Shenna87P79423 at 18:51, 21 January 2026

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{{Short description|Vegetarian diet allowing dairy products}}
[[File:Soy-whey-protein-diet.jpg|thumb|Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products and honey, but not eggs or meat.]]
A '''lacto-vegetarian''' (sometimes referred to as a '''lactarian'''; from the [[Latin]] root '''lact-''', meaning ''milk'') diet abstains from the consumption of [[Egg as food|eggs]] as well as [[meat]], while still consuming [[dairy product]]s such as [[milk]], [[cheese]] (without animal [[rennet]], i.e., from microbial sources), [[yogurt]], [[butter]], [[ghee]], [[cream]], and [[kefir]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian|title=Becoming a vegetarian|date=Oct 2009|access-date=18 Nov 2017|website=Harvard Health|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609172502/https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian|archive-date=2017-06-09 }}</ref> as well as [[honey]].

==History==

The concept and practice of lacto-vegetarianism among a significant number of people comes from [[ancient India]].<ref>Spencer, Colin: ''The Heretic's Feast. A History of Vegetarianism'', London: Fourth Estate 1993, p. 69–84. {{ISBN|1-85702-078-2}}.</ref>

An early western advocate of lacto-vegetarianism was the Scottish physician [[George Cheyne (physician)|George Cheyne]] who promoted a milk and vegetable-based diet to [[Treatment of obesity|treat obesity]] and other health problems in the early 18th century.<ref>Kiple, Kenneth F; Ornelas, Kriemhild Coneè. (2000). ''The Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 2''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. p. 1556. {{ISBN|0-521-40215-8}}</ref><ref>Beatty, Heather R. (2012). ''Nervous Disease in Late Eighteenth-Century Britain: The Reality of a Fashionable Disorder''. Routledge. pp. 103-104. {{ISBN|978-1-84893-308-8}}</ref>

During the 19th century, the diet became associated with [[naturopathy]]. German naturopaths [[Heinrich Lahmann]] and [[Theodor Hahn]] promoted lacto-vegetarian diets of raw vegetables, [[whole wheat bread]], and dairy products such as milk.<ref>Bergdolt, Klaus. (2008). ''Wellbeing: A Cultural History of Healthy Living''. Polity Press. p. 286. {{ISBN|978-07456-2913-1}}</ref><ref>Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret. (2010). ''Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism''. ABC-CLIO. p. 116. {{ISBN|978-0-313-37556-9}}</ref><ref name="Treitel 2017">Treitel, Corinna. (2017). ''Eating Nature in Modern Germany: Food, Agriculture and Environment, c.1870 to 2000''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 77-81. {{ISBN|978-1-107-18802-0}}</ref>

In the 20th century, lacto-vegetarianism was promoted by the American biochemist [[Elmer McCollum]] and the Danish physician and nutritionist [[Mikkel Hindhede]].<ref name="Treitel 2017"/><ref name="Iacobbo 2004">Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2004). ''Vegetarian America: A History''. pp. 138-140. {{ISBN|0-275-97519-3}}</ref> In 1918, McCollum commented that "lacto-vegetarianism should not be confused with strict vegetarianism. The former is, when the diet is properly planned, the most highly satisfactory plan which can be adopted in the nutrition of man."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Newer Knowledge of Nutrition|url=https://archive.org/details/newerknowledgen02mccogoog|author=McCollum, Elmer Verner|year=1918|publisher=Macmillan Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/newerknowledgen02mccogoog/page/n74 52]}}</ref>

Hindhede became a food advisor to the [[Danish government]] during [[World War I]] and was influential in introducing a lacto-vegetarian diet to the public.<ref name="Treitel 2017"/><ref name="Iacobbo 2004"/><ref name="Sebastia 2017">{{cite book |author-last=Briesen |author-first=Detlef |chapter=What is a healthy diet? Some ideas about the construction of healthy food in Germany since the nineteenth century |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TMlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 |editor-last=Sebastia |editor-first=Brigitte |year=2017 |title=Eating Traditional Food: Politics, Identity and Practices |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |series=Routledge Studies in Food, Society and The Environment |page=172 |isbn=978-1-138-18700-9 |lccn=2016021306}}</ref> The system of rationing restricted meat and alcohol so the [[Danes|Danish population]] were mostly living on a diet of milk and vegetables.<ref name="Sebastia 2017"/> During the years of food restriction from 1917 to 1918, both [[Mortality rate|mortality]] and [[morbidity]] decreased;<ref name="Sebastia 2017"/> the mortality rate dropped by 34%, the lowest death rate ever reported for Denmark.<ref name="Iacobbo 2004"/> Hindhede's dieting ideas expressed in his scientific publications, along with those written by other Scandinavian scientists, were translated in German and well received amongst the [[Right-wing politics|right-wing political spectrum]] in [[Weimar Republic|post-war Germany]].<ref name="Sebastia 2017"/> Subsequently, lacto-vegetarianism was strongly supported by [[Lebensreform|German life reformers]] (''Lebensreform'') and became influential on some of the leading exponents of the [[National Socialist movement]].<ref name="Sebastia 2017"/>

