1. FACTFILE: VEGETARIAN
By Haris Shaikh

2. Definition:
A vegetarian is someone who disagrees with eating meat or fish and
challenges this by not eating any of it. It is usually for moral, health or religious
purposes.
There are a few different types of vegetarians. The most common form is what
you would call a ‘lacto-ovo-vegetarian’, these types of vegetarians eat both
eggs and dairy products. You then have ‘lacto-vegetarians’ who don’t eat eggs
but do eat dairy products. Then on the other hand you have ‘vegans’ who don’t
eat dairy products, eggs or anything that is derived from animals.
People choose to become vegetarian for many reasons. Some of the main
reason include health, morals and religion.
Many people choose to become vegetarian due to potential health benefits.
While it is still possible for vegetarians to eat unhealthily, as a rule of thumb
they normally indulge in a more healthy diet. Also cholesterol is a by-product of
eating animal products so obviously cholesterol will be lowered substantially.
Also vegetarians and especially vegans tend to weigh less than those who eat
meat.

3. Demographics:
In 2012 there were a total of 3073 vegetarians in the UK. 1582 of these were
children and the remaining 1491 were adults.
87% of people are vegan due to moral or ethical reasons, with a further 11%
being vegan for dietary or health reason and 2% due to religious or ethical
reasons.
The majority of vegetarians are females as opposed to males. This is probably
due to the fact that females are more health conscious and are generally more
considerate when it comes to the subject of killing animals for your benefit.
https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=753
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
http://www.imaner.net/panel/profile.htm
http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/home/root/news-libertygb/6123-uk-vegetarians
https://www.vegsoc.org/statistics

4. Reasons:
There are a huge range of reasons as to why someone might decide to become
a vegetarian, some of the more popular reasons include health, moral or
religious reasons.
Many people choose to become vegetarian due to potential health benefits.
While it is still possible for vegetarians to eat unhealthily, as a rule of thumb they
normally indulge in a more healthy diet. Also cholesterol is a by-product of
eating animal products so obviously cholesterol will be lowered substantially.
Also vegetarians and especially vegans tend to weigh less than those who eat
meat.
Another popular reason that people become vegetarian is due to moral reasons.
Many people become vegetarian to protest against thing such as animal abuse.
Additionally some people think that it is wrong to raise and kill animals for food,
because they do not believe it is fair for them to be killed for the benefit of
humans.
Furthermore, some people are vegetarian due to religious reasons for example
Muslims do not eat meat from pigs due to the fact it is mentioned in the Quran
and Hindu people do not eat meat from cows as they believe they are holy.

5. Companies:
There are many different companies which target a vegetarian or vegan
audience. One of the largest companies is Quorn. They produce a popular meat
alternative which consists of something called ‘mycoprotein’, which is a
nutritionally healthy protein source.
It is produced via a fermentation process similar to that of which yeast is used to
make bread. They make a huge range of product from fake chicken, steak and
ham through to bacon and sausages.
Another popular company which specializes in vegetarian food is the Linda
McCartney food company. This is a more independent company created by
Linda McCartney herself however it is still a very large company for vegetarian
foods. This company specializes in ready meals for vegetarians including foods
like fish free scampi, chilli non carne, vegetable kievs, vegetarian sausages and
burgers, vegetable pies and many more meals. The company also produces
vegetarian recipes so the target audience are able to make the meals
themselves and experience different types of vegetarian meals.

6. Non vegetarian products:
There are a variety of foods that vegetarians cannot eat, the obvious being
meat and fish based products. However, vegetarians are also restricted from
eating foods that contain gelatine such as marshmallows and jelly sweets.
Some vegetarians also avoid eating foods that have been produced by animals
this includes products like eggs, milk, cheese and other products.
Items that vegetarians rarely avoid are white sugar, ice cream and other dairy
products.

7. Bibliography:
https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=753
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
http://www.imaner.net/panel/profile.htm
http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/home/root/news-libertygb/6123-uk-
vegetarians
https://www.vegsoc.org/statistics
https://www.vegsoc.org/
https://www.lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk/
http://www.quorn.co.uk/