"Vegan" = no use of animal products, or just no eating of animal products?

Question

If you define "vegan" as a person who eats absolutely no animal products, and uses absolutely no animal products (does not wear leather, does not use topical preparations made from animal ingredients, etc) -- is there a way to differentiate between that and a person who merely has a vegan diet?

Answer 1

Sorry, but there is no vegan "diet" per se... being vegan is a lifestyle that excludes all animal products, whether they are eaten, worn or used.

While some vegetarians may chose their diet/lifestyle based on health and other issues, veganism is usually based on not wanting to contribute to the suffering of animals.

The actual term "vegetarian" means what you are talking about... no animal products whatsoever. We hyphenate the term to include other foods such as milk (lacto) and eggs (ovo.)

No one can be 100% vegan, but to be called an vegan, you refrain to the best of your abilities from eating or wearing anything from dead animals, as well as using products that are tested on animals.

It gets really difficult to avoid all things tested on animals, especially if you are not well-to-do, but as long as you are making adjustments and working and growing as you can, then you are a vegan.

Vegan includes:
No eating animals, milk, dairy, eggs, gelatin, animal based mono and diglicerides... etc. (you can find out more through books), and no wearing wool, fur, leather, silk, down (feathers) etc.

:)

P.S (edit) if you need some help finding vegan goods, try these sites. They are legit and I use them quite often.

http://www.veganessentials.com and
http://www.veganstore.com/

They have great makeups (often made with fish)
body care products (cologne = small mammal testicles)
razors (torture bunnies in labs)
donuts!! (often contain diglicerides = animal fat)
clothes and junk food.

Answer 2

A person who follows a vegan diet eats no animal products. A person who follows a vegan lifestyle consumes no animal products in any fashion.

Realistically, though, a person who follows a vegan lifestyle avoids the consumption of animal products whenever possible. For example, the flu vaccine can only be grown in eggs - no other medium works. If someone follows a vegan lifestyle but has a flu shot for some medical reason, then they are doing everything that they can, but not everything is feasible.

I can't speak for all vegans, but for myself, I follow a vegan diet and, as much as is possible for me, a vegan lifestyle. I don't wear silk, wool, suede, leather or pearls. But I'm a diabetic, so I'm at high risk of complications from the flu, and I have a flu shot every year. I have osteoarthritis, and one of the things that I take for it is glucosamine, which is a seafood-based product. I do this because it helps and because there is no plant-based product that does the same job. I also need the maximum motion-control shoe for women, with custom orthotics. The only company that makes a maximum motion control shoe for women does so with some leather. So, that's my shoe, although it with great reluctance.

AKA, I will only use an animal-based product when it helps to protect my health AND when there is no plant-based alternative. It's a decision that each of us must make for ourselves. Everyone, vegan, vegetarian or omnivore, makes decisions based on our own abilities to look ourselves in the mirror every day.

Answer 3

No use of animal products.

You could say that someone who uses animal products but doesn't eat any follows a vegan diet, but they aren't entirely vegan.

Answer 4

Vegan - Someone who has no relations with animal by products. Meaning no meat, fish, poultry, dairy, or eggs. No leather or suede. Sometimes this includes Honey.
Common misconseption- Silk. (silk worms must produce silk, they do not die after producing it.)
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian- Someone who doesn't eat meat, but eats dairy and egg products. No leather or suede.
Lacto Vegetarian- Someone who doesn't meat or eat eggs, but eats dairy. No leather or suede.
Ovo Vegetarian- Someone who doesn't eat meat, but eats eggs and no dairy. No leather or suede.

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

One who is a vegetarian who eats no animal products, no butter, no cream, no eggs, no milk no dairy, no meat and if they have liver disease, they also avoid soy.

Answer 6

Could go either way or even both ways depends on your belief as a vegan.

Answer 7

No use of animal products what so ever.

