Neither vegans nor vegetarians eat meat. However, while vegetarians tend
to consume dairy products and eggs, a vegan avoids all animal
products, including eggs and dairy, and often inedible animal-based products,
such as leather, wool, and silk. Vegetarianism is usually a diet, while
veganism is a lifestyle. Vegetarians often choose their diet based on its
reported health benefits or for
religious or political reasons. In general, vegans have much stronger political
beliefs regarding their diet, with some believing animals should be protected
under many of the same laws that humans are.
Most vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry, but they tend
to consume dairy products and eggs.
Many vegetarians also do not eat products that contain gelatin or other
animal-based products. Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy
products, but not eggs; ovo-vegetarians eat eggs, but not
dairy products; and lacto-ovo-vegetarianseat eggs as well as dairy
products. There is also pescetarianism, a vegetarian-like diet that
avoids meat and poultry but does include fish.
The vegan diet tends to be much stricter than most vegetarians'
diets. Meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, and all other animal-based products,
like honey, are entirely avoided. Moreover, any food or other (sometimes
inedible) product that makes use of animals is avoided. This often extends to
clothing, medicines, and anything else in which animals or animal products are
used. For example, a vegan would not use leather shoes or belts, cosmetics that
have been tested on animals, down comforters, gelatin medicine capsules, woolen
sweaters, or fur coats.
Fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts are staples of both the vegan
and vegetarian diets. Sometimes tofu is used as a replacement for meat-based
products.
"There is no meaningful
distinction between eating flesh and eating dairy or other animal products.
Animals exploited in the dairy industry live longer than those used for meat,
but they are treated worse during their lives, and they end up in the same slaughterhouse
after which we consume their flesh anyway. There is probably more suffering in
a glass of milk or an ice cream cone than there is in a steak." —Gary
L. Francione, vegan American legal scholar and animal rights advocate, in Veganism: The Fundamental
Principle of the Abolitionist Movement
While some vegans may cite nutritional concerns or food allergies
as the primary reason for adhering to their diet (dietary vegans),
most adopt a vegan lifestyle for moral and political reasons
(ethical vegans). The vegan point of view tends to be that animals are not here
to be exploited by man, and that commercialization of animals involves a
fundamental, inhumane component and lack of respect for basic life.
There are many reasons one might be vegetarian. A prominent reason
is for health concerns, as the vegetarian diet is often high in fiber while
also being low carb and
low insaturated
fats. Similarly, some adopt vegetarianism due to growing concerns
about food safety when it comes to meat. Moral and/or political reasons are
also common; for example, some have embraced vegetarianism (and veganism) for
environmental reasons.[1] Some religions, like Hinduism and Jainism, prescribe
or encourage vegetarianism. Others, like some Christian sects, practice
abstinence from animal products during Lent.
In general, most studies show vegans and vegetarians are as healthy,
if not healthier than, their meat-eating counterparts. Veganism, in particular,
is very good at eliminating common food
allergens, such as shellfish and dairy. However, a notable downside
to the vegan diet is that vegans often need to take B12 and amino acid
supplements — and sometimes other dietary supplements, such as iron or vitamin
D — as their diet tends to lack these essential nutritional components.[2]
There is ongoing study of the advantages and disadvantages of the
vegan and vegetarian diets. Many studies have found cardiovascular benefits to both diets,
and some suggest there is a lower risk of cancer among vegans and
vegetarians.
An extensive study published in June 2013 shows that vegetarians
live longer than meat eaters and are 19% less likely to die from heart disease.
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a Journal of the American
Medical Association, was covered by the Wall Street Journal. Other key findings
from the study include:
·
Vegetarians in the
study experienced 12% fewer deaths over the period of the study (six years),
during which 73,308 people were tracked.
·
There appeared to be
fewer deaths in the vegetarian group from diabetes and kidney failure.
·
Caloric intake didn't
seem to matter. The different participant groups generally ate around the same
amount of calories daily.
·
The vegetarian
advantage appeared stronger in men than women.
·
Cancer struck both
the vegetarians and non-vegetarians in roughly equal measure.
A rebuttal of the
media reports of this study argues that correlation does not imply causation,
and that the longer life span of vegetarians found in the study could also be
attributed to the fact that the vegetarian group tended to exercise more, be
married, consume less alcohol, and smoke less compared with the meat-eating
group.
Overall, determining whether these diets directly affect long-term
health outcomes is difficult. The different types of vegetarians are rarely studied
against each other, for instance, and vegans and vegetarians often tend to be
more affluent or health-conscious, both of which positively affect long-term
outcomes.
A 2008 study by Vegetarian Times found
that 7.3 million people, or 3.2% of the U.S. population, is vegetarian; even
more are partly vegetarian, eating meat only on occasion. A majority of
vegetarians are female (59% of women vs. 41% of men), and most are younger (42%
are in the 18-34 demographic).
A 2012 Gallup poll found
the number of American vegans and vegetarians to be even higher than what Vegetarian
Times found, with 5% of the population identifying as vegetarian and 2%
identifying as vegan. Most vegans and vegetarians in this poll were found to be
female, single, liberal, and older — in contrast to what Vegetarian Times
found.
In 2010, the UK's National Center for Social Research released data from a 2008 social attitudes
survey. They found vegetarians and vegans were much more likely to
have higher incomes. They also found non-whites were more likely to be
vegetarian or vegan than whites, and often for religious reasons.
Many well-known celebrities, activists and politicians, artists,
and sports figures adhere to vegan or vegetarian diets. Famous vegans include
singers Carrie Underwood and Erykah Badu, Olympic sprinter Carl Lewis, actor
and musician Jared Leto, and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez. Among
vegetarians, there is Coldplay singer Chris Martin, comedian Ellen DeGeneres,
Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, and actors Natalie Portman and
Peter Dinklage.
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