Over 3 million people in the UK are vegetarian, and around a quarter of people in the world have a mainly veggie diet.
What is a vegetarian?
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, poultry or fish, and who avoids ingredients in foods that have come from dead animals, for example gelatine in sweets. Some people are very strict, others just stick to avoiding the actual meat, poultry and fish.
Some people would say they are a vegetarian but eat fish. If they eat fish but avoid land animal meat or birds this is called being a pescetarian.
What is a vegan?
A vegan is someone who tries to live without harming animals. This means they avoid eating anything that has come from an animal. They will also avoid wearing or using anything made of leather, wool, silk or any other products that have come from an animal. You’d be surprised at the amount of things this includes.
The Vegan Society produces information on what products are safe to buy. Find out more on the Vegan Society website. While you're there, give the Vegan Shopping Game a go to see what's ok for vegans to eat.
Does giving up meat affect your health?
Being a vegetarian or vegan can be healthy as long as you eat a wide range of foods and have a good balance of portions.
The main things you miss out when giving up meat is protein and iron. You can get loads of protein from other sources such as nuts, beans, pulses, soya, tofu and dairy products. You can get iron from wholemeal bread, pulses, leafy green vegetables and dried fruit. Often breakfast cereals have added iron.
Vegetarian or vegan cooking
For useful ideas on different vegetarian or vegan recipes, try visiting your local library for recipe books. You can also find a wide range of recipes on websites such as BBC Food.
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