Even though vegan sounds like a shorter version for vegetarian both of these are different in many ways. Vegetarians are those who do not consume meats of animals such as chickens, goats, cows, pigs, fish and so on, vegetarians however do consume dairy products such as milk and also don’t mind using animal derived products such as leather goods and so on. Some vegetarians also consume eggs, vegetarians strictly stay away from meat though but don’t mind animal derived products. Vegans on the other hand not only stay away from meats, they also make sure that they don’t consume any animal derived foods or animal derived products. This means that Vegans don’t consume dairy, eggs, honey and so on. They also avoid the use of animal derived products such as leather goods.
Vegans do this because of the impact the consumption and use of these foods and products has on animal life. Industries such as the meat and dairy industry treat animals in the some of the worst and unethical ways possible in order to gain more produce and increase their profits. Vegans also emphasize that there are health benefits to eating a predominantly plant based diet. Vegans therefore tend to only consume foods or use products that are derived from plants. All their meals and drinks are strictly animal friendly and they make sure that they don’t end up buying goods that came out of animal exploitation. This has become a popular lifestyle culture. Though many are born into families that are vegetarian, Veganism is comparatively newer and is a type of lifestyle one adopts. Both vegans and vegetarians agree mutually that it’s bad to kill animals for food, however vegetarians are comfortable with consuming animal by-products such as milks and eggs, while Vegans oppose to animal by-products too. Vegans also tend to not use products that are tested on animals such as certain medicinal drugs, make-up and skin creams.
There are also different types of vegan and vegetarian.
Types of Vegan:
- Raw Vegan:
This type of vegan is the one who mixes veganism with raw foodism. They not only avoid animal based foods and commodities they also exclude all food that is cooked at temperatures above 48°C.
- Paleo vegan:
This branch of vegan is like the purest form of vegan. They avoid all forms of processed foods and only consume foods that are presumed to have been eaten by our Paleolithic ancestors which mainly consisted of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. Paleo vegans do however remove the meat and fish out of the paleo diet. This is like the most refined form of vegan.
Types of Vegetarian:
- Lacto Ovo Vegetarian:
This sub set of vegetarian consumes plant based foods along with dairy and egg based diets and completely avoid any form of meats. This is considered to be the typical and normal vegetarian diet.
- Lacto vegetarian:
This is the type of vegetarian that excludes eggs, meat, fish and any other animal based food but still consumes dairy based foods along with a plant based diet.
- Ovo Vegetarian:
An ovo vegetarian is one who excludes dairy based foods as well animal meats. They do however consume eggs along with their plant based diets.
- Demi Vegetarian:
A demi vegetarian is one who excludes all animal meats but consumes fish, eggs, dairy along with their plant based diets.
- Semi-vegetarian:
This is a person who is trying to stay away from their intake from meats as much as possible or for a short while. They still eat meat when they feel it and are not completely opposed to the idea. They are just cutting back on their meat consumption.
So that’s all there is to know about vegans and vegetarians.
