The Malaysian Vegetarian Society defines a vegetarian as follows:
“A vegetarian is someone who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, fungi, algae, yeast and/or some other non-animal-based foods (e.g. salt) with, or without, dairy products, honey and/or eggs. A vegetarian does not eat foods that consist of, or have been produced with the aid of products consisting of or created from, any part of the body of a living or dead animal. This includes meat, poultry, fish, shellfish*, insects, by-products of slaughter** or any food made with processing aids created from these.”
* Shellfish are typically ‘a sea animal covered with a shell’.
We take shellfish to mean;
Crustaceans (hard external shell) e.g. lobsters, crayfish, crabs, prawns, shrimps.
Molluscs (most are protected by a shell)
e.g. mussels, oysters, winkles, limpets, clams, etc. Also includes cephalopods such as cuttlefish, squid, octopus.
** By-products of slaughter includes gelatin, isinglass and animal rennet.
Vegetarian Types
There are different types of vegetarian:
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Lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat both dairy products and free-range eggs; this is the most common type of vegetarian diet.
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Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products but avoid eggs.
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Ovo-vegetarian. Eats eggs but not dairy products.
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Vegans do not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other products which are derived from animals.
Some people may be vegetarian for religious reasons. Jains, for example, are either lacto-vegetarian or vegan, while some Hindus and Buddhists may choose to practice a vegetarian diet.
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