what is the difference between vegetarians and vegan?

Question

and why should i become one. give me your most convincing reason.

Answer 1

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 — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose." A vegan (one who practices veganism) does not consume or use animal products, notably meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products. People become vegans for a variety of reasons, including ethical concerns for animal rights or the environment, as well as perceived health benefits and spiritual or religious concerns.

Answer 2

Some people will say that one is a *diet* while the other is a lifestyle... I humbly disagree.

Aside from the small percentage of vegetarians who are using vegetarianism to *be on a diet,* I would say both are lifestyles, and that both groups are simply at different point on the same path of figuring out what they can do (and are able to do) to not be a part of a horrible system.

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The very base level of vegetarianism is simply not eating the flesh of animals (including fish... there is no such thing as a vegetarian who eats fish because vegetarians, quite simply, do not eat animals.) or any products containing forms of the flesh of animals. Everything else is game.

Many vegetarians are further along than this and often times wont eat dairy or eggs or wear dead animals. If animal suffering or the environment are concerns for a vegetarian, than becoming vegan would be the ultimate goal.
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Vegans do everything in their power to contribute to the use and torture of animals. No meat, dairy, eggs, skin, beauty products etc. that were made from or tested on animals in any way.
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Part 2
Become a vegetarian only if it is in your heart to do so. It is great if you are against animal cruelty,and if you are pro-environment. I don't know if there is a correlation, but I have not gotten the flu since I became a vegetarian; I used to get it at least once a year. I also have not gotten food poisoning.

Answer 3

In addition to what the fine people here have already said, I would add this: if you are a vegan, then you ARE a vegetarian. If you are a vegetarian, you are not necessarily a vegan.

There are essentially two reasons why one might consider becoming one or the other of the above:

1. You believe that all life is sacred and do not want to participate in the murder of animals.

2. Good health. So long as you replace meat with other good sources of protein and iron (and calcium if you become a vegan), a vegetarian diet decreases your chances of heart disease and cancer by a significant margin.

Too bad for me that I'm addicted to cheeseburgers. It really IS a good idea to go veggie.

Answer 4

Okay- so typically vegetarians do not eat meat or fish or any flesh of an animal, but they will eat animal secretions and may use other animal products. A vegan rejects all forms of animal use, so no meat, eggs, milk, leather, etc...
There are too many reasons to go vegan to list them all here, but I'll try to sum up then direct you to a great resource.
The factory farming of animals is filled with extremely cruel practices. So, beyond just being raised to be slaughtered and eaten, most animals are treated horribly. Cows live on dirt lots, crowded together. Chickens live in extremely crowded sheds where they have no chance of performing natural, normal activities like dust bathing and just walking around freely.
Chickens used for eggs production and cows used for milk production have it even worse. Chickens are often kept in wire cages and have the tips of their beaks cut off so they can't injure one another. This makes eating painful much of the time and some starve to death because of it. Dairy cows get infections in their utters frequently and produce much more milk than their bodies are naturally meant to because of hormones and other practices. All veal cows come from dairy cow moms. These calves live in crates where they can't even turn around and are fed a diet that makes them anemic and so weak they can't stand much of the time.
That's a very basic rundown of what goes on in these industries.
Beyond these reasons, it is simply unnecessary to raise animals for human use. A vegan diet can be healthy, full of variety and delicious. Seriously. It's really an easy thing to do once you find out the facts.
Please check out this podcast for a lot of great info. I went vegan after listening to a bunch of them and was eating meat and everything before that. Changed my life- way for the better- feel great, eat better, etc...
On iTunes: Vegetarian Food for Thought
or go to CompassionateCooks.Com

Good luck and please contact me if you have more questions!

Answer 5

Vegans don't eat anything from an animal but vegetarians just don't eat the animal. My best reasons are that meat gives you cancer, makes you fat and have less energy,also, vegetarians are proven to live 6 to 10 years longer.

Answer 6

You don't HAVE to become one.. >> But, vegans won't eat any product from animals.. milk, dairy, etc. Vegetarians just won't eat meat or anything you get from actually killing the animal.

Answer 7

Vegans also refuse to eat dairy products, eggs, and any other animal products.

Normal vegetarians will often eat cheese, eggs, drink milk etc

Answer 8

Technically no difference.

People interject their silly notions about being able to eat cheese, eggs etc into the mix and call it vegetarian.

Until someone tells me what vegetable cheese and eggs come from, I will call them omnivores.

I have been a vegan for a little over 4 years, I didn't do it for health reasons, although there are some good ones. I did it cause I refuse to be part of the animal torture industry. The things we do to these animals is beyond belief; suggest you watch:

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=meet_your_meat&Player=wm&speed=_med

You can get a starter kit from the good folks at PETA:
http://www.goveg.com/

Also apparently being vegan is now considered the in thing to do by all the global warming nutjobs cause the animals we harvest and raise for food create so much waste and Co2 emmisions, more than our SUV's.

Answer 9

Veagans don't eat animals or anything from them. Vegetarians just don't eat them.

Answer 10

first of all consider your dietry needs, will you still get enough protien to feed you metabalism, every body has a different one so you'll need to research it and then consider to be a veggie vag or meatie