The earliest records of plant-based diets—people who abstain from eating meat, poultry, and fish but still consume dairy, eggs, and honey—date back to the 500s BCE in Ancient Greece, where the mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras of Samos advocated for dietary restrictions rooted in ritual purity.

Have you ever thought about how milk gets to your household? Probably not—otherwise, you might think twice before doing so. Here’s a brief overview: A heifer is artificially inseminated and gives birth after about 283 days, at which point she becomes a cow. Her calf is taken from her immediately after birth and fed a substitute from machines instead of her milk. We all need that place—that place that brings us together with joy piling up as plates arrive one after the other. The place where we pass dishes while exchanging stories about weeks, hours, or years spent apart; where caring is the last dumpling standing in the middle of the tray because everyone is waiting for the other to make a move.

Plants are intelligent and capable of remarkable adaptations. They respond to light, water, and soil and have a form of communication system. For example, they emit chemical signals when reacting to environmental triggers.