Vegetarian Diets North Dakota State University NDSU Extension Service Vegetarian Diets HE-463, August 1994 Pat Beck , Nutrition Specialist Vegetarianism is generally defined as the practice of living on a diet made up of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and sometimes certain animal products.
Vegetarian diets encompass a wide variety of eating patterns.
Foods of animal origin, including all meat, fish, fowl, eggs and dairy products, are completely excluded. A Lacto-vegetarian diet includes milk and other dairy products in addition to plant foods. Foods obtained by slaughtering an animal are avoided. Semivegetarian diets may be of several types. An ovolactopollovegetarian diet includes poultry in addition to milk and eggs.