A person who is mainly vegetarian but occasionally eats meat and fish.
A flexitarian is someone whose conscious eating choices involve avoiding meat and fish in favour of fruit and vegetables, except for the occasional indulgence. Traditional vegetarianism involves total abstention from the consumption of meat due to a number of reasons, including ethical motivations, religious beliefs, respect for sentient life, animal rights, animal welfare and environmentalism. Flexitarianism, on the other hand, allows for the occasional consumption of meat and fish and is therefore not as stringent in its moral or ethical implications. Other terms for flexitarianism include ‘semi-vegetarianism’, ‘reducetarianism’ and ‘lessetarianism’.
Quorn Foods, a meat substitute company, has claimed that it has enjoyed ‘unprecedented’ global growth thanks to the rise in popularity of the flexitarian diet. Quorn, the company’s meat substitute made from a type of fungus, has increased in popularity thanks to a reduction in meat consumption as more people go in search of alternative sources of protein. It is thought that products such as Quorn and the vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets aid the promotion of food sustainability and ecological well-being.
flexitarian
a person who is mainly vegetarian but occasionally eats meat and fish
