What does "Vegan" mean?

Question

Ok, I know what "vegetarian" means. I'm a vegetarian. I'm just not sure about "vegan"

Answer 1

vegetarian i think

Answer 2

A vegan is someone who avoids using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians avoid flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.

Answer 3

Why, What, and How

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People are interested in veganism for many reasons. These include reducing suffering, helping the environment, and improving their health. Regardless of why you are exploring veganism, your example and your choices are the most important things you can do to help make the world a better place. By not buying meat, eggs, and dairy, each individual is making a statement against cruelty to animals, undertaking an economic boycott, supporting the production of nonanimal products, and supporting more sustainable agricultural practices. These decisions, and the message they send to others, help make society more humane. The time is always ripe to do right.

With so many reasons to become vegan, it’s not surprising there are many views of what veganism means. Beyond not buying the products for which animals are raised and slaughtered, each individual has different opinions about being vegan. Everyone takes their own path. Once you make the decision to oppose factory farms and industrial slaughterhouses, you will face a number of questions. There are two particularly difficult questions that you’ll need to ask yourself:

1. What exactly is a “vegan”?

2. How should you deal with other people who aren’t vegan?

The most important tool we have in our efforts against cruelty to animals is our positive, sincere, thoughtful example. Looking at the long-term changes in society, we can know that each of us, in our example, actions, attitude—our entire existence—towards your loved ones, persons that you know, is changing the world.

Answer 4

Veganism is a lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming.

Answer 5

Vegetarian means not eating meat

Vegan means not eating anything that has any animal parts in it or was produced by an animal

Answer 6

vegeterian

Answer 7

It's a type of vegetarian

Answer 8

Vegans don't eat, use, wear, purchase or otherwise consume anything of animal origin whatsoever (as far as such a thing is possible.)  Like vegetarians, we don't eat meat or slaughter byproducts, but we also don't eat dairy products, eggs or honey.  We don't wear leather, suede, wool, silk, fur, down, feathers or pearls.  We source cosmetics, toiletries and other consumer goods that are made without animal ingredients and without animal testing, and we don't support industries that exploit animals for entertainment, like circuses or rodeos.

Answer 9

The term "vegan" didn't come about till 1944, so it is a relatively new term when compared to vegetarianism which was a term given to in the 1800's and known by other names before that - but with the same meaning.

The term "Vegetarian" was coined in 1847. Joseph Brotherton and others first formally used it on September 30th of that year, at Northwood Villa in Kent, England. The occasion being the inaugural meeting of the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom.

The word was derived from the Latin "vegetus," meaning whole, sound, fresh, lively; (it should not be confused with "vegetable-arian" - a mythical human whom some imagine subsisting entirely on vegetables but no nuts, fruits, grains etc!)

Prior to 1847, non-meat eaters were generally known as "Pythagoreans" or adherents of the "Pythagorean System," after the ancient Greek "vegetarian" Pythagoras.

The original definition of "vegetarian" was "with or without eggs or dairy products" and that definition is still used by the Vegetarian Society today. However, most vegetarians in India exclude eggs from their diet, as did those in the classical Mediterranean lands, such as Pythagoras.

Veganism is a way of living, which excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals.

Answer 10

It's a type of vegetarian. It means you don't eat meat, eggs, dairy or honey. No animals and no animal by-products.