FLEXITARIAN, VEGETARIAN, OR VEGAN? HERE ARE A FEW DEFINITIONS TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT PAGE

Each are full of nuances, these different terms have one thing in common: They all exclude animal-based products from a person's diet to a greater or lesser extent.

• Vegetarians exclude meat, poultry, and fish from their diet, but may consume eggs (ovo-vegetarians) and/or dairy products (lacto-vegetarians).
• Vegetalians do not eat any animal-based food products at all. This includes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, AND dairy products.
• Vegans do not consume any products that come from animals or exploitation (such as honey) and also avoid animal-based textiles (e.g., leather, fur, wool, and silk). This extends to cosmetics and medications that contain animal substances as well.
• Flexitarians, on the other hand, take a more flexible approach to dietary restrictions than their vegetarian counterparts, reducing their consumption of animal-based products without totally excluding them.

VEGETARIANS: KEY FIGURES

The number of vegetarians varies greatly across the globe. In India, 30% of the population follow a vegetarian diet, most often in line with their religious beliefs. This is the greatest proportion of anywhere in the world. In other countries, vegetarianism (following a vegetarian diet) is generally practiced by less than 10% of the population.¹. However, France falls significantly short of this average, with around 2% of the population being vegetarian.².

IS BEING VEGETARIAN GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH?

A large number of studies over the last several years have all come to the same conclusion: A largely plant-based diet does not pose any risks in terms of deficiencies. In fact, it actually seems to play a protective role with regard to the risk of developing chronic illnesses, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity.³.

Although care needs to be taken with these more restrictive diets, especially when followed by a more vulnerable age group, such as kids, the elderly and people who are sick, a well thought out vegetarian diet does not pose any health problems among the general adult population. However, putting kids on a vegan diet that excludes all animal-based products can have serious consequences on their development (such as anemia, stunted growth, etc.).^[4]. In these types of situations, we would encourage you to speak to a health professional, in order to avoid any deficiencies related to cutting out animal-based products.

WHAT ROLE SHOULD DAIRY PRODUCTS PLAY IN A VEGETARIAN DIET?

Compared to people who eat both plant- and animal-based foods, vegetarians, and vegans even more so, risk not having enough calcium, iron, iodine, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids in their diet^[5]. When you eliminate meat and fish products from your diet, your protein intake is reduced.

However, that nutritional balance can be found in a vegetarian diet, as long as you follow certain important rules:

• Find other sources of protein, by eating eggs and dairy products, for example. Out of these, cheeses such as the Soignon log are a particularly good extra source of plant proteins, which are found in products such as cereals and soy, in particular.
• Combine plant-based and animal-based foods. This nutritional tip applies to everyone, regardless of their diet. As well having proteins with lots of nutritional value, dairy products make it easier to find a good nutritional balance in terms of vitamins and minerals, particularly iodine and calcium.

CAN I EAT CHEESE IF I'M A VEGETARIAN?

To give you a clear answer to this question, we need to look at how cheese is made. To start, the milk is curdled using a rennet, which may or may not be animal based. This is a key ingredient for knowing which cheeses meet vegetarian requirements.

NO, NOT IF THE CHEESE IS MADE USING ANIMAL-BASED RENNET

An animal-based rennet is extracted from the gastric juice found in the fourth stomach (abomasum) of young ruminant animals (such as calves). Consisting of two enzymes (chymosin and pepsin), this rennet allows young ruminant animals to digest milk. As a result, cheeses made using animal-based rennet are not suitable for vegetarians. When a list of ingredients is not provided, it is best to approach the manufacturer to find out whether animal-based rennet is used or not.

YES, IF THE CHEESE IS MADE USING VEGETARIAN RENNET

Nowadays, many cheeses are produced using vegetarian rennet, made from a lactic starter or microbial/plant enzymes. To recognize these products, look for the terms "rennet," "fungal enzyme," or "microbial enzyme" on the labels, which refer to enzymes produced by mold and cultivated in controlled laboratory environments.

Most Soignon products are suitable for vegetarians.