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Vegans: Why not vegetarianism?

stricklee11
stricklee11 Posts: 218 Member
in Debate Club
Why did you choose to be vegan over being a vegetarian? Was it a gradual shift?



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Replies

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Assuming a vegan eats that way for ethical reasons, it makes sense to not consume other animal products because of how the animals are typically treated.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    stricklee11 wrote: »
    Why did you choose to be vegan over being a vegetarian? Was it a gradual shift?



    Veganism is an ethical choice that goes well beyond diet. Vegans do not consume or use animal products or products that are tested on animals, etc....no leather or wool...certain cosmetics are off limits, etc.

    There have definitely been times when self-defined vegans defined "vegan" as not eating animal products and divorced that the idea that they also wouldn't buy things made of animal products (leather and what not). It wasn't especially long ago and I suspect there are multiple people who self identify that way. That's probably especially the case because the word vegetarian is typically used as shorthand for ovo-lacto vegetarian.

    I suspect there are also plenty of people who eat vegan for reasons other than ethics, especially if we're not including religion an ethical reason (though I can see why one would include that). Of course there are also people who call themselves vegan who will wear wool but won't wear or buy leather, especially if they have a really good idea about the production both of wool generally and of the specific wool that they're wearing (ie they know how the animal(s) whose wool was shorn is being raised).
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Also dear god I need to proof read everything I post here. I try to remember to do so because when I don't it's just a joke. Somehow MFP breaks my ability to type in English in ways that no other website does (including ones I'm significantly more active on).
  • ChrisCatMama
    ChrisCatMama Posts: 1,038 Member
    I’m a vegetarian due to food allergies. I’m allergic to most animal products, including honey, beeswax, fish. I can tolerate eggs as long as they’re in something (like cake, etc). I am thinking of going all vegan though. I’ve always loved animals to the point of where I felt uncomfortable eating say, a hamburger. So I don’t mind not being able to eat meat. It’s just my allergies are so severe that the smell of bacon cooking in the microwave makes me horribly sick.
  • meganelisabeth
    meganelisabeth Posts: 2 Member
    Hey guys! Peaked my interest here, as I'm one of very very few vegans in my area (that I am aware of, at least). I had been vegetarian since 2007, and just made the shift a few months ago into veganism. It came down to the fact that I couldn't separate the dairy industry from animal agriculture as a whole (I had tried convincing myself otherwise for years..), and the overwhelming studies being done about the environmental impact of consuming animal products just made me sick. We try very hard to reduce our family's waste, by recycling everything that we possibly can, donating items no longer used (as opposed to throwing things away), composting, growing our own vegetables and herbs, etc. My step children and husband have followed suit over a year ago, making the choice on their own to live a vegetarian lifestyle as well. So that being said, it became much easier for me to make the decision to go Vegan, and I feel that I'm helping to be a better role model for the children too. My health has improved significantly as well, and I have lost a well needed 10lbs+ just from that change alone. Overall, I think there's so many reasons why people chose to be either a vegetarian or a vegan, and I tip my hat to anyone who makes the conscious effort on either side. Have a wonderful day, you guys! Cheers.
  • saintor1
    saintor1 Posts: 376 Member
    Dairies & eggs are probably the biggest difference between vegetarianism and vegans. I still consume some but it was greatly reduced. In my case this was to lower my total cholesterol as much as I can. No more milk at home, only almond milk for my smoothies and recipes. I buy only egg whites, again for recipes, and occasionally some Feta. For the lunches at work, most of the cheese has been replaced by tofu and meat has been replaced by hummus. I still eat some 'high quality' meat 1-2x /week. I have done this for 4 years. I think it paid off; based on my lab results earlier this year, my doctor told me that I was among the lowest risk of coronary disease of only 4%.
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,884 MFP Moderator
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Veganism is an ethical choice that goes well beyond diet. Vegans do not consume or use animal products or products that are tested on animals, etc....no leather or wool...certain cosmetics are off limits, etc.

    I think it can be both a nutritional choice and an ethical one with varying degrees of what the person knows or is willing to consider. A friend of mine chooses to eat only plant-based foods, but still owns a leather jacket. He feels physically better eating vegan, but it doesn't disturb him that his jacket is made from animal skin.

    In fact, I'd argue it is pretty challenging to be 100% vegan in the sense that you don't buy anything with animal products in it, or that has been tested on animals, or that has an impact on animals. The global supply chain is so huge that you need to spend a lot of time investigating every product you buy.

