flexitarian??? HU?

Ok So I call myself a Flexitarian, What is it?  Well I guess we should delve into what all the other “Veg-somethings” are first, then we can look at me.. 

Let me add at this point, that I am using a description of the following social /political / life styles; they may not be perfect, but are my attempt if to be fair and close to an acceptable description.

Veganism:

Let start off with the Vegans, as I tend to see them as the most, umm …Militant?, dedicated?, committed?, to a life of sustenance without the use of any animal products. 

According to Wikipedia®……..

·         “Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind, the most common reasons for becoming a vegan are human health, ethical commitment or moral conviction concerning animal rights or welfare, the environment, and spiritual or religious concerns. ^.Of particular concern to many vegans are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources for animal farming.”

I would look at vegans as people, who have made not just a healthy choice, but a whole life style,that includes environmental, ethical, moral, and health commitments.

I am not sure all Vegans are Peta members, but I would certainly bet all Peta Members are Vegans.  Btw, what do you call Peta Members? Peta-Phyles? Petapeeps? Peta-ers?   Help me here!

Vegans must get all there high quality proteins from sources other than animal. So I would guess they are the most motivated in creating some really tasty, nutritional dishes. And man, are there!

Then the there are the Vegetarians, this is a diverse group.. They have many “flavors”..

Vegetarianism:

Again, I refer to Wikipedia® for a description, there are a few. 

There are Ovo-lacto vegetarianism,  Ovo vegetarianism, Lacto vegetarianism , and Sattvic diet, the first three are somewhat self explanatory.

1.       An ovo-lacto vegetarian (or lacto-ovo vegetarian) is a vegetarian who does not eat animal flesh of any kind, but is willing to consume dairy and egg products.

2.       Ovo vegetarianism is a type of vegetarianism which allows for the consumption of eggs; unlike lacto-ovo vegetarianism, no dairy products are permitted. Those who practice ovo vegetarianism are called ovo-vegetarians or "eggetarians." "Ovo" (pronounced) comes from the Latin word for egg.

3.       A lacto vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian) diet is a vegetarian diet which includes dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, and kefir, but excludes eggs. The origin of "lacto" is the Latin word for milk [lac, lactis]. Cheeses which include animal rennet and yogurts which contain gelatin are also avoided.

And then there is the Sattvic Vegetarian.  I never heard of it, and Wikipedia is asking for citations, so take this with a grain of salt or a slice of bologna.

·         A sattvic diet also referred to as a yoga diet or sentient diet is a diet based on foods which, according to Jainism, Ayurveda and Yoga, are strong in the sattva guna, and lead to clarity and equanimity of mind while also being beneficial to the body.

Such foods include water, fruit, cereal, bread, most vegetables, beans, nuts, grains, milk and milk derivatives (cheese, butter, ghee, cream, yogurt), and honey.

So then there is me…     Technically I guess I am an Omnivore, (Cats and T-Rex’s are Carnivores as they eat little if any vegetative matter in the wild and T-Rex probably ate people according to the Creationist crew) as I don’t remove meats , dairies and eggs from my diet, although I seriously limit them when I am trying hard to change my eating habits.

Again I will refer to Wikipedia, who calls my ilk, Semi-Vegetarians, and defines a Flexitarian as “Semi-vegetarianism, a term used to describe diets that are not vegetarian, but include less meat than typical diets. The term has no precise or widely accepted definition, but is generally defined as the avoidance of red meat or generally following a vegetarian diet, but eating meat occasionally. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "flexitarianism””

Semi-vegetarian and flexitarian have been dubbed "problematic" and "diametrically opposed to vegetarianism by critics. Of which there are many I am sure.  This is an emotional issue with many people and can become almost a religious like matter.

I am simply having fun and really don’t care if it is opposed to somebody’s dietary dogma.

So that is a Flexitarian,  still one of the dirty, morally corrupt animal flesh/organ eaters, but not as bad as some of my friends that think I am weird for eating tofu, Seitan and other such meat analogs.(Some of them call themselves carnivores, wonder what T-Rex thinks of that!)