Lately, there is much press about going vegan. So what is vegan? There are a few definitions for the word vegan, having to do with the background motivation of the person involved, and whether you are defining vegan to be a description of your diet or your lifestyle.
If someone is using the term vegan to define their style of eating, then they are saying they eat no animal products. This means they do not eat any part of an animal, nor to they eat eggs, milk, and other products derived from animal secretions. Eating vegan is also called strict vegetarianism. And just in case you werent sure animal includes fish and fowl so no chicken McNuggets and no filet-o-fish.
When the label vegan is used to describe a way of life, it means that the motivation for eschewing animal products comes from an interest in animal rights. The main motivation is not diet or health but animal welfare.
Vegans who are motivated by ideology will also eschew all other animal products to the best of their abilities. They will not buy leather products, or products made from animals, such as leather, fur, or ivory. Nor will they buy products that have been tested on animals.
Since it is impossible to live in society today and not consume animal products in some fashion, the philosophical vegan will strive to eschew animal products. There are hidden animal products in many products you would never expect. Sheetrock often contains horsehair. Violin bows are usually made from horsehair. Violins are often glued together with animal based glue. Rubber is processed with animal products. Most vegans live with this conundrum by accepting that they cannot be perfect vegans. Therefore they strive to do the best they can.
Most people who are not vegan can understand the motivation to vegetarian, even if they would not consider it themselves. But they, and most vegetarians, wonder why someone would go one step further and give up milk, cheese, and eggs. When animals are being killed, the motivation is understandable, but animals are not killed to provide dairy and eggs. However, they are often treated very badly. Often they are confined in such small spaces that they do not have the ability to turn around. And the few hours or days en route to the slaughterhouse are sheer torture. Vegans are motivated by a desire to prevent this cruelty.
Other people are motivated to eat vegan in order to lower their risk for a number of lifestyle diseases. There is plenty of data out there to suggest that a vegan diet will help to lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Vegans and vegetarians are also generally leaner than non-vegetarians, and this can have long term health benefits as well.
Another significant reason to consider going vegan is that the production of animals for food has been proven to increase global warming, and pollution significantly.
