There are many ways people can label themselves when it comes to their diet. Vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians are some of the more popular lifestyles that people know of, but the list goes on and on.
With so many options as to what to call yourself, it’s hard to keep up, especially if you are a person who still chooses to eat meat.
Here are a couple of terms that you can add to your vocabulary to help you better understand some people's eating habits.
A flexitarian is someone who occasionally eats meat but usually sticks to a plant-based diet. This lifestyle is great for those who love to regularly eat plant-based meals, but every now and then crave a good burger.
There are many ways to go about having meat while being a flexitarian, but the ultimate goal is to not have as much as people regularly would.
A climatarian is a person whose primary goal is to reverse climate change, according to the New York Time’s top list of new food words. Eating less meat can help benefit one’s overall health along with helping the environment.
Less meat consumption can help reduce the carbon footprint. It can help decrease the amount of water used, and can lower fossil fuel usage.
Climatarians try to consciously reduce the amount of meat that they consume, mainly for these environmental reasons. Another trait climatarians share is that they try to use all parts of the food that they use or consume. For example, one might eat an apple, but find ways to utilize the seeds and stem of the apple as well, rather than just throwing it away.
If your primary reason for your diet change is to eat less meat, then you could be considered a reducetarian. According to reducetarian.org, this differs from being a flexitarian because reducetarians “mindfully and gracefully reduce meat consumption with respect to their own diet.”
This easy lifestyle is similar to that of a climatarian. It can improve the well-being of animals and the environment, along with benefiting one's overall health.
Your diet doesn't have to drastically change in order for you to become a reducetarian. People who choose this lifestyle do simple things such as switching to Meatless Mondays, or making sure there are more fruits and vegetables on your plate than there is meat.
Whether you’re a vegetarian, climatarian, flexitarian, or still trying to figure out what diet works for you, it’s nice to know that there is a place for everyone in the world of food.
Sources:
Beyond ‘Vegetarian’. Theatlantic.com. March 17, 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/beyond-vegetarian/473613
What on Earth is a Climatarian?. Grist.com. March 17, 2016. http://grist.org/food/what-on-earth-is-a-climatarian
‘Hangry’? Want a Slice of ‘Piecaken’? The Top New Food Words for 2015. Nytimes.com. March 21, 2016.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/dining/new-food-words.html?ref=dining&mtrref=undefined&_r=0
Going Flexitarian: 8 Easy Eating Shifts. Yahoo.com. March 17, 2016. https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/going-flexitarian-8-easy-eating-shifts-1184...
It’s Good. Reducetarian.oeg. March 21, 2016. http://reducetarian.org/its-good
Clarified: Vegans, pescatarians, raw foodists, and other dietary tribes. Eatocracy.cnn.com. March 21, 2016.http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/07/22/clarified-vegans-pescetarians-raw-foodists-and-other-dietary-tribes
Reviewed March 29, 2016
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith