Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan.
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products.
A flexitarian diet, also called a semi-vegetarian diet, is one that is centered on plant foods with limited or occasional inclusion of meat. For example, a flexitarian might eat meat only some days each week. Flexitarian is a portmanteau of the words flexible and vegetarian, signifying its followers' less strict diet pattern when compared to vegetarian pattern diets.
The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism.
The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan organization in the world, founded in the United Kingdom in 1944 by Donald Watson, Elsie Shrigley, George Henderson and his wife Fay Henderson among others.
The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) is an international non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote vegetarianism. The IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany.
Tony Wardle is a British journalist and writer. He co-authored, with Michael Mansfield, the 1993 book Presumed Guilty: British Legal System Exposed, which criticised the British criminal justice system. He is a vegan and actively involved in the work of Viva!, an animal rights organisation of which he is an associate director. He is also editor of the magazine Viva!Life. He was also a founding director of The Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation until its closure in 2013, along with Juliet Gellatley. He and filmmaker Yvette Vanson created Vanson Wardle Productions Ltd in 1981.
Vegetarian and vegan dietary practices vary among countries. Differences include food standards, laws, and general cultural attitudes toward vegetarian diets.
Lacto-ovo vegetarianism or ovo-lacto vegetarianism is a type of vegetarianism which forbids animal flesh but allows the consumption of animal products such as dairy and eggs. Unlike pescetarianism, it does not include fish or other seafood. A typical ovo-lacto vegetarian diet may include fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, meat substitutes, nuts, seeds, soy, cheese, milk, yogurt and eggs.
Non-vegetarian food contains meat, and sometimes, eggs. The term is common in India, but not usual elsewhere. In the generally vegetarian environment of India, restaurants offering meat and fish usually have a "non-vegetarian" section of their menu, and may include the term in their name-boards and advertising. When describing people, non-vegetarians eat meat and/or eggs, as opposed to vegetarians. But in India, consumption of dairy foods is usual for both groups.
Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding animal welfare, environmental ethics, moral character, and health as reasons for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Vegetarian Society (Singapore) or VSS is a non-profit, non-denominational organisation. The Singapore-registered charity was established in 1999 to "Promote vegetarianism among the public and support and link individuals and organizations that practise, promote or endorse vegetarianism". VSS is the largest community for vegetarianism, veganism or any form of semi-vegetarianism in Singapore. Promoting a plant-based diet is one of the main goals.
Swissveg, previously known as the Swiss Association for Vegetarianism, is a Swiss association in the legal context of article 60ff of the Swiss civil code (SCC), where members are exclusively vegetarians. Swissveg runs campaigns, organizes events with the goal to reduce the consumption of animal products.
Animal welfare and rights in France is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in France. France has moderate animal welfare protections by international standards.
Multiple symbols have been developed to represent lacto-vegetarianism and veganism. Several are used on food packaging, including voluntary labels such as the Vegan Society trademark or the V-Label as well as the vegetarian and non-vegetarian marks mandated by the Indian government. Symbols may also be used by members of the vegetarian and vegan communities to represent their identities, and in the course of animal rights activism.
ProVeg Deutschland is a German non-profit organisation whose goal is to reduce the consumption of animal products. ProVeg Deutschland is part of ProVeg International, which serves as an international umbrella for a group of nationally operating organisations.
ProVeg International is a non-governmental organisation that works in the field of food system change and has ten offices globally. The organisation's stated mission is to reduce the consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040, to be replaced by plant-based or cultured alternatives. Instead of increasing the share of vegetarians and vegans, ProVeg's focus is on reducing animal product consumption in the general population.
