Are you looking for the frequently asked questions area of the Daytona Beach Vegetarian site? Then you've come to the right spot. Since this is a new group in the Daytona area we haven't had many questions. So I took these questions that often come up about vegetarianism. If you have others feel free to e-mail me.

What is a vegetarian?

This is a question that often comes up because there are many people that claim to be vegetarians that aren't. Some people may claim to be vegetarian, while they actually eat fish or chicken, or even steak, on Friday's. While it's great that these people are cutting back on their meat consumption, they are not actually vegetarian. And by calling themselves vegetarians they end up sending mixed messages to the public about what a vegetarian is what they will eat.

The Daytona Beach Vegetarian Society follows the philosophy of the dictionary, the American Dietetic Association and all major vegetarian groups in the country. Here are the types of vegetarian:

Vegetarian – One that does not eat meat, fish/seafood, and poultry.

Lacto-ovo vegetarian- Vegetarian that eats eggs and dairy products.

Lacto-vegetarian – Vegetarian that eats dairy products, no eggs.

Ovo-vegetarian- Vegetarian that eats eggs, no dairy products.

Vegan – Excludes all animal flesh and their byproducts (e.g., wearing leather, wool, silk, etc.).

How many vegetarians are there?

This is a question that people can't really answer. It's hard to determine how many vegetarians there are because of the variety of responses people give when being polled. While vegetarianism is a very small segment of the population in America, it's much more popular throughout the entire world. Some figures estimate the vegetarian population in America at being around 3-5 percent of the adult population. However, in recent years it there has been a rise in the number of people adopting the lifestyle.

Who are some famous vegetarians?

There are many famous vegetarians! Even former President Bill Clinton has recently went vegan. Others include Steve Wynn, Carrie Underwood, River Phoenix, Bob Barker, Paul McCartney, and others! Throughout history some of the greatest minds were vegetarian, including Pythagoras, Plato, Plutarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Luther, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Vincent Van Gogh, J.H. Kellogg, George Barnard Shaw, Albert Einstein, and many others!