vegetarian and vegan?

Question

what differs a vegan from a vegetarian

Answer 1

To place my answer in context, I have been a vegetarian for 16 years, and from what I've been told, a rather strict one. I was also raised on a farm, and have killed and eaten chicken, pigs, beef, fished, and hunted and/or consumed many forms of wildlife, including rabbit, deer, moose, beaver, bear etc...

The simplest definition is a vegetarian consumes nothing that has to be killed, such as beef, pork, fish, etc... , including products made from them. A vegan consumes nothing from the animal kingdom, that includes meat, dairy products, some include fermented products, honey, eggs, etc...

Some define subclasses of vegeterians, and for some they include meat, though to me a vegetarian who eats meat is an omnivore who chooses not to eat certain kinds of meat. In my neck of the woods being a vegerarian became quite trendy for a few years in the mid 90's, so like many fads, it attracted all sorts, and many tried to be a vegetarian in word, if not in fact. A chicken is not a carrot, so a vegetarian will not eat a chicken. This was simply an offshoot of the trendiness that vegetarianism and veganism has had to endure in some locales. A vegetarian or vegan does not eat meat. (Or chicken stock, fish sauce, oyster sauce, gelatin, etc... the only common exception I have seen is the consumption of cheese by some vegetarians. renet is required to curddle the cheese, and that comes from the cows stomach if I remember correctly, but some cheeses are made without it.)

Even with that unilateral statement that there are no exceptions, there are. I discovered this while dining at this Jewish Vegetarian restaurant in the north end of Toronto where they served fish. It was explained to me that in their faith, a vegetarian can eat fish, and I respect and accept that fully. So here we must expand these definitions to include the spiritual, religious and ethical.

Some become vegetarians for purely health reasons, or because they don't like meat. Whereas, many vegetarians and the vast majority of vegans do so in the spirit of causing the least amount of harm to their fellow mamals and to the environment and by extension their fellow humans. In my experience, vegans more than vegetarians take a hard stance against the degree of cruelty involved in the industrialized production of meat and meat products and of animal testing. They are also are more conscious about wearing leather and using products that contain any kind of animal product, though in our society this distincgtion has become more difficult. There is a definite impact of meat consumption, the following point can be argued for specifics, but in general it takes 5 acres to feed a vegerarian for a year, and it takes between 25 and 50 acres to feed a "regular" meat eater.

As an example on the religious side, Jainism is a religion that dates back at least 2,500 years to India, and they adhere to a philosophy of no-violence and are lacto-vegetarian (they will consume dairy, but no eggs). Those expounding a vegetarian / vegan point of view tend towards a philosophy of non-violence, though there are exceptions, Hitler being one of them. To add another category to the one listed on another posting, the monks of this religion, at least in times past, killed nothing, even vegetables. They waited for fruit to fall from the tree before they at, so I guess they would be fruitarians.

There is too much on this topic to go into any more detail, I've attached some links chosen that may or not be of help.

Answer 2

Most vegetarians consume what is giving freely from animals, such as milk (if you consider it given freely), eggs (ditto on this), wool (they don't eat it, but wear it), and some do eat fish (though most don't). Vegans on the other hand do not consume anything that comes from animals or would involve the harming of animals. For instance, most vegans do not consume honey because it is taking food away from bees who work hard for it. Vegans also will not wear wool, consume anything that involves animal testing or animal cruelty.

Answer 3

With all due respect, the first answer is NOT correct in as much as vegetarians do not eat fish either...or anything that has come from a DEAD animal/fish/insect...which includes products such as cod liver oil and gelatin... some will, however, eat dairy products such as milk/cheese and also eggs and honey.

Vegans eat or wear, absolutely nothing which has come from any animal/fish/insect either living or dead....

Vegetarian of 17 years

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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 6

The first answer is correct. Vegans also don't wear anything that comes from an animal.

Answer 7

vegan does not have dairy products or any form of meat products a vegetarian i think mainly eat veggies.vegans i think also like organic foods

Answer 8

Vegetarians just don't eat meat. Vegans don't eat anything from an animal so they don't eat cheese or eggs either or any other animals products/by products. This would include geletain and things like that, not meat btu it comes from an animal.

Answer 9

Vegans also won't eat vegetables or vegetable burgers cooked or grilled on the same skillet or grill as other meat. At least the ones I know don't.

Answer 10

a vegan doesn't eat or drink anything that comes from an animal.