VEGETABLE

The first thing we are going to do is proceed to determine the etymological origin of the term vegetable. In this case, we find that with the fact that it emanates from a Latin word: vegetare , which can be translated as "grow".

A vegetable is an organic being that grows and has life although it does not change its place by voluntary impulse . Vegetables, in fact, lack a locomotor system. The term is also used to name everything belonging to or related to plants .

Vegetables can synthesize their own food through photosynthesis. They are made up of multicellular organisms (with eukaryotic cells ) and can measure from a few centimeters (like moss) to several meters high (like certain trees).

The concept is little used in the scientific field, where it is preferred to speak of plants (a taxon studied by botany, which is a branch of biology ). The use of the notion of vegetable is limited to food and to nutrition or gastronomy.

The plant foods include the vegetables (such as vegetables and tubers) and legumes . Lettuce, tomato, celery, and onion are vegetables. All of these types of foods have a variety of vitamins that help the body in different ways.

However, there are many more types of vegetables. Thus, we find vegetables, fruits, cereals, tubers, nuts, algae, mushrooms, natural sweeteners, spices and those known as stimulating plants that allow us to obtain foods such as coffee.

Vegetarianism is known as the diet that abstains from the consumption of meat of any animal (cows, pigs, chickens, fish, etc.) and that is based on the consumption of vegetables, fruits and cereals. One who practices these diets is known as a vegetarian.

In addition to all the above, it must be stressed that this aforementioned diet is taken as a maxim by many people based on various reasons and motives. Thus, for example, there are those that adopt it for religious reasons, those that do so for health reasons or those that take ethical criteria as a basis. The latter are the ones who decide to become vegetarian because they are against the harm done to animals.

There are different types of vegetarians. There are those who do not ingest any product derived from animals, such as eggs or milk. In these cases, we speak of strict vegetarians or vegans .

It is interesting to establish that vegans not only have strong convictions in food matters, but that they also extrapolate them to other aspects of their lives, such as clothing. In this sense, they are opposed to wearing any type of garment that has been made using animal skins as well as wool or silk from the same origin.

And all this without overlooking either that these ideas make them reject leisure activities such as circuses, bullfights or theme parks, considering that they treat animals with contempt.

The option to eat only vegetables is often an ethical decision of those who oppose the slaughter of animals for their meat.