary reasons

A vegetarian diet can protect the body from atherosclerosis, cancer, a number of cardiovascular diseases and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract; also if you are allergic to animal products or the body does not accept them.

2. Religious Beliefs

Among them: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, some areas of Christianity - for example, Seventh-day Adventists, in Orthodoxy - fasting.

3. Psychological reasons

If a person cannot kill an animal in order to eat it