Understanding Different Types of Vegetarians and Vegans

A vegetarian is someone who doesn’t consume meat, including all meat products like poultry. The confusion sets in when it comes to eating other animal products like eggs, dairy, or honey. To better understand the different terminologies, let’s break it down:

1. Omnivores – These individuals eat all types of food and don’t discriminate between food groups. They are happy to eat whatever is served.
2. Carnivores – Carnivores predominantly eat red meat, such as pork, beef, and lamb. They are more focused on meat consumption.
3. Pollotarians – Pollotarians restrict their meat consumption to poultry only. They do not consume red meat or fish, but any type of bird including chicken, turkey, duck, quail or hen is allowed. There’s a sub-type called ‘Pesce-Pollotarian’ who occasionally eat fish and seafood as well.
4. Flexitarians – Also known as semi-vegetarians, flexitarians occasionally eat animal products but aim to reduce their meat intake without eliminating it completely.
5. Pesci-vegetarians – Pesci-vegetarians eat fish, dairy, and eggs but avoid poultry and other meats.
6. Lacto-ovo vegetarians – Lacto-ovo vegetarians don’t eat meat, fish, or poultry but do eat eggs and dairy products.
7. Lacto-vegetarians – Lacto-vegetarians abstain from meat, fish, poultry, and eggs but consume dairy products.
8. Ovo-vegetarians – Ovo-vegetarians don’t eat meat or dairy but do eat eggs.
9. Plant-based – These individuals avoid all animal products and animal-derived ingredients. They don’t consume meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.
10. Vegans – Vegans not only follow a plant-based diet but also make choices that align with animal rights protection, such as not wearing clothes containing animal products or using beauty products tested on animals. There are further subtypes of vegans:
1. Ethical Vegans – These individuals are strongly against any form of animal cruelty and not only abstain from eating meat but also actively fight against animal cruelty.
2. Environmental Vegans – Environmental vegans adopt a vegan diet to live a greener lifestyle and protect the environment. They believe it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and pollution.
3. Health Vegans – Health vegans choose a vegan diet for its health benefits in fighting lifestyle diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high cholesterol, and cancer.
4. Religious Vegans – Religious vegans follow the vegan way of eating due to their religious and spiritual beliefs. This is more prevalent in certain religions like Hinduism.

In addition to the types of vegetarians and vegans, there are also different types of vegan diets:

• Raw Vegan Diet – This diet involves consuming uncooked vegan food, as it is believed that cooking at high temperatures reduces nutrient content. Some individuals follow a partial raw vegan diet, allowing themselves hot vegan meals in the evenings.
• Gluten-Free Vegan Diet – This diet excludes animal products and all gluten-containing ingredients. It is suitable for individuals with celiac disease who cannot consume gluten.
• Frutarian Vegan Diet – A frutarian diet consists of eating only fruits, nuts, and seeds. Some frutarians eat only naturally fallen fruits and exclude seeds.
• Whole-Food Vegan Diet – Whole-food vegans focus on consuming whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, while avoiding processed vegan foods.
• Paleo Vegan Diet (Pegan) – This diet combines principles of the paleo diet and veganism. It focuses on fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds and excludes legumes and grains.
• Beegans – Beegans are vegans who include honey in their diet.
• Freegan Diet – Freegans reject waste in capitalist society and consume vegan products they find rather than buying them.

Source: What Type Are You ??