What is a Vegetarian?

A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat, but there are different types of vegetarians:

• Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy products—such as milk, cheese, and yogurt—and eggs, but no meat and seafood. "Lacto" means milk and "ovo" means egg.
• Lacto-vegetarians eat milk products, but not eggs, meat, or seafood.
• Vegans are 100% "pure" and total vegetarians. They eat only plant foods. They don't eat food that comes from animals in any way, including milk products, eggs, honey, and gelatin (which comes from bones and other animal tissue).  This diet is often accompanied by the avoidance of leather, wool, glycerin, and many other materials and substances derived from animals and insects.

A variety of other subgroups exist, including pescatarians and fruitarians. There are many reasons why a person might choose a vegetarian diet:

• Health reasons
• The belief that exploiting animals for human consumption is immoral
• Some religions forbid eating meat
• A vegetarian diet can cost less than a diet that includes meat
• Avoiding meat, seafood, and dairy products can reduce environmental harm
• Some people don't like the taste

Everyone has their own justifications for living the way they desire, therefore making it common to find vegetarians with varying levels of strictness and nuances in ideology and reasoning.

(portions courtesy of healthwise)