Veganism and Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is commonly defined as the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat and other animal flesh, sometimes including by-products of animal slaughter. A related practice known as veganism takes this a bit further: it is based around abstinence from the use and/or consumption of animal-derived substances (e.g. eggs, honey and dairy products), often for reasons that are as much philosophical as they are dietary. The two terms are somewhat interchangeable, due to the practices' relationship - while not all vegetarians are necessarily vegan, veganism (particularly the dietary kind) is generally considered a form of "strict vegetarianism". Ethical vegans (or "moral vegetarians") take this a step further still, opposing the use of animals for any purpose, such as clothing; this is sometimes referred to as "environmental veganism", especially in relation to the idea that industrial animal farming is unsustainable and hazardous to the environment.

The concept itself is quite old, with the earliest records of vegetarianism coming from India and dated to the 7th century BCE; some sources trace evidence of the practice back even further to the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1300 BCE). In these regions, the diet has been closely connected to the philosophy of nonviolence towards animals (called ahimsa), as well as other towards other living beings: Jainist spiritual teachers Parshwanatha and Mahavira respectively revived and advocated ahimsa and Jain vegetarianism, the most comprehensive and strictest form of vegetarianism known, from the 8th to 6th century BCE.

Meanwhile in what we call the Western world, small groups within ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece would adopt dietary habits similar to vegetarianism, with a very similar reverence for animal life and that of other human beings. Notable examples within this scope include Greek philosophers such as Empedocles, Theophrastus, Plutarch, Plotinus, and Porphyry, as well as Roman poet Ovid and playwright Seneca the Younger. Additionally, Eudoxus of Cnidus writes of Pythagoras that he "was distinguished by such purity and so avoided killing and killers that he not only abstained from animal foods, but even kept his distance from cooks and hunters"; while the life of Pythagoras is obscure such that the veracity of this is disputed, there is information supporting the idea that he at least prohibited his followers from eating beans and wearing woolen garments.

The term "vegetarian" itself originated around the 19th century, with the earliest known written use attributed to Fanny Kemble's Journal of a Residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838–1839. 19th-century Britain and the United States saw the establishment of during which vegetarianism established itself as a significant movement in : In 1813, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley published A Vindication of Natural Diet, advocating "abstinence from animal food and spirituous liquors"; in 1815, London physician William Lambe stated that his "water and vegetable diet" could cure anything from tuberculosis to acne; and during the 1830s, the meatless Graham diet—mostly fruit, vegetables, water, and bread made at home with stoneground flour—became popular as a health remedy. Vegan and vegetarian communities such as the Temple School of Massachusetts (founded in 1834 by the father of Louisa May Alcott), the Concordium on Ham Common and the Vegetarian Society in Manchester also came to be around this time.

Donald Watson would coin the term "vegan" in 1944 when he co-founded the Vegan Society in the UK, where he initially used it to mean "non-dairy vegetarian"; by May 1945, this would evolve into its commonly understood meaning, and in 1951 it was used to describe "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals". How feasible a vegetarian or vegan diet, or even lifestyle, is for any given individual very much depends on their living situation and circumstances - while there is no doubt as to the presence of exploitation in the food industry, that exploitation can take many forms beyond just the abuse of animals.

In terms of fiction, veganism and vegetarianism are subject to portrayals of varying accuracy that includes the following tropes:


 * Animal Wrongs Group: An activist group full of Straw Vegetarians (see below) that hyperfocus on the rights of animals to the frequent detriment of other humans, if not animals as well.
 * Evil Vegetarian: An evil character who's a vegan or vegetarian. They may or may not also have their diet connected to their morality (or rather lack thereof) in order to draw deliberate contrasts.
 * Granola Girl: A specific type of Strawman Political that's usually (but not always) a stereotypically "hippie" liberal or left-wing woman. Granola geeks of all genders are portrayed as decently smart - usually enough that they're not The Ditz or Book Dumb - but not so "smart" that they refrain from being outspoken to a fault, or understand the Appeal to Nature that drives many "all-natural" medical solutions often appropriated from "non-Western" cultures.
 * Straw Vegetarian: This is a more general Strawman Political portrayal of vegans and vegetarians, based on the perception of some modern vegans as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou hypocrites who excessively value animal life above even that of their fellow (and in many cases, more marginalized) human beings. Without getting too into the weeds on the matter, this can be a form of Truth in Television.
 * Veganopia: A Utopia that's vegetarian or vegan.
 * Vegetarian Carnivore: A character of a normally-carnivorous species (or sometimes an omnivorous one) switches to a vegetarian or vegan diet. These tend to be Funny Animals, with the trope addressing Carnivore Confusion and other similar tropes, so they usually won't have too much trouble adjusting. These characters might additionally have a complex about being seen as a "predator", or else simply think hunting isn't worth the trouble.
 * Vegetarian Vampire: Some vampires actively avoid killing humans for blood and substitute other sources in its stead, e.g. animal blood or blood banks, which can be used as a display of their willpower being tested.
 * Vegetarian Zombie: A subversion of the zombie as flesh-eating re-animated corpse, these shamblers instead chow down on plant life - while typically Played for Laughs or otherwise non-seriously, they can still be as deadly as "normal" zombies, especially if they get into vital food supplies.

Advertising

 * Pick a PETA commercial. Any PETA commercial. Opinion is divided as to whether these are shock videos, ham-fisted attempts at promoting the vegan lifestyle, or propaganda either for or against their stated aims.

Anime and Manga

 * Saint Young Men is about Jesus and Buddha being roommates in modern Japan. It follows the historical record and depicts Buddha as being vegetarian.
 * Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion is vegetarian, and her request that no pork be included in her ramen gets an emotional reaction from Asuka.
 * Restaurant to Another World, as a cooking-themed story, has the occasional vegetarian character - including the elf regular customer Fardania, who received a tofu steak dish on her first visit.
 * Tanktop Vegetarian from One-Punch Man has an expository name.
 * Soul Hunter: The protagonist Taikobo doesn't like eating meat.
 * Count D from Pet Shop of Horrors does not eat meat.
 * The Morose Mononokean has the yokai Shiho ("Justice" in the dub), who refuses to eat meat for ethical reasons, despite having a leopard-like body.
 * Ryūko Mifune from Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl is a fruitarian.
 * The title character of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is a vegetarian, and lectures the other characters about her lifestyle.
 * Despite his name, Marine Captain T-Bone from One Piece doesn't eat t-bones... or any other meat.

Comic Books

 * Scott Pilgrim has Todd, the third of Ramona's ex-boyfriends, as an enemy. Todd gains "psychic powers" from his vegan diet.

Film

 * M'Baku from Black Panther is vegetarian, as are the other members of his tribe. In interviews, his actor Winston Duke considered the role as "kind of teaching kids that eating vegetables is cool".

Literature

 * The unnamed monster in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus eats "acorns and berries".

Live-Action TV

 * Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series, as mentioned in the episode "All Our Yesterdays". The Other Wiki says that there is a claim that he is "television's first vegetarian".

Video Games

 * NetHack tracks conducts for both vegan and vegetarian diets. The Monk role in particular is expected to maintain at least a vegetarian diet, with small alignment penalties occurring each time they consume meat.

Western Animation

 * At the request of his original voice actor Casey Kasem, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo was eventually revealed to be a vegetarian.
 * Lisa Simpson became a vegetarian during The Simpsons season 7 episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" (the one with Paul McCartney as a guest-star), and the same episode showed that Apu had always been vegetarian. Unlike most changes on The Simpsons, this one to Lisa's diet stuck.
 * The Goode Family are "politically correct in every way", including being vegetarians.