What Is A Vegan

A Vegan Doesn't Consume Any Animal OR Animal By Products

Whenever I tell someone that I am a vegan, I often get the question, “What is a vegan?”  In a nutshell vegan is someone who doesn’t eat any animal or animal by-products.  Whereas a vegetarian may still consume honey, milk, cheese and other animal by products, but not the actual meat from animals, a vegan does not.

Foods that contain animal by products that a vegan will not eat include gelatin, whey, honey, eggs, milk or anything with milk including cheese, milk chocolate, yogurt, some cakes and ice cream.

The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are a ethical commitment or moral conviction concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual and/or religious concerns.

A vegan may even abstain from wearing clothing and products made from animal by products such as fur, leather, silk, wool or cashmere items.  Animal by products can be found in such a wide range of items from makeup to the casing on medicine.  Even Vegan Outreach argues that “it can be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to shun every minor or hidden animal-derived ingredient,” and therefore that doing what is “best for preventing suffering” is more important than identifying and excluding every animal ingredient.

One of the issues that come up when someone wants to be a vegan is the concern that a vegan does not get enough nutrition from their diet.  Some vegans take supplements to get adequate nutrition.  However, we find that a diet that is full and rich in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and occasionally superfoods is enough to do the trick.

Now that you know what is a vegan, try “going vegan” for a day, a week or even a month to see if you enjoy it.  You may find that you are a lot happier being a vegan and even become a vegan for life!