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 practices veganism 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. A person who practices vegetarianism is known as a vegetarian.
Joel Fuhrman is an American celebrity doctor who advocates a plant-based diet termed the "nutritarian" diet which emphasizes nutrient-dense foods. His practice is based on his nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, as well as promoting his products and books. He has written books promoting his dietary approaches including the bestsellers Eat to Live, Super Immunity, The Eat to Live Cookbook, The End of Dieting (2016) and The End of Heart Disease (2016). He sells a related line of nutrition-related products.
A flexitarian diet, also called a semi-vegetarian or fauxtarian 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.
Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include a selection of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat, and dairy products. The diet may also include simply processed foods, such as various types of sprouted seeds, cheese, and fermented foods such as yogurts, kefir, kombucha, or sauerkraut, but generally not foods that have been pasteurized, homogenized, or produced with the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, solvents, and food additives.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.
Thomas Colin Campbell is an American biochemist who specializes in the effect of nutrition on long-term health. He is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University.
Michael Herschel Greger is an American physician, author, and speaker on public health issues best known for his advocacy of a whole-food, plant-based diet, and his opposition to animal-derived food products.
Michael A. Klaper is an American physician, vegan health educator, conference and event speaker, and an author of articles and books of vegan medical advice. Graduating from medical school in 1972, Klaper became a vegan ten years later and subsequently became active in the area, publishing three books advocating veganism and serving as a founding director of the Institute of Nutrition Education and Research.
Forks Over Knives is a 2011 American documentary film which argues that avoiding animal products and ultra-processed foods, and instead eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, may serve as a form of chronic illness intervention.
Rip Esselstyn is an American health activist, food writer, and former firefighter and triathlete. He is known as an advocate of low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet that excludes all animal products and processed foods. He calls it a "plant strong" diet, a term he has trademarked. He has appeared in two documentaries about plant-based nutrition: Forks Over Knives (2011) and The Game Changers (2018). He is the author of The Engine 2 Diet (2009), My Beef With Meat (2013), Plant-Strong (2016), and The Engine 2 Seven-Day Rescue Diet (2017).
Mark Adam Hyman is an American physician and author. He is the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center. Hyman was a regular contributor to the Katie Couric Show until the show's cancellation in 2013. He writes a blog called The Doctor’s Farmacy, which examines many topics related to human health and welfare, and also offers a podcast by the same name. He is the author of several books on nutrition and longevity, including Food Fix, Eat Fat, Get Thin, and Young Forever.
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. The film explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment—examining such environmental concerns as climate change, water use, deforestation, and ocean dead zones—and investigates the policies of several environmental organizations on the issue.
The carnivore diet is a high-protein fad diet in which only animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy are consumed. The carnivore diet is associated with pseudoscientific health claims. The diet lacks dietary fiber, can lead to deficiencies of vitamins, and can increase the risk of chronic diseases. The lion diet is a highly restrictive form of the carnivore diet in which only beef is eaten.
The Game Changers is a 2018 American documentary film about athletes who follow plant-based diets.
Eating You Alive is a 2018 health documentary film about why Americans are suffering from chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disease, among other diseases, and whether the outcome can be changed.
Keegan Kuhn is an American documentary filmmaker, director, producer, and professional musician. He is best known for co-directing the documentary films Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret and What the Health, along with Kip Andersen.
Gemma Newman known as the Plant Power Doctor is a British medical doctor, nutritionist, author and advocate of whole food plant-based nutrition.
Susan Marie Levin was an American registered dietitian, advocate of plant-based nutrition and veganism activist. She was one of the authors of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position on vegetarian diets in 2016.
You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment is a 2024 American documentary series set for streaming on Netflix. It is based on an 8-week study conducted by Stanford University that put 22 sets of genetically identical twins on opposing diets: omnivore and vegan. It was released on January 1, 2024.