Answer 8

strict vegetarian: using no animal products, dairy or eggs; animal derived products (leather, silk, etc.) not used.
heart.kumu.org/hhglossary.html

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Answer 9

vegans can derilict

Answer 10

Vegan (also known as strict vegetarianism or pure vegetarianism) is a philosophy and lifestyle that avoids using animals and animal products for food, clothing and other purposes. In practice, a vegan (an adherent of veganism) commits to the abstention from consumption or use of animal products, including meat, fish, and poultry, animal gelatin, honey, eggs and dairy products, as well as articles made of silk, fur, wool, bone, leather, feathers, pearls, nacre, coral, sponges and other materials of animal origin. Vegans also avoid products that have been tested on animals. People become vegans for a variety of reasons, including ethical concerns for animal rights or the environment, as well as more personal reasons such as perceived health benefits and spiritual or religious concerns.[1][2]

A 2002 Time/CNN poll, found that 4% of American adults consider themselves vegetarians, and 5% of self-described vegetarians consider themselves vegans.[1] This suggests that 0.2% of American adults are vegans. Also in 2002, the UK Food Standards Agency reported that 5% of respondents self-identified as vegetarian or vegan. Though 29% of that 5% said they avoided "all animal products" only 5% reported avoiding dairy.[2] Based on these figures, approximately 0.25% of the UK population follow a vegan diet. The Times estimates there are 250,000 vegans in Britain.[3]Vegans generally oppose the violence and cruelty involved in the meat, dairy, non-vegan cosmetics, clothing, and other industries.[14] (See draize test, LD50, animal testing, vivisection, and factory farming)

Some utilitarian philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham and Peter Singer, argue that the suffering of sentient animals is relevant to ethical decisions, though they do not rely on the concept of rights and believe that non-human animals only have an interest in not suffering. Others like Gary L. Francione, believe that all sentient beings have an interest in both not suffering and continuing to live. A common argument is that animals have the ability to feel pleasure so killing them is wrong, because it destroys any hope of future pleasure. He claims that it is therefore unethical to treat them as property or a means to an end (see animal rights). Although these theories draw similar conclusions, they are not wholly compatible with one another.


[edit] Health

A fruit stall in Barcelona. All unshellaced fruits are vegan.Studies have strongly correlated a plant based diet with better health benefits than an omnivorous diet.[15][16][17] Vegans note additional health benefits are gained by not consuming artificial substances such as growth hormones and antibiotics, which are often given to farmed animals.[18][19][20][21]

The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada state that "well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."[22]

Vegan diets tend toward several nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, no cholesterol, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, antioxidant vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.[citation needed]

Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, although there was no significant difference in blood pressure rates.[23] The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says that one small scale study has observed that a vegan diet can reduce blood cholesterol in people with, and significantly reduce the complications of Type 2 diabetes.[24]

There are a number of vegan athletes. Vegan athletes compete in a variety of sports, such as powerlifting, bodybuilding, martial arts, long distance running, and many others.[25][26] Multiple Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis has stated that he became vegan in 1990 and felt that his "best year of track competition" was when he ate a vegan diet.[27]

Some studies have found benefits associated with diets rich in whole plant foods, and risks associated with diets rich in animal-based foods. One of the researchers from the 1990 epidemiological study, "The China Study", said "Even small increases in the consumption of animal-based foods was associated with increased disease risk."[15][16] Studies in Japan found that increased consumption of some animal products coincided with a decrease in risk for some forms of cerebrovascular disease and stroke mortality.[28]

There are also claims that industry livestock feeding practices pose health threats to human consumers. According to Dr. Michael Greger [2] in a January 2004 lecture at MIT (which was the basis for Whistleblower, a 2006 documentary film by Jeff Bellamar) each year more than one million tons of animal excrement are fed back to farm animals raised for human consumption to lower the feed costs. He also says that up to 10% of blood from killed animals is mixed into some cattle feed, and up to 30% of some poultry feed is made up of the blood. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is believed to be caused by cows being fed with contaminated meat and bone meal, a high-protein substance obtained from the remnants of butchered animals, including cows and sheep. In most parts of the developed world, such remnants are no longer allowed in feed for ruminant animals, and the World Health Organization recommends a complete ban on ruminant-ro-ruminant feeding, but the practice persists in a few countries[3].