Is being vegetarian just as good and effective as it is to be vegan? Is it just as good for animals, Earth, and our health? These are the sort of questions I had in my mind before I embraced a plant-based diet and a vegan lifestyle. If you are curious to find out the difference, you are in the right place.
Table of Contents
Vegans
Vegans embrace the lifestyle of not only rejecting consuming animals flesh and animal-derived products but also seeking the way to exclude the use of commodities, clothing, household products, cosmetics made from animals or animal-derived materials. Veganism as a whole is to live an ethical way of excluding all forms of animal exploitation including visiting places that used animals for entertainments.
Vegetarians
Vegetarianism may be adopted due to various reasons: due to religious, health or simply due to financial or cultural reasons.
Vegetarianism differs because it generally does not seek to exclude animal-derived products such as dairy, eggs, honey and wool. Most vegetarians don’t use products that are produced as a direct result of animal slaughter such as leather. Most vegetarians are unaware that animals are slaughtered for the purpose of leather and assume it’s derived as a result of the meat industry.
There are different types of vegetarians
Lacto-Ovo vegetarians
Do not eat meat, poultry, or fish but do eat eggs and dairy products. This includes most vegetarians. Many vegetarians in Asia only consume unfertilized eggs.
Lacto vegetarians
Eat no meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, but do consume dairy products. In some cultures, they are known as “Pure Vegetarians“
Ovo vegetarians
Eat no meat, poultry, fish, or dairy products, but do eat eggs.
Generally, vegetarians eat Vegetables and Fruits, Grains and Pulses, Nuts and Seeds, Dairy, Eggs and Honey.
Overview of vegetarians
Vegetarians may have a different view from Vegans. They may use products derived from animals but usually avoid products that involved direct abuse and exploitations such as leather. But this is an extension of vegetarianism and isn’t strictly necessary.
Vegans generally think that vegetarians are unaware of the cruelty of dairy and egg industry.
Majority of animal abuse and exploitation occurs in breeding animals for meat and vegetarians help reduce this significantly by not consuming meat.
While we appreciate this, we do hope that vegetarians go the extra step and give up all animal products altogether.
Conclusion
We can conclude that Vegetarians and Vegans both contribute to the reduction of animal cruelty and exploitation. Vegetarianism is often a stepping stone for veganism (especially when made as a conscious choice as opposed to a religious and cultural one) and we hope more people become more aware and switch to a 100% plant-based diet and lifestyle.
Sources
Harvard Health Publishing. “Becoming a Vegetarian.” Harvard Health,
www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian.
Vegetarian Socierty. ” A vegetarian diet can include”. Definition,
https://www.vegsoc.org/info-hub/definition/
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