A flexitarian diet simply means eating mostly vegetarian with occasional meat.
The question some ask is it healthy or unhealthy to be flexitarian, or can it be another beneficial path for plant-based fitness? Allow me to suggest that a flexitarian diet is healthy, plant-based, and misunderstood.
Flexitarians are often confused with omnivores, but omnivores don’t typically care whether they eat meat or plants. Flexitarians strive to eat mostly veggies and fruits, and hardly any meat. The meat they do eat is carefully selected to be produced open-range and antibiotic/hormone free.
Oddly enough, a flexitarian diet can be even more plant-based than a vegan diet.
This is because you can technically eat “vegan” (e.g. French fries, soda, cereal, etc.) all day and not have actually consumed a single vegetable. This more recent class of plant-based fellows, or semi-vegetarians, is also the most ancient expression of vegetarianism.
It turns out that most vegetarians across the globe eat some meat. You may enjoy reading “Origins of Vegetarianism” for some perspective on the subject. It is my observation that our culture tends to be more concerned with labels than the rest of the planet. We may get along better if we lightened up on striving for black and white all the time.
The word “flexitarian” entered into the mainstream with the publication of the book, “The Flexitarian Diet” in 2008. Major news channels, including Newsweek, have all covered the flexitarian trend. When the term became social media worthy, this group created their own Facebook page.
Are Flexitarians a Type of Vegetarian?
Yes, sort of. A flexitarian/semi-vegetarian is an expression of vegetarianism, but only if you have the willingness to see the world in shades of color, so to speak. It’s funny how some people treat this domain of nutrition like a competition or a VIP club.
Many of my fellow vegetarian bodybuilders do consider semi-vegetarians as part of the family; they don’t feel the need to turn their noses up at someone just because they express their diet a little differently.
We are all a community of human-beings who strive for better health and a better world. And to those who use hateful, arrogant energy and disposition to tell your fellow man/woman they should be compassionate and not kill animals is at best ugly and hypocritical. Although the essence of the content has good intention, the delivery is sad and unfortunate.
I believe this is an import subject that we can all do better on.
Eat More Plants, Show More Love
A flexitarian diet is overall a good and healthy thing.
The bigger picture of eating more plants and less meat makes its own respective contribution to compassion for animals, preserving resources and the environment, and quality personal health. The more thoughtfully and less judgmentally we can invite others to eat more plants, the better the aggregate effect.
Thank you for allowing me to rant, my friends.
