Vegetarianism is a common theme among the [[Dharmic religion]]s, such as [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Jainism]]. This stems from the belief that all higher animal life is sacred (in Jainism, ''all'' life is considered sacred), one of the core concepts of all of these religions. For more than 130 years Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs) have practiced a vegetarian dietary lifestyle because of their belief in the wholistic nature of people.<ref>[http://www.andrews.edu/NUFS/veggiediet.html Andrews University Nutrition Department]</ref> [[Pythagoreanism]] also required its followers to abstain from meat, fish, and beans. It was also a central tenet of the [[Essene]] branch of Judaism. | Vegetarianism is a common theme among the [[Dharmic religion]]s, such as [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Jainism]]. This stems from the belief that all higher animal life is sacred (in Jainism, ''all'' life is considered sacred), one of the core concepts of all of these religions. For more than 130 years Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs) have practiced a vegetarian dietary lifestyle because of their belief in the wholistic nature of people.<ref>[http://www.andrews.edu/NUFS/veggiediet.html Andrews University Nutrition Department]</ref> [[Pythagoreanism]] also required its followers to abstain from meat, fish, and beans. It was also a central tenet of the [[Essene]] branch of Judaism. |