The word flexitarian, first coined in the early nineties, is a blend of the adjective flexible and the noun/adjective vegetarian. The term incorporates the idea of a flexible approach to eating, with no rigid rules about the non-consumption of meat products. In contrast to the word omnivore — which describes an eater of plant and animal foods but hasn’t ever really been in mainstream use as a categorisation of humans — flexitarian attempts to encompass the idea of those who are vegetarian-inclined, usually eating four or more meatless meals per week, but do not completely reject the consumption of meat and animal products.

The word flexitarian, first coined in the early nineties, is a blend of the adjective flexible and the noun/adjective vegetarian. The term incorporates the idea of a flexible approach to eating, with no rigid rules about the non-consumption of meat products. In contrast to the word omnivore — which describes an eater of plant and animal foods but hasn’t ever really been in mainstream use as a categorisation of humans — flexitarian attempts to encompass the idea of those who are vegetarian-inclined, usually eating four or more meatless meals per week, but do not completely reject the consumption of meat and animal products.