What's the difference between vegetarian and vegan?

Question

I just asked a question and said that I was vegetarian and then vegan and someone said they are 2 differnt things. i didnt know that, i thought vegan was short for vegetarian. what's the differnece between the two?

Answer 1

Vegans are a type of vegetarian. THey are some of the most strict of the vegetarians. There are MANY types of vegetarianism and vegan ism. Here is the list:

1) Pescatarian (also spelled pescetarian)
The word “pescatarian” is occasionally used to describe those who abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish. Although the word is not commonly used, more and more people are adopting this kind of diet, usually for health reasons or as a stepping stone to a fully vegetarian diet.

2) Flexitarian/Semi-vegetarian
You don’t have to be vegetarian to love vegetarian food! “Flexitarian” is a term recently coined to describe those who eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat meat.

3) Vegetarian (Lacto-ovo- vegetarian)
When most people think of vegetarians, they think of lacto-ovo-vegetarians. People who do not eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but do eat eggs and dairy products are lacto-ovo vegetarians (“lacto” comes from the Latin for milk, and “ovo” for egg).
Lacto-vegetarian is used to describe a vegetarian who does not eat eggs, but does eat dairy products.

Ovo-vegetarian refers to people who do not eat meat or dairy products but do eat eggs.

4) Vegan
Vegans do not eat meat of any kind and also do not eat eggs, dairy products, or processed foods containing these or other animal-derived ingredients such as gelatin. Many vegans also refrain from eating foods that are made using animal products that may not contain animal products in the finished process, such as sugar and some wines. There is some debate as to whether certain foods, such as honey, fit into a vegan diet.

5) Raw vegan/Raw food diet
A raw vegan diet consists of unprocessed vegan foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius). “Raw foodists” believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost a significant amount of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body.

6) Macrobiotic
The macrobiotic diet, revered by some for its healthy and healing qualities, includes unprocessed vegan foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and allows the occasional consumption of fish. Sugar and refined oils are avoided. Perhaps the most unique qualifier of the macrobiotic diet is its emphasis on the consumption of Asian vegetables, such as daikon, and sea vegetables, such as seaweed.

Answer 2

It's like rectangles and squares. All vegans are vegetarians, but not all vegetarians are vegans.

Both vegetarians and vegans do not eat meat, hence the stem "veg" for vegetable.

Vegans not only don't eat meat, but they don't have dairy products. No butter, no milk, cream, no eggs either. It's a lot stricter. Also, there's vegan clothing, vegan shoes (no leather), vegan products (100% organic shampoo, for ex.)

Some vegetarians eat fish, too. So basically, vegan is overall a stronger version of the lifestyle.

Answer 3

Vegetarians don't eat meat. Vegans on the other hand dont eat any animal products (nothing that comes from is made from, or is a by product of an animal) so no dairy (milk, butter,chocolate cheese etc) , no eggs, no normal oils (only veggie oils) so there you go!

Answer 4

Vegans are much more strict vegetarians, eating NO animal products or by-products at all. Vegetarians don't eat meat, but will sometimes eat dairy products, eggs or anything "without a face".

Answer 5

Veganism (also known as strict vegetarianism or pure vegetarianism), as defined by the Vegan Society, is "a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude…all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose." A vegan (one who practices veganism) abstains from the consumption or use of animal products, notably meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products.

Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming meat. They may consume dairy, marshmallows and other things which may be derived from animals.

Answer 6

First off PLEASE please please please discard all that *semi*, *pesca* *flexa* ridiculousness above me. Those do NOT exist. They are NO kind of vegetarian. They are not accepted by any vegetarian society, but only by random websites run by nitwits who love spreading misinformation.

Vegetarians do not eat animals, of any kind.
*Not-eating-animals* is specifically what vegetarians do.

The names above are only used by people who are completely lacking in knowledge or by people who are lazy and want to call themselves vegetarians anyway. The first kind of person is fine as long as they learn from their mistakes.

If a person has dropped all animals but fish from their diet, then they have made a great step, but they are not vegetarian because vegetarians do not eat animals.
:)
That being said:
______________________
VEGETARIANS:
*Eat NO dead animals, whether they walk, swim or fly
*There is no such thing as a vegetarian who eats fish or birds
*Vegetarians do not eat foods that are *code words* for dead animal, such as "geletin"
*they can eat dairy and eggs but some choose not to
___________________

VEGANS
*Same as vegetarians
*They also do not eat products that come from animals, including eggs, dairy or honey
*They do not eat code words for products that come from animals such as casien (and many others)
*Vegans do not wear products from animals either. This includes: leather, wool, suade, down, silk etc.
*They (whenever possible) purchase products that were not tested on animals or contain animal parts (soaps, health&beauty, toiletries etc.)
________________________
Now for some similarities:

BOTH are lifestyles and not just diets (except for the small group of vegetarians who only stop eating meat because they are on a *diet*

BOTH lifestyles are different levels of the same cause. BOTH contain people who are trying to wrap their minds around a new concept (of what the meat-industry actually is) and figuring out what they can do to not be a part of it.

Yes, the very base level of vegetarianism is simply the absensce of animal flesh. That is a wonderful step. If that person does not ever go further, then kudos to them. But they often stay at this point for a couple of years
A.) Because the evils of eating dead animals is all they are aware of, and
B.) Because giving up eating meat is hard, and a person has to work on that for quite some time.

If everyone who learned about animal cruelty learned about every aspect at one time, it would seem too big and too unstopable.

If every person who went veg, went straight to vegan, he would go back to eating animals because he wouldn't be able to cope with all the missing food, and wouldn't have the knowledge or experience to fill the gaps to make it a comfortable transition.

There are many layers of vegetarianism because as people feel comfortable, confident and knowledgable, they drop something else from their lifestyle. If a vegetarian does not want to be a part of animal cruelty, then veganism would be an ultimate goal, but it takes many people well over a decade to get there.

Answer 7

Basically, vegetarians do not eat meat, poultry, fish or seafood.

Vegans take it a step further by not consuming an animal products or animal by-products (This includes no dairy, eggs, etc.).

Vegan is a strict sub-category of vegetarian. They may go the extent of not consuming honey and wheat.

Here are some websites that will give you more inforatmion:
http://www.vegetarianvegan.com/Vegan_Vs_Vegetarian.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Vegan&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3AVegetarian&btnG=Search

Answer 8

Its very different. Vegetarians don't eat any meat or gelatin right? but vegans dont eat any animal products. Including eggs, milk, honey and also they dont use leather, wool or pretty much anything that is an animal product.

Answer 9

Vegan eat no animal by products. Nothing that comes from an animal like eggs, milk or anything like that.
Vegitarians will eat that but no meat (ex. fish, meat, poultry).
Hope this helps.

Answer 10

a vegetarian doesn't eat meat like cow, pig, chicken, fish...or NEthing like that. Vegans don't eat any of those things either, but they also don't eat byproducts of animals such as eggs, milk , cheese, and those kinds of things