History of vegetarianism

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The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India, especially among the Hindus^[1] and Jains.^[2] Later records indicate that small groups within the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece also adopted some dietary habits similar to vegetarianism.^[3] In both instances, the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals (called ahimsa in India), and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.^[4]

Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th–6th centuries), vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe.^[5] Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons but none of them abstained from the consumption of fish; these monks were not vegetarians but some were pescetarians.^[6] Vegetarianism was to reemerge somewhat in Europe during the Renaissance^[7] and became a more widespread practice during the 19th and 20th centuries. The figures for the percentage of the Western world which is vegetarian varies between 0.5% and 4% per Mintel data in September 2006.^{[8] [citation needed]}