Actually, I'm fine with a strict definition. I am 100% never-even-consider-eating-meat vegetarian and don't like it when people who eat fish or occasional chicken call themselves vegetarian. It does dilute the meaning. It probably depends on the context in which you are using the word though.

With a 100% adherence definition- NO ONE is vegan or should use that name.
Questions to ask yourselves- if making one mistake in a 9 month window makes a person not meet the 100% mark, then clearly the past counts. How far back in the past? And who decides that? When you were a baby, or a young child did your parents give you cow's milk or meat? Did you ever eat Milk Chocolate? If so you weren't' vegan then, so you couldn't be now. You would never be at that 100% measure.
Can you see how imposing a standard definition makes no sense?

I think people should do the best they can based upon their beliefs. I eat a plant-based diet which IS vegan, but I don't call myself vegan because I refuse to be held to some ridiculous standard of so-called perfection that someone else has decided is good for them and everyone else too.

I personally find the vegan "culture" way too pretentious and judgmental. I'll stick with "plant-based".

Is bacon a plant?

I ditto most of the above comments really, if you eat dairy, even only very occasionally, you are not a vegan or vegetarian. I don't think that's being militant nor strict either,, definition a vegan is someone who doesn't eat meat and dairy products, so if you eat them albeit not very often, you don't fit into that category! I don't see how that's being judgmental or pretentious. If someone wants to mostly eat vegan but also have eggs or whatever, then by all means go ahead, but you aren't vegan.

Veganism is a (sigh, this sounds so cliche) lifestyle as well as a diet, or at least it is for a lot of people. I too try to avoid any leather products/make up and skincare products that contain animal products etc. The one exception I make is I own/play the violin, which of course uses a bow made of horsehair and the body fixed with non-vegan glues.

So whats the definition of Vegetarian then? I thought it was someone who does not eat meat but eats diary products?

So whats the definition of Vegetarian then? I thought it was someone who does not eat meat but eats diary products?

It's basically 'no dead stuff' - so no meat, fish or stuff that contains stuff from dead things, i.e. rennet, gelatine. However, what people consider vegetarian seems to be much more vague than that - some people say they're vegetarian if they eat fish (I've also come across someone who said they were vegetarian just because they don't eat red meat!!).

Haha ahh I see
Yeah my friends little sister is vegetarian but eats chicken

Interesting thread! I eat vegan 95% of the time but never call myself vegan because of years of problems caused by people who say they're vegetarian but eat chicken or fish. I do however order vegan catering when at work events so a lot of people think I am vegan. It's a hard call but I don't think I should muddy the waters by claiming to be vegan when I'm not, in the strictest sense of the word. If I said I eat plant based, people would just look at me and have no idea what I mean!

Agreed! Some people eat a mostly vegan diet, but they don't look into everything. I consider a true vegan someone who makes every effort not to consume (food or other products) that came from an animal. I don't know why some people consider honey vegan. It's sad for the bees. They are part of the animal kingdom too! I would never bash anyone for doing it, though. To each their own!

Although my diet would qualify me as a "vegan" I don't call myself a vegan because I am not radical about it. I do it for health and ethical reasons.

I eat a raw diet. So if it had a pulse or if man made it, I don't eat it.

I support anyone making any healthy changes to their diet. We all start somewhere.

wow, many opinion's here... as a new vegan, i wouldn't want anyone to question my reason for becoming a vegan be it die hard or diet based. if you've watched forks over knives or vegucation you can see the benefits health wise for yourself and how you can benefit making the world a greener place to live, so if you are a die hard vegan don't impose your standards on those who are diet based, bottom line lables suck and meateaters look at us the same anyway so we don't need to be getting in each others way, we need to be supporting each other no matter what. EAT GREEN and Live Long and Prosper lol

Setting the bar @ perfection is recipe for individual failure and group misery.

As long as one is making a full faith effort then that should be good enough.

It would be silly and self-defeating if vegan hardliner's chose to alienate all those aspiring vegans by looking down on them.

Nobody is perfect, including vegans, at least the human ones. [If one hasnt been vegan since consciousness or birth for that matter, can one really call oneself a real vegan??]

Becoming vegan is a process, a process that takes quite some time to correct decades of learned habits from family, community, and country.

Time to focus on the positives and unite instead of allow unrealistic expectations to divide the community....

well said

While I strive not to buy or consume food and other products made from animals for my own health and ethical reasons, this "true vegan" --are you perfect enough, good enough, VEGAN enough--will not help this movement catch on. Getting into squirrelly conversations about how "vegan" you are tends to intimidate and alienate those who are not, even other vegans.

My vote is, keep "how vegan" you are to yourself. Pat yourself on the back, and keep it up. You are doing a good thing for your health, the environment, AND reducing animal suffering, regardless if you are vegan only in diet or in a broader lifestyle.

Instead of the tireless "how vegan are you" conversation, consider doing something productive, and volunteer leafletting at a local college with Vegan Outreach (veganoutreach.org) With a smile and light heart, spread the positive message of veganism to total strangers. While not everyone will drop everything to take up a vegan diet or lifestyle, everyone you encounter will at least think about it. And hopefully, several will come back to ask questions or tips to get started.

Small changes beyond the vegan population, such as encouraging meat-eating friends to try Meatless Mondays, have a much greater impact on reducing suffering. Energy should focus on that vs. how vegan us "vegans" are...

What you're referring to would be considered (in my personal opinion) a "plant-based diet" rather than truly vegan, since there's a lot more to veganism than simply diet alone, and is a lifestyle in which people strive to avoid animal products at all costs and do not occasionally consume them.. at least not intentionally.

I suppose you could also consider it being a strict vegetarian if you eat a vegan diet most of the time, but occasionally include dairy or eggs. If you eat meat occasionally you'd be considered neither vegetarian OR vegan by a lot of people's standards. It really just depends on who you ask.

I've also heard it called a "dietary vegan" before. That's how I started out, and now after a year i'm slowly starting to move onto buying animal and environmentally friendly soaps, shampoos, etc. At first I just focused on diet, so I referred to myself as a dietary vegan if people asked. I just discovered a great organic all natural soap that you can use for hair, body, everything. It's also not tested on animals and contains no chemicals. It's awesome and it's cheaper!