What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?
Hello,
Can you explain to me, please, what is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?
Thank you!
Certified nutritionist. Vegan for more than 10 years. Pole dance instructor. Fitness Athlete.
A vegan diet excludes all kinds of animal products- meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy food, honey.
A vegetarian diet only excludes meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, so vegetarians can still eat eggs and dairy products.
There are also different kinds of vegetarians: Lacto- vegetarians (they eat dairy products, but not eggs) and ovo- vegetarians (they eat eggs, but exclude dairy food).
Read also about the difference between "vegan" and "plant-based".
Comments
“Vegetarian” is a more general term, meaning not eating meat. “Vegan” means an individual does not eat anything that comes from an animal which also include eggs, milk, or honey.
“Vegetarian” meaning not eating meat. Vegetarians can eat eggs or dairy products (milk, cheese).
“Vegan” is a more general term, meaning “not harming animals”. It can refer to someone who avoids animal products completely; it can also mean someone who avoids using any animal products (even honey).
Vegetarian is more lenient in the rules of what to eat when it comes to animals. Vegetarians will not eat meat or fish, but depending on what type of vegetarian you are will depend on the by-products you will ingest.
Vegan is a stricter lifestyle where you do not ingest anything having to do with animals. With veganism, you are only consuming plants and plant based foods.
Vegans choose to not consume any meat or any food that comes from animals such as eggs. Vegetarians choose only to not eat meat and don’t usually avoid consuming foods that come from animals.
Vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are similar because they are diets that focus more on eating foods that come from plants instead of foods that come from animals. Vegetarian diets still consume animal products like dairy, eggs, honey and gelatin while vegan diets exclude all animal products.
Vegan and vegetarian diets are both called “plant-based,” however there are some significant variations between them. While veganism excludes all animal products, vegetarianism includes animal byproducts such as dairy, eggs, and honey.