The uric-acid free diet of [[Alexander Haig (physician)|Alexander Haig]] was lacto-vegetarian. On this diet only cheese, milk, nuts, certain vegetables, and [[white bread]] could be eaten.<ref>{{cite journal|year=1908|title=Reviewed Work: Uric Acid As A Factor In The Causation Of Disease by Alexander Haig|journal=The British Medical Journal|volume=2|issue=2483|page=263}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Whorton, James C.|year=1981|title=Muscular Vegetarianism: The Debate Over Diet and Athletic Performance in the Progressive Era|journal=Journal of Sport History|volume=8|issue=2|pages=58–75|pmid=11614819}}</ref><ref>Barnett, L. Margaret. (1995). ''Every Man His Own Physician: Dietetic Fads, 1890-1914''. In Harmke Kamminga, Andrew Cunningham. ''The Science and Culture of Nutrition, 1840-1940''. p. 165. Rodopi. {{ISBN|90-5183-818-2}}</ref>

[[Mahatma Gandhi]] was a notable lacto-vegetarian, who drank milk daily.<ref name="Phelps 2007">Phelps, Norm. (2007). ''The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA''. Lantern Books. pp. 165-166. {{ISBN|978-1-59056-106-5}}</ref> In 1931, Gandhi commented that:

{{blockquote|I know we must all err. I would give up milk if I could, but I cannot. I have made that experiment times without number. I could not, after a serious illness, regain my strength, unless I went back to milk. That has been the tragedy of my life.<ref name="Phelps 2007"/><ref>[https://ivu.org/news/evu/other/gandhi2.html "The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism"]. Speech delivered by Gandhi at a Social Meeting organised by the London Vegetarian Society, 20 November 1931.</ref>}}

In 1936, [[Narasinh Narayan Godbole]] authored ''Milk: The Most Perfect Food'', a book defending lacto-vegetarianism and [[Ethics of eating meat|promoting the consumption of dairy products in opposition to meat]].<ref>{{cite journal|year=1937|title=Reviewed Work: Milk, The Most Perfect Food by N. N. Godbole, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya|journal=[[Current Science]]|volume=5|issue=11|pages=600–601|jstor=24204292}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=A. C. D.|year=1938|title=Milk the Most Perfect Food. N. N. Godbole, Benares Hindu Univ., Dipawali, India, 1936|journal=[[Journal of Dairy Science]]|url=https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(38)93006-1/pdf|volume=21|issue=9|page=242}}</ref>

==Rennet==

Historically most commercial cheese was made with calf [[rennet]], making this an issue for lacto-vegetarians. Fig and thistle rennet were used in ancient times but such plant-based rennets were not suitable for the manufacture of long-ripened cheese varieties so calf rennet became the standard until there was a shortage of supply.<ref>{{cite book |author=Fox, Patrick F; McSweeney, Paul L. H; Cogan, Timothy M; Guinee, Timothy P. |date=2004 |title=Cheese: Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology, Third Edition, Volume 1: General Aspects |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/General_Aspects_vol_1/vz-2Y7npqj0C |publisher=Elsevier Academic Press |pages=1-3 |isbn=0-1226-3652-X}}</ref>

