Hey- I've noticed all these terms- vegan and vegetarian, obviously, but what do all the others mean??

Well, "veg*n" encompasses bothe vegetarians and vegans. I don't pay much attention to terminology apart from that, so I'll leave the rest for someone else to fill in. :)

vegan: no meat, no egg, no dairy, no animal by-products, nothing from animal sources (including clothing made from leather, wool, silk)
vegetarian: there are different types but generally vegetarian just means you don't eat meat (usually includes meat by-products like gelatin)
lacto-ovo: vegetarian who eats dairy and egg
lacto: vegetarian who eats dairy but not egg
ovo: vegetarian who eats egg but not dairy
pescetarian: someone who eats fish/seafood but not other meats
omni: eats meat, dairy, egg etc

veg*n : a term we use when we want something to apply to both vegetarians and vegans

did i miss any?

Not sure which others you mean. We use veg*n as a short way of referring to both vegetarians and vegans. For instance, you could say "vegetarians and vegans don't eat meat" or you could just say "veg*ns don't eat meat."

Then there's different forms of vegetarian:


Flexitarian - A relatively new term that refers to someone who makes a conscious effort to eat less meat (but still eats meat, technically this isn't a vegetarian).
Pescetarian - Someone who eats fish (and probably seafood) but no other meat (again, we don't really consider this a vegetarian).
Lacto-ovo - Someone who is vegetarian (no meat) but still consumes dairy and eggs. You can also have lacto-vegetarians (consume dairy) or ovo-vegetarians (consume eggs).
Vegetarian and vegan you said you're familiar with.
Raw - Vegetarian (probably vegan) who does not consume cooked foods. I believe raw foodists do this because they feel it's the best way to derive nutrition from foods but I'm not positive.


Those are the main ones. If you see one you're not familiar with or if you need more help just ask. :)

ETA: Bah! LF beat me to it. :furious:

hah :p
well i did leave out raw and flixitarian so we'll forgive you

Wow, thanks guys!!

There are also more sections within the raw diet, but I don't fill as if I understand them all well enough to post on it... can someone do that?

Sure, if you have questions you can ask anywhere. This section was just set up a few days ago to make sure newer people got their questions answered in a supportive manner. You're more than welcome to post wherever you'd like here. :)

There are three more I can add...

Macrobiotic - eats food based on a ying/yang scale...certain foods at certain times, "warm" foods versus "cold" foods, "earth" foods, "water" foods, etc. Mostly vegetarian but may eat certain types of fish.

Fruitarian Eats only food which does not kill (anything) in its obtainment - (usually raw) fruits, nuts, and seeds.

Sproutarian Subsists mainly on sprouts (I don't know much about this.)

"AR Barbie" = Pam Anderson

what is ETA?

Edited to add....

I thought this was macrobiotic: "The macrobiotic diet is based largely on grains, legumes, and vegetables. Fruits, nuts, and seeds are used to a lesser extent."
http://www.eatright.org/Public/GovernmentAffairs/92_17084.cfm

Also, vegans attempt to avoid using products that have been tested on animals (which means most mainstream toiletries).

Wikipedia is a good source for this information.

Hummusisyummus, that is what a macrobiotic diet consists of; however, they have a specific reasoning for what they eat. There are certain foods with certain "properties", like, certain ones that are earthy and for the stomach, etc.

Heh heh. Good thing I found out about that otherwise I may have told someone I was on a macrobiotic diet. :lol:

did i miss any?

Yeah, I think so. I was looking through a vegetarian cookbook and it listed all the types of vegetarians. There's also a Fructarian. I dont think I spelt it right, but it's when you eat ONLY fruit. Strange... o.0

Fruitarian. They eat only fruits and vegetables that don't kill the plant (by removing them).

Thought some of you might be interested:
What type of vegan are you?
http://quizilla.com/users/mykodork/quizzes/What%20kind%20of%20vegan%20are%20you%3F/

I found it amusing :P
And guys, don't take it too seriously (that tends to happen here I've noticed...) - it's meant to be funny!

Perhaps this quiz needs a thread in the veggie patch..... Newbies especially invited!!! http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=39493

Also, vegans attempt to avoid using products that have been tested on animals...
"Vegan" by definition is: *a philosophy and practise of respect for animals, which avoids the use of animals for food, clothing, and other human purposes ..."

However - *some* vegans, or people that label themselves as such, do so ONLY for the health benefits - and are minimally concerned with the animal related products they may use elsewhere in their lives... Personally I think this lifestyle would be better suited to the title "strict vegetarian"...

might be a stupid question but are legumes and vegetables the same thing

might be a stupid question but are legumes and vegetables the same thing

No, they aren't the same thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legumes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable

this was super helpful....