Since the dawn of History, Vegetarianism has been the peasant’s menu. From the humble earth, they took with them the ingenuity they so inherited from their ancestors who had farmed right from the dry Biblical lands to raise their healthy families, to the evergreen pastures that created a Vegetarian Haven.

As many a believer believes, if given the right fuel, our body has the ability to miraculously mend itself, and the sole strength of healthy self-confidence lies in that what we consume.

Vegetarianism can indeed create a gastronomical haven. Today it’s the vegetarian curry-in-a-hurry that’s turned out as popular an alternative to the more cholesterol-centric fat foods. A bit of innovation has shown that cravings are short-lived and to a much coveted gourmet, India can indeed play the hospitable host in an array of vegetable blended in spice, that embellish vegetarian food in our diverse yet lively country.

The word ‘Vegetarian’ as per the Oxford English Dictionary states it’s derivation from the term ‘vegetable’ and the suffix ‘-arian’. However the Vegetarian Society, founded in 1847, lays claim to have created the word ‘Vegetarian’ from the Latin word ‘Vegetus’ meaning ‘lively,’ which is how these early vegetarians assumed their diet made of them.

Vegetarianism has a unique way of defining itself in different forms as:

OVO VEGETARIAN – one who excludes all forms of animal products except ‘eggs’ in the diet and includes all plant-based food.

LACTO VEGETARIAN – one who excludes animal products except ‘dairy products’ and includes all plant based-food in the diet.

LACTO-OVO VEGETARIAN – one who eats no fish, poultry, meat or game but includes ‘dairy products and eggs’ along with plant-based food.

PURE VEGETARIAN – one who eats no animal flesh, no fish, no dairy products, no eggs and follows a diet of strictly plant-based food.

VEGAN – a ‘pure vegetarian’ with  his belief in animal life and plant ecology, does not even consume honey, or sugar or gelatin, the philosophy being that many a bee, is killed while obtaining honey, in the process of refining sugar it is clarified over animal bones and gelatin being made from tallow. They also shun the use of leather, wool and silk, as they believe that the subsequent planets resources and animals are being harmed.

Earliest records of vegetarianism display pointers of promotion to religious groups and philosophers, who propagated the idea with a reflection on non-violence towards animals. A significant number of them were from Greece, Southern Italy and India, dating back to, as early as the 6th century BC. However, in the due follow-up of the Christianization of the Roman Empire, vegetarianism practically disappeared from the European palate. It was only in and around the year 1847, that the first Vegetarian Society was founded in England, Germany and the Netherlands, and in 1908 the International Vegetarian Union was founded, which grew immensely in the 20th century. Statistics estimate that vegetarians in India, many of whom are Lacto Vegetarians, make up 70% of the world’s vegetarians.

Religion was yet another element that played a highly important and effective role in propagating vegetarianism. To begin with, Hinduism has three main reasons for the same. Firstly the principle of ‘Ahimsa’ which is applied to all living beings including animals, then to offer only pure vegetarian food to the Deities and receive it back as ‘prasad’ with added blessings, and finally the belief that non-vegetarian food is detrimental to the mental and spiritual development of human beings.

Even amidst vegetarians, there is a great variation in habits from one community to another. The Jains for example, are lacto vegetarians, but follow the principle of Ahimsa in a highly stringent form, and refrain from the consumption of tubular and honey, to mention just a few. Amongst others the Hare Rama Hare Krishna movement upholds it’s belief in the importance of vegetarianism. Kabbalists and Neopagans strictly uphold their creed in the concept of vegetarianism.

The idea of alternative medicines has taken our world by storm, and the sciences of Ayurveda and Siddha that prescribe a vegetarian diet, have multitudes who have adopted it.

Then we have cultural vegetarians, who have either been raised in a vegetarian household or who have adopted vegetarianism because of a vegetarian partner.

Another class of vegetarians are the ones who go with the idea of limiting their diet to vegetarian on a particular day of the week, the idea being to give the human system a compelling experience of ease and relaxation.

The economic or compelled vegetarians are basically the people coming from the lower economic strata of society, who adopt vegetarianism primarily due to the existence of monetary restraints.

In modern times however, with the evolution of innovative methods, the very composition of food has changed. Today with the advancement in fertilizers and methods, the same food of yesteryear has transformed it’s effect and composition, and this scares the mighty millions who have adopted to vegetarianism. These scares to mention a few are, the Avian Influenza in poultry, foot and mouth disease in sheep, BSE or mad cow disease in beef, mercury in fish and salmonella.

Another new fad is the concept of Environmental Vegetarians and recent research gives an added support to this transformation. According to a 2006 UN initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation. Modern applications to the raising of animals for human food, contributes on a very large scale, to the air and water pollution, land degradation, climatic change and a loss of bio-diversity. Animal agriculture is responsible for approximately 18% of the world’s green-house gas emissions. 

The “American Dietetic Association” and “Dietitians of Canada,” have found that a well-planned vegetarian diet meets the nutritional need for all stages of life. Large scale studies have shown vegetarianism to significantly lower risks of cerebral vascular disease, cancer of the stomach, breast, prostate, liver, colorectal and esophagus. 

Vegetarian diets also help control body weight and offer a number of nutritional benefits including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, lower body mass index, normal blood pressure and lesser incidences of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dementias like Alzheimer's. Longevity, as per a 1999 mega study shows a mortality ratio at it’s lowest amongst fish eaters, followed by vegetarians.

So here’s Cheers to all your Food Fears!!

Be it your Cares or your Scares, know for sure that your every Green Bite is a subtle step to your “so-far-so-good” living.

Leave behind those “what-could-have-beens” and make every day a fresh feel with a wee bit of this treasure trove of advice.