[[John Smith (vegetarian)|John Smith]] in his book ''The Principles and Practice of Vegetarian Cookery'' in 1860 wrote about a "vegetable rennet" made from the flowers of ''[[Galium verum]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=John |first=Smith |date= 1860|title=The Principles and Practice of Vegetarian Cookery |url=https://archive.org/details/b21531080/page/26/mode/2up |location=London |publisher=Simpkin, Marshall, and Co |page=26}}</ref> In 1898, W. A. Macdonald in ''[[The Vegetarian (magazine)|The Vegetarian]]'' magazine commented that fig and thistle rennet had been successful in experiment but only calf rennet had commercial significance.<ref>{{cite journal|year=1898|title=Is Cheese a Vegetarian Food?|journal=The Vegetarian|url=https://archive.org/details/vegetarianmonthl00unse_1/page/106/mode/2up|volume=3|issue=7|pages=106-110}}</ref> In India in the late 19th-century, the berries from ''[[Withania coagulans]]'' were used as a vegetarian rennet and sold in powdered capsules.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002598%2F18830728&page=2 |title=Vegetarian Cheese Rennet|newspaper=The Examiner |date=July 28, 1883|page=2}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000452%2F18830802&page=4 |title=Vegetarian Cheese|newspaper=The Edinburgh Evening News |date=August 2, 1883|page=4}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Kothavalla, Z. R; Khubchandani, P. G.|year=1940|title=Withania Coagulans as a Vegetable Rennet|journal=Indian Journal of Veterinary Science|url=https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/19420400357|volume=10|issue=3|pages=284-288}}</ref>

Most commercial cheese in the United States is currently made using [[chymosin]]. Some vegetarians consider this an acceptable alternative, whilst others do not as the gene used to make microbial chymosin originated from calves.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Yacoubou, Jeanne|date=2012|title=Microbial Rennets and Fermentation Produced Chymosin (FPC): How Vegetarian Are They?|url=https://www.vrg.org/blog/2012/08/21/microbial-rennets-and-fermentation-produced-chymosin-fpc-how-vegetarian-are-they/|website=The Vegetarian Resource Group|language=en-GB|archive-date=March 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306032254/https://www.vrg.org/blog/2012/08/21/microbial-rennets-and-fermentation-produced-chymosin-fpc-how-vegetarian-are-they/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Religion==
{{See also|Ahimsa|Ethical vegetarian|Environmental vegetarianism}}

Lacto-vegetarian diets are popular with certain followers of the [[Dharmic religion|Dharmic]] religious traditions such as [[Jainism|Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Sikhism]]. The core of their beliefs behind a lacto-vegetarian diet is the law of [[ahimsa]], or non-violence.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021|reason=Your explanation here}}

===Hinduism===
According to the [[Vedas]] (Hindu holy scriptures), all living beings are equally valued.<ref>[http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/5/18/en1 Bhagavad Gita 5.18] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917212912/http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/5/18/en1 |date=2009-09-17 }} "The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]."</ref><ref name="hinduwebsite.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/animals.asp |title=Animals in Hinduism, second paragraph |publisher=Hinduwebsite.com |access-date=2014-03-14}}</ref> Hindus believe that vegetarianism is vital for spiritual progress.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Filippini |first1=Massimo |last2=Srinivasan |first2=Suchita |date=2019-10-01 |title=Impact of religious participation, social interactions and globalization on meat consumption: Evidence from India |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988319303457 |journal=Energy Economics |series=Eighth Atlantic Workshop on Energy and Environmental Economics |language=en |volume=84 |article-number=104550 |doi=10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104550 |s2cid=211301067 |issn=0140-9883|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It takes many more vegetables or plants to produce an equal amount of meat,<ref name=feed800>{{cite web|url=https://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug97/livestock.hrs.html |title=U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat |publisher=News.cornell.edu |date=1997-08-07 |access-date=2014-03-14}}</ref> many more lives are destroyed, and in this way more suffering is caused when meat is consumed.<ref name=Gabriel001>Gabriel Cousens, Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini, North Athlantic Books, page 251</ref> Although some suffering and pain is inevitably caused to other living beings to satisfy the human need for food, according to ahimsa, every effort should be made to minimize suffering.<ref name=Gabriel001/> This is to avoid [[Karma|karmic consequences]] and show respect for living things, because all living beings are equally valued in these traditions,<ref name="hinduwebsite.com"/> a vegetarian diet rooted in [[ahimsa]] is only one aspect of environmentally conscious living, relating to those beings affected by our need for food.<ref name=Gabriel001/> However, this does not apply to all Hindus; some do consume meat, though usually not any form of beef.

