What is the difference between a Vegetarian and Vegan?

Answer 1

Vegetarians won't eat animals, while Vegan would even eat things animals have made such as Milk or Honey.

Answer 2

Short answer:

Vegetarians, or lacto-ovo-vegetarians, do not eat any meat products, but they eat dairy products and eggs. Vegetarians need to know whether a product contains gelatine or other meat-based products. Vegans do not consume any animal products.

Long Answer:

The word "vegetarian" is a generic blanket term used to describe anybody who does not eat meat, poultry, fish, or seafood. This encompasses vegans and also the various vegetarian sub-groups. Vegetarians are generally those people who have chosen a diet with far less restrictions than those chosen by a vegan.

The differences between the various vegetarian sub-groups may appear to be small, but they are very important to the members who belong to each groups. In many cases the distinctions are important dietary or ethical decisions taken by the individual.

Here are the various vegetarian sub-groups:

Semi-Vegetarian
Semi-vegetarians are people who have chosen to live a lifestyle which is not strictly vegetarian. A semi-vegetarian may be a person who only eats meat occasionally, or perhaps doesn’t eat meat, but eats poultry and fish. Generally, they will focus on using vegetarian diet recipes.

Ovo-Lacto-Vegetarian
Ovo-lacto vegetarians also follow a vegetarian diet, do eat eggs and milk but do not eat meat, poultry, fish, and seafood. This is by far the largest group of vegetarians.

Ovo-Vegetarian
Ovo-vegetarians are people who would be classed as vegans if they did not eat eggs.

Lacto-Vegetarian
Lacto-vegetarians are people who would be classed as vegans if they did not consume milk.

Vegan
This sub-group or category follow by far the strictest vegetarian diet. A vegan is a person who has chosen not to consume any animal products or byproducts. Some will even so far as not consuming honey and yeast, and others will not wear any clothing made from animal products.

Answer 3

A vegan won't eat anything or wear anything that comes from any animal or fish. It is the most extreme vegetarian. There are all different levels - some vegitarians will still eat eggs, milk, or fish.

Answer 4

Vegetarians do not eat meat, however, many of them eat cheese and drink milk. Vegans, on the other hand, will not eat meat nor will they consume any other animal products such as milk and cheese. I think vegans may observe some other dietary restrictions but I don't know what they are.

Answer 5

Whereas Vegans shun all animal products, Vegetarians do not.

Whereas Vegans shun all animal products, Vegetarians do not.

Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians (vegetarianism in its most common form in Western societies) eat eggs and dairy products.

Lacto-Vegetarians are common throughout India in particular. They eat dairy products, but refuse eggs.

Ovo-Vegetarians accept eggs but refuse dairy products. This is a relatively uncommon form of vegetarian.

Other groups include individuals who refuse all red meat, but eat poultry and fish/seafood, and individuals who refuse meat and poultry but eat fish/seafood. Neither group can rightfully be labelled Vegetarian, and must be categorized as a subset of the omnivorous diet.

Answer 6

a vegetarian can mean a wide spectrum of things-
some don't eat red meat, poultry and fish, but some will eat fish and/ or poultry for nutritional purposes.

a vegan does not buy, use or ingest ANY animal by-products.
that means, in addition to no meat, no jello, dairy products, eggs, fur and leather clothes, etc.

Answer 7

A vegetarian may eat animal products (but not meat), such as milk, cheese, some may even eat eggs.

A vegan consumes NO animal product, period.

Answer 8

Vegetarians, as a whole, do not eat red meat. Some also choose to exclude poultry (pollo-veg) and/or seafood (pesco-veg). Because chicken and fish are indeed meat, it's debatable whether most would call it vegetarianism, but they are accepted forms.

Many veg's, in additon to actual flesh, eliminate non-meat animal products like gelatin and caesin. It varies a lot, though.

Drop all meat, but eat eggs and dairy, you're "lacto-ovo-vegetarian"
Drop all dairy products, and eat eggs, you're "ovo-vegetarian"
Drop eggs in all forms, but consume dairy, you're "lacto-vegetarian"

No eggs OR dairy, plus, no non-meat animal products, including honey, and you're, by definition, "vegan".

Go even further, and eat only plants and plant products (nothing grown with bacteria), and you're "macrobiotic" *please note, some macrobiotics DO eat meat. There's more to the philosophy than being non-meat-eaters. So, it's not technically a form of vegetarianism*

Vow not to cook your food, or do anything but pick and eat, and you're "raw-vegan", "raw-macrobiotic", or just "raw".

SO, to answer your question, there are, in fact, EIGHT forms af vegetarianism. (macro's don't count) pollo, pesco, pollo-pesco, ovo, lacto, lacto-ovo, vegan, and raw.

Source(s):

veg, myself (l-o-veg, in case you're curious)

Answer 9

vegetarian can eat eggs, milk, bread because they come from animals, but they cant eat the actual red meat. vegans cannot eat anything related to animals, such as a eggs and milk, coz they come from chickens and cows.

Answer 10

A vegitarian will it animal products like cheese and milk (not the meat though)

A Vegan won't eat any animal product at all. No milk, cheese, and other animal prducts, at all.