Many different cultures around the world, especially in Latin America, the Mediterranean, Africa, India, Japan, and China rely on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, herbs, and spices to bring great flavors, colors, and sound nutrition to their daily meals. Here’s a quick look at several popular, healthful diets that all focus on increasing the amount of plant foods you eat every day.
Semi-Vegetarian or Flexitarian Includes dairy foods, eggs, and small amounts of meat, poultry, fish, and seafood.
Pescatarian Includes dairy foods, eggs, fish and seafood, but no meat or poultry.
Vegetarian (also known as Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian) Includes dairy foods and eggs, but no meat, poultry, fish, or seafood.
Vegan Includes no animal foods.
History of the Vegetarian and Vegan Diet Pyramid
The original Vegetarian Diet Pyramid, the fourth traditional diet pyramid released by Oldways, was presented at the 1997 International Conference on Vegetarian Diets held in Austin, Texas. Development of this Pyramid has followed a different pattern than did the development of the Mediterranean, Latin American, African Heritage and Asian Diet Pyramids. Rather than being geographically determined, as there are vegetarians in all parts of the world, the Traditional Healthy Vegetarian Diet Pyramid rests upon the epidemiology of groups of vegetarians in all parts of the world.
Participating scientists at the 1997 Conference in Austin included Colin Campbell; Cornell; the late Gene Spiller, Health and Research Studies Center; Larry Kushi, (then) University of Minnesota; Johanna Dwyer, Tufts; Mark Messina, editor and author; Sonja Connor, Oregon Health Sciences University; the late James Duke; Gary Fraser, Loma Linda University; Ella Haddad, Loma Linda University; Penny Kris-Etherton, Penn State University; and Marion Nestle, New York University.
In October 2013, Oldways introduced a new version of the pyramid, which for the first time includes vegan guidelines. To create this updated Vegetarian & Vegan Diet Pyramid, Oldways brought together a world-renowned scientific committee to review extensive scientific data on plant-based diets and provide recommendations.
