Page 42 - Spring2008

lower cancer rates for some sites, for example 91 percent instead of 100 of naturally occurring substances that boost im-
percent for breast cancer, the rates for numerous other cancers are much munity and prevent a range of illnesses.
higher than the general US population standard, especially cancers of the Salmon, eggs and butter have beautiful
reproductive tract. SDA females had more Hodgkins disease (131 percent), color. Nothing prevents meat-eaters from add-
more brain cancer (118 percent), more malignant melanoma (171 percent), ing color to their plate by using a variety of
more uterine cancer (191 percent), more cervical cancer (180 percent) and vegetables and fruits. The nutrients from these
more ovarian cancer (129 percent) on average. plant foods will be more easily absorbed if you
According to scientists at the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology serve them with butter or cream. Animal foods
Unit, University of Oxford, “Studies of cancer have not shown clear dif- provide an abundance of “naturally occurring
ferences in cancer rates between vegetarians and non vegetarians.” 15 substances that boost immunity and prevent a
range of illnesses.”
5. YOU’LL ADD COLOR TO YOUR PLATE:
Meat, chicken and fi sh tend to come in boring shades of brown and 6. YOU’LL FIT INTO YOUR OLD JEANS:
beige, but fruits and vegetables come in all colors of the rainbow. Disease On average, vegetarians are slimmer than

fighting phytochemicals are responsible for giving produce their rich, varied meat eaters, and when we diet, we keep the weight
hues. So cooking by color is a good way to ensure you’re eating a variety off up to seven years longer. That’s because diets

VEGETARIANISM: VARIATIONS ON A THEME
By Jim Earles

VEGETARIANISM: In its simplest form, the abstinence from all flesh foods—those foods which inherently require the tak-
ing of an animal’s life—in favor of plant foods. Without further qualifying terms, the term “vegetarian” does not specify
whether or not a person might choose to eat animal products like milk and eggs, which do not inherently require the
taking of an animal’s life.

LACTO-VEGETARIANISM: A vegetarian diet with the inclusion of milk and/or dairy products.
OVO-VEGETARIANISM: A vegetarian diet with the inclusion of eggs (usually eggs from chickens or other fowl, but pre-
sumably an ovo-vegetarian might also eat fish roe).

PESCO-VEGETARIANISM (a.k.a. pescetarianism): A vegetarian diet with the exception of consuming fish and/or seafood.
This is often viewed by adherents as being a voluntary abstention from eating land animals. This diet is similar to (and
often overlaps with) the popular version of the Mediterranean Diet.

POLLO-VEGETARIANISM (a.k.a. pollotarianism): A vegetarian diet with the exception of consuming chicken (and possibly
other types of fowl). This is often viewed by adherents as being a voluntary abstention from red meats and from eating
more highly-developed mammals such as cows, pigs, sheep, etc. NOTE: Many vegetarians do not feel that people who
include seafoods or land fowl in their diets qualify as vegetarians at all. Indeed, many practicing pescetarians and pollotar-
ians feel that their diet is a similar but entirely distinct dietary philosophy from vegetarianism. Some people prefer to use
terms such as “semi-vegetarianism” or “flexitarianism” to refer to the primary (but not exclusive) practice of vegetarianism.
ALSO NOTE: The above variants on vegetarianism may be combined in any way to describe an individual’s food choices.
(e.g. lacto-ovo-vegetarianism, pollo-ovo-vegetarianism, etc.)
VEGANISM: The more extreme end of the scale of vegetarianism. A vegan (both “vee-gan” and “vay-gan” are accepted
pronunciations) abstains from all animal foods, including any meats, fish, eggs or dairy. Some vegans, but not all of them,
also abstain from honey and other bee products, as well as clothing and materials made from animal products (e.g. silk,
leather, fur, etc.). Many vegans view their dietary choices as being just a part of veganism, which is more fully viewed as
a way of life and a socio-political stance.

FREEGANISM: A subset of veganism which utilizes the same basic food choices but often lives out the socio-political
aspects of veganism in an even more direct and radical way. Freegans seek to minimize or eliminate participation in the
corporate food system by practices such as foraging for wild plant foods, community gardening, bartering for food instead
of using money and dumpster diving (taking food that is still edible but past its expiration date out of supermarket, restau-

42 Wise Traditions SPRING 2008