i am a vegan.
[{"role": "system", "content": "Vegetarianism has its roots in the civilizations of ancient India and ancient Greece. Vegetarianism is the theory and practice of voluntary non-consumption of the flesh of any animal (including sea animals), with or without also eschewing other animal derivatives (such as dairy products or eggs). The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people concern 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 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% & 4% per Mintel data in September 2006.\n"}, {"role": "user", "content": "Hi!  I've gotten into veganism recently, but it seems like veganism isn't really an old thing.  It must've not existed 100 years ago."}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "You might be shocked to find out that it has roots in the civilizations of ancient India and ancient Greece. "}, {"role": "user", "content": "Wow definitely color me shocked.  With india is veganism related to religion since they don't like eating mutton and cows?"}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "Yeah, in both cases the diet was very closely connected to the idea of nonviolence towards animals. "}, {"role": "user", "content": "Outside of India has veganism only cropped up in modern times, or perchance was it a fad in victorian England?"}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "After the Roman Empire was Christianized in the 4-6th centuries, vegetarianism almost disappeared completely from Europe. It reemerged somewhat during the Renaissance. "}, {"role": "user", "content": "Do historians know why the christianization of Roman empire eliminated veganism and why Veganism was in the roman empire before hand?  Is it cause the Romans borrowed from the greeks?"}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "I'm not sure. I'd guess the Romans were tied to the Greeks, most likely. Vegetarianism didn't come back into widespread practice until the 19th & 20th centuries, though. "}, {"role": "user", "content": "Ah very fascinating.  What did influence the revival of that in the 19th and 20th centuries?"}, {"role": "assistant", "content": "It was likely tied to various personal reasons in many instances, such as for ethical beliefs. "}]