The word flexitarian is a combination of two words, flexible and vegetarian. This means you are flexible in your vegetarianism. Most of the time, a flexitarian follows a vegetarian lifestyle.
A vegetarian lifestyle is one in which they avoid eating any food which results in the slaughter of a living creature. Beef, chicken, turkey, pork, fish and seafood are all off the menu for a true vegetarian.
By contrast, a flexitarian will eat the above foods on occasion. There are a range of variations based on personal taste and ethics. For example, many flexitarians completely give up red meat. Some will continue to eat poultry. Others will continue to eat fish and seafood. Still others will continue to eat both.
The theory is that poultry and fish are not mammals and therefore do not feel the same degree of pain as a cow, pig or sheep. Chickens and fish do of course feel pain, so this is a spurious argument.
However, being a strict vegetarian or vegan (they don’t eat any animal products at all, not even dairy, eggs or honey) is a significant commitment in terms of time, money and effort, and not one that everyone can live up to easily.
Ethics and Health
Not everyone who decides to cut down on meat and follow a more vegetarian path is interested in animal rights. Some make the decision for health reasons. Eating too much red meat has been linked to heart disease. All animal-based product contain cholesterol, which can clog arteries and lead to heart attack, stroke and blood clots that can even lead to amputation of a limb in some cases.
Those who have heart health issues in the family will often try to be proactive and prevent the medical condition from ever occurring. Others might get a health scare and decide to ‘clean up their act’ by giving up red meat.
Flexitarianism is Easy
Being a flexitarian suits many people because they don’t have to make such drastic changes in their live and really don’t need to spend a lot of time worrying about nutrition. Studies have shown that a balanced diet without red meat can be one of the healthiest eating lifestyles.
If you’ve been thinking about going vegetarian for ethical or health reasons but are worried you might not know what to eat or how you can ever stick to it, you can ease yourself in slow with a flexitarian diet and see if it’s right for you.
