Madam, - The idea of vegetarianism stretches back many centuries and, until relatively recently, was always to refer to a person who abstains from the consumption of meat, i.e. the flesh of any dead animal.
As a vegetarian of some years standing, I naturally noticed the article entitled "A Secret Vegetarian" (Health Supplement, December 21st) by Haydn Shaughnessy. Was there some other type of vegetarian I had somehow missed out on, other than the myriad, demi, semi, lacto and whatever-you're-having-yourself varieties that seem to be accepted as par for the course nowadays?
It is bad enough being asked with tedious regularity, "Do you eat fish?" - as a result of which, I'm invariably tempted to ask the person in question whether they've ever seen fish grow from trees or sprout from the earth. Instead I usually meekly respond with a quiet "No", already rapidly anticipating the next question: "If you don't eat meat what do you eat?" - as if fruit, vegetables, nuts, pulses and dairy produce didn't exist. "Everything else", is generally my stock answer to this form of grilling.
Anyway, apparently the definition a "vegetarian", as Mr Shaughnessy risibly regards himself, can now be expanded to include someone, as he puts it, who "eats meat for specific health objectives". He writes: "people often react with surprising aggression to my own views about food". Oddly enough, that doesn't surprise me given that his "views" make absolutely no sense and are as good an example of an oxymoron that one could imagine.
True vegetarianism is about a very specific way of life that respects other sentient beings and a realisation that meat isn't essential to live a healthy, rewarding life. Like anything else it necessitates careful and specific definition rather than individual, ad-hoc, à la carte "views" such as Mr Shaughnessy's. Lest there be any further confusion on this issue, I will quote the Encarta Internet Dictionary's definition of "vegetarian" as "somebody who does not eat meat or fish but instead eats vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds and sometimes eggs and dairy produce".
This is definitive and unambiguous and should, I hope, clear up any remaining confusion on this topic. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID MARLBOROUGH,
Kenilworth Park,
Dublin 6W.