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The word ‘vegetarian� appeared in 1842 and came into widespread use after the establishment of the vegetarian Society in England in 1847 by secular followers of Metcalfe.^[1]

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal products and by products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, and soaps derived from animal products. Since much of the world’s population finds that vegetarian meals can be delightfully tasty, there is good reason for thinking that the pleasures many people derive from eating can be completely replaced with pleasures from eating vegetables.^[2]

The term “veganâ€� refers to one that does not eat any animals, but also any animal products or derivatives, including milk, cheese, honey; or using animal furs, leathers, skins, etc. In modern terms, we might use the word “veganâ€� to describe the strict ²Ñ²¹³óÄå²âÄå²Ô²¹ diet. Vegetarianism, a natural and logical ramification of the moral precept against the taking of life is a diet that includes no animal meat. The Buddha recommended that pure Bodhisattvas follow this ideal: They who do not wear silk, leather boots, furs, or down...and who do not consume milk, cream, or butter, can truly transcend this world. Both physically and mentally one must avoid the bodies and the by-products of beings, by neither wearing them nor eating them. It says that such people have true liberation.

There is no nutritional need for humans to eat any animal products, all of our dietary needs as infants, children and adults are best supplied by an animal free diet. Our evolutionary ancestors were, and our closest primate relatives are, vegetarians. Human teeth and intestines are designed for eating and digesting plant foods, so it is no wonder that our major health problems can be traced to meat consumption.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Richard D. Ryder, Op. Cit. 92.

[2]:

Carol Morris and James Kirwan. ‘Is Meat the New Militancy? Locating Vegetarianism within the Alternative Food Economy�. In Alternative Food Geographies: Representation and Practice, eds. Damian Maye, Lewis Holloway, MoyaKneafsey, Amsterdam: Elservier, 2007: 141.