The World Vegetarian Day is celebrated annually on 1 October to promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.   As several of our volunteers at the Omar Niode Foundation are vegetarians, on this special day we would like to review related information to encourage vegetarian conversations from non-activists points of view.

Types of vegetarianism

Many years ago we only that about vegetarians are those who do not consume red meat. Today there are many types of vegetarian. We especially like Jolinda Hackett’s Top 7 Types of Vegetarians. 

When most people think of vegetarians, Hackett said, they think of lacto-ovo-vegetarians. People who do not eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but do eat eggs and dairy products are lacto-ovo vegetarians (“lacto” comes from the Latin for milk, and “ovo” for egg).

Pescatarians are those who abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish while Vegans do not eat meat of any kind and also do not eat eggs, dairy products, or processed foods containing these or other animal-derived ingredients such as gelatin. 

Reasons & how to become vegetarians

Reasons for being vegetarian varies for many followers, ranging from health and religious to spiritual and ethical motives. The Vegetarian Times raised at least 16 reasons why go veg.  The Vegetarian Society advised those who are thinking of becoming vegetarians  to remember that:

*Every meal helps. If you don’t feel you can go veggie all at once, feel good about what you are doing to reduce the amount of meat and fish that you eat.

*Ask for help. Going vegetarian is exciting and adventurous but it's also a big step.  It is useful to contact vegetarian societies or talk to friends who are vegetarian. 

*Don’t give up. If you find it difficult at first or slip up a bit, just remind yourself of why you plan to go veg and give it another go.

Vegetarian societies

There are numerous vegetarian societies, but four that represent our interests for vegetarian conversations:

The International Vegetarian Union  is a growing global network of independent organizations which are promoting vegetarianism worldwide.

The North American Vegetarian Society has two-pronged focus. The first is to provide a support network for its members, affiliated groups and vegetarians in general. The second is to inform the public about how vegetarianism benefits humans, other animals and our shared earth. 

The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is an educational charity working to support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK.

The Indonesian Vegetarian Society is a non-profit vegetarian organization in Indonesia with objectives to disseminate information about vegetarian living in Indonesia and to develop universal love and save the life of the world through vegetarianism.

Vegetarian documentaries

Over the years there have been some documentaries produced that have made people become vegetarians. The Top 5 vegan related documentaries on the list include Fork Over Knives, Food Inc., Earthlings, Food Matters, The Future of Food,  These documentaries examine the relationship between health and animal based food; animal sufferings for our food, fashion and medical research; how food is produced; and crops with Genetically Modified Organisms 

A recent documentary Vegucated,  follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks.

At the Documentary and the Environment Symposium that we attended  last month at the University of Surrey in England, Tatiana Signorelli Heise, a Lecturer at the University of Manchester presented her paper From shock tactics to green sensibility: the environmental turn in animal advocacy films. The strategies used for mobilizing audiences, Heise said, have diversified, and the staple use of clandestinely-captured imagery of animal suffering is now tempered by, and sometimes replaced entirely with, more viewer-friendly methods such as interviews with scientists, celebrity testimonials, and “what you can do to help” lists

Vegetarian Magazines

Glossy magazines have inspired vegetarians to stay on course by developing tasteful recipes and providing healthy living tips. Vegetarian Living, a UK based magazine is for people who want to be inspired by a vegetarian lifestyle. Vegetarian Times in the US provides home cooks with delicious vegetarian recipes, expert health and nutrition information, and green living advice. Info Vegetarian published by the Indonesian Vegetarian Society present vegetarianism as a lifestyle, and solutions to world problems.

Famous vegetarians

Many are interested in being vegetarians when reading that their favorite celebrities have not consumed meat for years. If you are curious to know if your favorite movie star, famous celebrity, athlete or musician is a vegetarian, HappyCow has compiled the Famous Vegetarians Directory . HappyCow, the one-stop resource for everything VEG, categorized the list into: Living famous vegetarians and vegans (such as Mike Tyson, Natalie Portman, and Nelly); Historical, deceased famous vegetarians (like Buddha, Darwin, and Einstein) and those Rumored to be veg (including Bob Dylan, Drew Barrymore, and Jackie Chan)

The celebration

There are many ways that you can do alone or as a group  to celebrate the World Vegetarian Day.

Even non vegetarians can join by learning how a vegetarian diet can benefit them and by reading our blog post a few weeks back on Vegetarian Hunting in Bali .

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Images: Amanda Cole, Terzi Niode, NAVS, Vegetarian Times, Vegucated, Maira Niode