Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is the practice or principle of avoiding meat. People adopt it for ethical, environmental, health, religious, or other reasons.

Meat: Animal flesh eaten as food, including the flesh of mammals, birds, and fish. Whether fish counts as meat shapes common disagreements about who is vegetarian.
Vitamin B12: An essential vitamin needed for blood-cell formation and nervous-system function, found naturally mainly in animal foods. People avoiding animal foods may need fortified foods or supplements to obtain reliable B12.
Ahimsa: The principle of nonviolence toward living beings in Indian religious and ethical traditions. Ahimsa has provided a major ethical basis for avoiding animal slaughter.
Animal ethics: The branch of ethics that examines how humans should treat nonhuman animals. Arguments against eating animals often begin with their moral status and treatment.
Ovo-lacto vegetarianism: A vegetarian diet that includes eggs and dairy products but excludes meat and fish. This is the most common form of vegetarian eating in many countries.
Iron deficiency: A condition in which the body lacks enough iron to make healthy red blood cells. Plant-based iron is less readily absorbed than heme iron, so planning can matter.
Jainism: An Indian religion whose teachings emphasize nonviolence, self-discipline, and liberation from rebirth. Jain dietary practice makes avoiding harm to living beings especially systematic.
Animal agriculture: The breeding and raising of animals for food and other agricultural products. Avoiding meat reduces participation in systems that raise animals for slaughter.
Lacto-vegetarianism: A vegetarian diet that includes dairy products but excludes eggs, meat, and fish. It shows how vegetarian diets can exclude eggs while retaining dairy.
Protein combining: The practice of eating complementary plant proteins to supply all essential amino acids. It addresses a longstanding concern about protein adequacy in vegetarian diets.

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