    Examples of foods you might think are vegan but aren't always: beer, wine, and some fruit juices.

    Examples of other things you might buy that are not vegan: clothes, shoes, linens/bedding, furniture, the upholstery in your car, medications, vitamins/supplements, cosmetics including obvious ones like red lipstick but also soaps, perfumes, sunscreens, etc.

    Some vegans won't watch movies that have animals in them, won't visit the circus or zoo, and won't have pets at home. There's a whole range of veganism.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I think there's also this assumption that "all vegans do this and if they don't then they're not vegan" which is simply not the truth. There's no one definition for the word or lable "vegan" and language changes, including the meanings of words and phrases. I know numerous people who will use animal products that they've bought used and/or come from farms that they trust in regards to animal husbandry.
    Sugaraddict4321 wrote:
    In fact, I'd argue it is pretty challenging to be 100% vegan in the sense that you don't buy anything with animal products in it, or that has been tested on animals, or that has an impact on animals. The global supply chain is so huge that you need to spend a lot of time investigating every product you buy.
    I couldn't agree with you enough on this one. Between the fact that farming produce has an impact on animals, the production of clothes has an impact on animals (it's not exactly the cleanest of industries in terms of pollution and that affects wildlife), the clear cutting of forests which has a major effect on animals, the trialing drugs and medical procedures that are vital to one's health... I could go on but I'll stop there.

    I get that it's a give and take situation. No one can do all the things to try and save the earth and its inhabitants. That said, my buying wool products (primarily in the form of socks, raw fleece, and yarn) is likely not more negatively impactful than buying cotton (organic or conventional).
  • TheVeganVetNurse
    TheVeganVetNurse Posts: 2 Member
    I went Vegan for ethical reasons after having been Vegetarian for years and doing my research on the dairy and egg industry. It was a no-brainer for me.

  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 518 Member
    Dgil1975 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    stricklee11 wrote: »
    Why did you choose to be vegan over being a vegetarian? Was it a gradual shift?



    Veganism is an ethical choice that goes well beyond diet. Vegans do not consume or use animal products or products that are tested on animals, etc....no leather or wool...certain cosmetics are off limits, etc.

    I agree with this.

    I eat whole food plant based, when people ask me about what I eat because of the weight loss and I say whole food plant based, the response is “so your a vegan”.

    My answer is no, as vegan is an ethical stance, with much more than a way of eating involved, and while I agree that factory farming is deplorable, I personally don’t have any issues with people eating meat, or dairy. I did it specifically for health.

    This, I like the idea of being vegan, but it's only the eating part of vegan.....
  • lpina2mi
    lpina2mi Posts: 425 Member
    edited May 2019
    I was a pescatarian who is transitioning to WFPB. Although I cannot vouch for the cheese (~4oz/wk) I eat, I do know the farmers of my eggs(~1/wk) and milk (~1/2c/wk).
    For animal rights and environmental footprint reasons I gave up leather goods and mammal flesh abt a year ago. Prior to that I was an omnivore in the Pollan & Kingfisher mode of plants primarily for decades.

    I will continue to weigh sustainability against vegan substitutes for traditional omnivore foods. For example, I am making oat milk for my morning coffee rather then almond milk, on account of monocropping of almond trees. It's bad for bees (trucked-in) and bad for water resources.

    I see myself continuing to wear wool and eating honey. I know where my honey comes from. Perhaps my next challenge is know where my yarn comes from too.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    lpina2mi wrote: »
    I was a pescatarian who is transitioning to WFPB. Although I cannot vouch for the cheese (~4oz/wk) I eat, I do know the farmers of my eggs(~1/wk) and milk (~1/2c/wk).
    For animal rights and environmental footprint reasons I gave up leather goods and mammal flesh abt a year ago. Prior to that I was an omnivore in the Pollan & Kingfisher mode of plants primarily for decades.

    I will continue to weigh sustainability against vegan substitutes for traditional omnivore foods. For example, I am making oat milk for my morning coffee rather then almond milk, on account of monocropping of almond trees. It's bad for bees (trucked-in) and bad for water resources.

    I see myself continuing to wear wool and eating honey. I know where my honey comes from. Perhaps my next challenge is know where my yarn comes from too.
    If you're making the clothes from the yarn you're buying, it's actually not all that difficult. It's even easier if you're spinning the wool. PM if you want more suggestions on how to figure that sort of thing out.

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