Pat Meadows writes:

[1] From Merriam Webster online (for the definition of a
vegetarian they say 'one who practices vegetarianism'):

: the theory or practice of living on a diet made up of
vegetables , fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or
dairy products

This definition is at least consistent: no food which required an
animal to die. Eggs sold for eating are normally unfertilized, so
they were never alive. Of course, chickens and cows on large farms
don't live very long and are sent to slaughter as soon as their
productivity drops, but that's not as direct.

I knew a woman who only ate chicken and fish because she saw a TV show
once about the conditions that certain milk-fed veal are raised in.
Never mind that most carnivores go their whole lives without ever
eating veal -- I can't remember the last time I saw it at my grocer's,
and I couldn't afford it if I did -- she swore off all eating of hairy
animals. Good thing she didn't see a show about how chickens are
usually raised; their conditions are much nastier than that of most
cattle or hogs.

I eat as much meat as possible myself, but almost all of it comes from
my parents' farm, and is butchered either by us or a local small
butcher. Some of the stuff I've seen about the way livestock are
raised on large corporate farms, and then treated in large
slaughterhouses, would nearly make me swear off meat if I had to buy
it all from who-knows-where.

Main Entry: veg·an

: a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy
products; also : one who abstains from using animal products
(as leather)

This one's consistent too, but I'd think it'd be awfully expensive to
get a balanced diet with enough protein.


--
Aaron