素食主义(vegetarianism)
以植物为食的理论或实践，素食主义的食物包括谷物、蔬果及坚果，肉、禽和鱼类完全排除在外，但某些素食食用乳产品（乳素食者）、蛋产品（蛋素食者）或两者（蛋乳素食者）。不食动物产品者（包括蜂蜜）被称为纯素食者。素食的动机有几种情况：道德伦理（不愿意杀牲以食和厌恶饲养牲畜为了食肉）、克己或宗教禁忌、生态学以及健康。素食主义者指出素食对健康有益，会让心脏疾病、糖尿病、结肠癌和过重等疾患发生的机率较低。人体主要营养素的素食来源有：摄取足够的蛋白质、不饱和脂肪酸、亚油酸、亚麻酸、淀粉、维生素E、维生素B1、维生素B2、维生素C、钙和碘等。素食首次记载出於毕达哥拉斯（西元前6世纪）及其随从的教谕中。许多印度教派和大多数佛教信徒都是素食主义者。17和18世纪欧洲兴起人道主义，推动人类对动物之怜悯。英国成为素食主义的主要中心，素食主义运动在德国、美国和其他国家快速兴起。
English version：
vegetarianism
Theory or practice of eating only plants. The vegetarian diet includes grains, vegetables, fruits, and nuts; it excludes meat, poultry, and fish, but some vegetarians eat dairy products (lactovegetarians), egg products (ovovegetarians), or both (ovolactovegetarians). Those who eat no animal products (including honey) are called vegans. Motivations vary and include ethics (both unwillingness to kill animals and abhorrence of modern methods of raising animals for meat), self-denial or religious taboo, ecology (including concern about the wastefulness and environmental costs of beef farming), and health. Vegetarians point to the many health benefits of their diet, including low rates of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and overweight. While obtaining sufficient protein is seldom a problem in affluent societies, vegetarians must be careful to consume enough iron and, especially for vegans, calcium and vitamins D and B12. The most influential early proponent of vegetarianism was Pythagoras, in the 6th century BC. Many Hindu sects and most Buddhists are vegetarian, and much of the world eats hardly any meat because it is unavailable. The Enlightenment led to a humane concern for animals; in the 19th century Britain became a major center of vegetarianism, and vegetarian movements soon arose in Germany, the U.S., and other countries.