In India, lacto-vegetarian is considered synonymous to vegetarian, while eggs are considered a meat product.<ref>[https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/indian-girl-confronts-hindu-nationalists-in-row-over-school-eggs-p00jngjmv "Eggs off menu at schools in Hindu row"]. thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2023.</ref> However, in other parts of the world, vegetarianism generally refers to [[lacto-ovo vegetarianism|ovo–lacto vegetarianism]] instead, allowing eggs into the diet.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mariotti |first1=François |last2=Gardner |first2=Christopher D. |title=Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in Vegetarian Diets—A Review |journal=Nutrients |date=2019 |volume=11 |issue=11 |page=2661 |doi=10.3390/nu11112661 |pmid=31690027 |pmc=6893534 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Many Hindu [[Wrestling in India|wrestlers]] are strict lacto-vegetarians and follow a [[Sattvic diet]]. A large part of their diet is milk, ghee, almonds and chickpeas.<ref>Alter, Joseph S. (1992). [https://web.archive.org/web/20231110192418/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6n39p104&chunk.id=s1.5.3&toc.id=&brand=ucpress "The Discipline of the Wrestler's Body"]. In ''The Wrestler's Body Identity and Ideology in North India''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0520076976}}</ref>

===Jainism===

In the case of [[Jainism]], the vegetarian standard is strict. It allows the consumption of only fruit and leaves that can be taken from plants without causing their death. This further excludes from the diet [[list of root vegetables|root vegetables]] like [[carrot]]s, [[potato]]es, [[onion]]s, [[garlic]], [[radish]], [[turnip]]s, [[turmeric]], etc since uprooting plants is considered as bad [[karma]] in Jainism.<ref name="Shah2004">{{cite book|author=Natubhai Shah|title=Jainism: The World of Conquerors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLNQKGcDIhsC|year=2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|isbn=978-81-208-1938-2|pages=249–251}}</ref> Jains also do not consume [[honey]] since it is considered as stealing food and also because honey collecting destroys [[bee hive]]s and bee eggs and bee larvae inside it.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atmadharma.com/shastras/vegetarian_food_and_jain_conduct_eng_txt/vfjcmp08.html | title=VEGETARIAN-FOOD AND JAIN-CONDUCT, Honey }}</ref>

===Sikhism===

The [[Namdhari]]s, a Sikh sect, follow a strict lacto-vegetarian diet and have quoted verses from the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] endorsing vegetarianism; they also advocate for cow protection.<ref>Clarke, Peter B. (2004). ''Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements''. Taylor & Francis. pp. 425–426. {{ISBN|978-1134499700}}</ref><ref>[http://www.namdhari-world.com/vegetarianism.html "Vegetarianism"]. namdhari-world.com. Retrieved 31 January 2023.</ref><ref>[http://www.ivu.org/congress/wvc57/souvenir/namdhari2.html "A Namdhari Sikh's Testimony"]. ivu.org. Retrieved 31 January 2023.</ref> The [[Damdami Taksal]] also cite the Guru Granth Sahib and advocate a strict lacto-vegetarian diet.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Nesbitt, Eleanor|year=2015|title=The Fools Argue about Flesh and Meat': Sikhs and Vegetarianism|journal=Religions of South Asia|volume=9|issue=1|pages=81–101|doi=10.1558/rosa.v9i1.22123}}</ref><ref name="Vegetarian">[https://www.damdamitaksal.com/code-of-conduct#h3-11-3-halaal-ndash-eating-meat-fish-and-eggs "The Fools Argue about Flesh and Meat': Sikhs and Vegetarianism"]. damdamitaksal.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.</ref> Eating meat is not allowed in any form including eggs, [[Fish as food|fish]] and [[gelatine]].<ref name="Vegetarian"/>

==Lacto-vegetarians and vegans==

The primary difference between a [[veganism|vegan]] and a lacto-vegetarian diet is the avoidance of dairy products and honey. Vegans do not consume dairy products and honey, believing that their production causes the animal suffering or a premature death,<ref name=marcus>{{cite book|title=Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating|author=Erik Marcus|date=2000|publisher=McBooks Press, Incorporated |isbn=978-1-59013-344-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hHjqs43t8oC}}</ref> or otherwise abridges [[animal rights]].

==Comparison==
{{Comparison of vegetarian and semi-vegetarian diets}}

==See also==

{{div col}}
* [[Lacto-ovo vegetarianism|Lacto–ovo vegetarianism]]
* [[List of butter dishes]]
* [[List of cheese dishes]]
* [[List of dairy products]]
* [[List of diets]]
* [[List of vegetable dishes]]
* [[Ovo vegetarianism]]
* [[Sentient foods]]
* [[Vegetarianism]]
* [[VeggieBoards]], a vegetarian forum
{{div col end}}


==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Vegetarianism}}

* [http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/nutshell.htm The Vegetarian Resource Group]

{{Vegetarianism}}

[[Category:Diets]]
[[Category:Vegetarian diets]]
[[Category:Intentional living]]
[[Category:Animal rights]]

[[pt:Vegetarianismo#Lactovegetarianismo]]

Lacto vegetarianism - Revision history

Shenna87P79423 at 18:51, 21 January 2026