can you tell me more about this?
Well vegetarianism has roots in ancient India and Greece?
wow, what year are we looking at
It's very interesting. It was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
I know religion must have a stronger influence
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. Vegetarianism was to reemerge somewhat in Europe during the Renaissance 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. 
Ancient.
Ancient Indian subcontinent.
Ancient Indian subcontinent Early Jainism and Buddhism.
Jain and Buddhist sources show
History of vegetarianism
The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India and the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece. 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.
Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th–6th centuries), vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe. Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or