The Rules For Being A Vegetarian

When you decide to be a vegetarian, it is a personal commitment and only a personal commitment. No one will ever give you a rule book, a set of principles to sign up to or a set of procedures to follow. It is entirely up to you what you mean by being a 'vegetarian'. There are no rules for being a vegetarian.

There are, however, different degrees of vegetarianism yet some vegetarians may well debate and even argue that their personal point of view is correct. The strictest kind of vegetarianism that you are likely to come across is the macrobiotic diet; then there are the vegans, who do not consume any animal products including fish, eggs and dairy products.

Then there is the majority of vegetarians who will consume fish, dairy and eggs but there are those who do not eat fish, some who will drink milk and eat cheese yet will not consume eggs and some who do. I even knew a vegetarian who allowed himself one bacon sandwich a month and turkey on Christmas Day (my father) and he considered himself a vegetarian.

You could assume a mild form or vegetarianism at first but then gradually quit eating fish and dairy products later as your craving for animal protein assuages. Or you could jump in at the deep end by going vegan and add fish back in if you find it too hard. You can do whatever your conscience permits you to do.

Let us assume that you take the mild approach to vegetarianism for a year or two but then decide to stop eating dairy products and eggs. You have now become a lacto-vegetarian. It displays a sympathy for the animals in the dairy and egg industries. Numerous hens live in dreadful battery conditions. In general, cows fare somewhat better, but they still live an unnatural life.

Ovo-vegetarianism is the name give to the diet by which you can still eat eggs after you have given up meat, fish and dairy products. Ovo-vegetarianism is handy if you find it difficult to get enough protein into your diet, because you can have an egg for breakfast but be vegetarian for the rest of the day.

Veganism is about as strict as most individuals would like to go. Strict vegans do not consume any animal products including honey. Most people find that this is going too far and that it puts unnecessary stress on the vegetarian doing it. After all, a vegan has to know what is in everything he or she eats: each dish, loaf of bread, cake, biscuit and even slushie, in case someone has used honey as a sweetener or animal fat instead or margarine.

Most vegetarians would recommend the slow yet steady approach to becoming a vegetarian, because it can be difficult at first and you do not want to put yourself off before you have even given it a chance to benefit you. Remember that lifestyle changes are always hard, so go easy on yourself and take your conversion into a vegetarian slowly.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, and is now concerned with low carb vegetarian recipes. If you want to know more, please visit our site at http://vegetariancasserolerecipes.com