Diverse plant-based dietary patterns: A taxonomy of vegetarian variants
Max Müller
2026-03-24
6 min. read
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Just a few decades ago, abstaining from animal-derived products was widely regarded as a contentious nutritional experiment fraught with the risk of dietary deficiencies—or even as a whimsical choice made by those seeking unconventional lifestyles. Today, however, meat-free diets—and particularly their most stringent iteration, veganism—have transitioned from the fringes of society to mainstream acceptance. Far from being marginalized, they have garnered endorsement from both nutrition professionals and the general public, emerging as one of the defining trends in contemporary culinary culture. This shift in perceptions surrounding plant-based dietary models is all the more striking given that, until recently, the prevailing belief was that animal products were indispensable for maintaining optimal health.
The history of vegetarianism
The cradle of vegetarianism is India, where it was practiced on a large scale as part of religion. The meat-free diet was also used in ancient Greece, but it had much fewer adherents. Vegetarians were mainly philosophers and representatives of the upper class of society. The idea that enlightened the vegetarian diet was to reduce animal suffering. Meat restriction was also practiced in the Middle Ages as a part of a post.
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