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The 4 differences between being a vegan and a vegetarian

The 4 differences between being a vegan and a vegetarian

March 28, 2024

With the arrival of new times, there is also a new way of relating to the environment and, of course, to the beings that inhabit it. Our ethical stance on how we treat animals has evolved, and in the last decades we care much more for their welfare and health.

In fact, today we are involved in debates that a hundred years ago would be difficult to imagine, and that touch on different topics related to empathy towards other sentient life forms. In this article we will review what are the differences between being a vegan and being a vegetarian , two philosophies of life and sets of routines that have a lot to do with the new ethical positions that are expanding throughout the western world.


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Expand ethics and empathy towards animals

Both veganism and the tendency to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle have begun to become popular especially since the 21st century began. Of course, this expansion of two ways of living so different from the one that has traditionally prevailed in Western culture has not been without controversy. Its repercussions on our attitudes of perceiving and living with animals generate all kinds of debates about morality and what is the best way to live consuming products and resources .

We must bear in mind that for centuries there have been groups and societies concerned about the welfare of animals, which have made it necessary not to harm them one of the pillars of their way of life.


Differences between veganism and vegetarianism

However, normally these groups of people behaved in this way because of a mystical or religious feeling that dictated norms of behavior in relation to nature. It is recently when he appears a feeling of empathy with secular-type animals , disconnected from a certain conception of what the cosmos is or how we are dictated to be as parts of a divine creation.

Now, there is no single way to express that feeling of connection to the rest of sentient beings. The differences between veganism and vegetarianism are proof of this. In the following lines we will see what are the main differences between being a vegetarian and being a vegan.

1. Vegetarians can consume products of animal origin

The concept of vegetarianism covers many lifestyles that are characterized by having a consumption of products of animal origin much more restricted than is usually the case. Vegetarians do not eat meat , but in some cases they do consume egg products, in others they consume dairy products, and in others they consume both egg and milk products. The incorporation of honey in the diet of vegetarians is also common and frequent.


On the other hand, vegans try not to consume any product of animal origin; neither derived from egg or milk, nor honey. While vegetarians are characterized rather by adopting as a frame of reference the diet that includes everything that is edible and nutritious, and from there exceptions are created, in the case of veganism, that kind of food is discarded from the beginning .

2. Veganism is more than a diet

Normally, the concept of vegetarianism refers to a type of diet characterized by the absence of certain products, since in order to produce them, it is necessary to kill or harm the animals.

Veganism, on the other hand, goes far beyond what is eaten, and also affects, for example, the clothes that are used, the cosmetics that are consumed, etc. If to produce any product you have to generate pain in an animal or even kill it , whether to experiment or to be able to manufacture a product, the tendency of vegan people is not to make use of it.

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3. Veganism can change with technological development

The raison d'etre of veganism is not in itself not to eat organic matter that is not of vegetable origin, but not to cause pain to the animals. Therefore, if in the future a way to produce meat, milk or eggs is obtained directly, without having to extract it from mature animals and with nervous system or without counting on the participation of these, a vegan person could, hypothetically, consume that product

In contrast, like vegetarianism has been defined first as a type of diet , meat is not consumed, regardless of its origin.

4. Vegetarianism may contain veganism, but not the other way around

As vegetarianism is a concept that in what refers to the diet is very broad, it can fit the alimentary facet of veganism. Specific, it can be considered that veganism is a strict version of vegetarianism . However, this is a nominalist debate, and there is no consensus about whether there is a quantitative difference between vegetarians and vegans or whether the difference is rather qualitative.


VEGANS vs MEAT EATERS - Who Will Live Longer? Food / Diet Comparison (March 2024).


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