A vegetarian in simple terms would be one who removes any animal meat from his/her diet for reasons that may vary from health culture, religion, or ethics. However, there are variants of the diet such as lacto- ovo , lactoard ovo-vegetarian. Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not eat slaughtered meat but include eggs, dairy and honey in their diet. Lacto vegetarians only include products produced by animals such as milk or honey, while ovo vegetarians stay away from meats and dairy products.

There is also what is called semi- vegetarian pescetarian, who allows the consumption of fish shellfish, and crustaceans, and pollotarian, who includes poultry and fowl in his/her diet.

Vegan on the other hand, seems to be a stricter and truer version of a vegetarian where one not only removes animal meat from his/her diet, but also excludes any animal by-products from his/her lifestyle such as milk, dairy, feathers, leather, silk, etc , whether the animal was slaughtered for it or not. Many espouse this lifestyle for reasons such as anti-animal farming or animal rights, aside from possible health, spiritual, or environmental concerns. But have you seen or head about the vegan food pyramid? I haven’t heard or seen one since I’m also not a vegan. Look at the illustration below: (Click the image to see a larger view)