When you first heard mention of plant-based diet, you might assume it is the same thing as vegan. Not so!
In fact there are a lot of confusions about plant-based diet and vegan. When you type “plant-based diet vs” on Google, one of the top results is “plant-based diet vs vegan”.
Since we have the same confusion, we decided to do some research and find out the similarity and differences between plant-based diet and vegan.
What is the similarity?
Food wise, these two are quite similar because both of them focus on plant foods and zero animal products.
Just like vegan, plant-based diet eliminates all animal products including dairy, gelatin, fish, meat, eggs, as well as animal byproducts such as honey. Commissioner of Health for the city of Chicago Terry Mason, puts it: “If it walks, hops, swims, crawls, slithers, has eyes, a mom and a dad – don’t eat it.”
What is the difference?
There are a couple of distinctions when it comes to food products. A plant-based diet may be similar to vegan, but their food consumption is centered on whole, unrefined, or minimally refined plants, rather than a processed food or animal-based diet. In other words, a person who follows a plant-based diet is not necessarily a vegan.
For instance, French fries, oils, fake meats, oreos, soft drinks – these are all vegan-friendly foods. However, they are not considered to be “plant-based”, as these products do not resemble that of their original plant form. In fact, you could be vegan and never eat anything that looks like or resembles a plant.
If we go beyond food, someone who consumes only plant-based products may wear or use products that are derived from animals.
Vegan is more than just a diet. It is a lifestyle. Vegans they do not just abstain from eating animal-derived food; they also reject anything treating animals as commodities, such as hunting and animal testing.
Think of vegan as a concept where you remove animal products literally from your life. This means no animal flesh: no meat, milk, eggs, fish, leather, silk, or animal-derived cosmetics.
Regardless if you want to eat a plant-based diet or become a vegan, we hope you are adopting it with the intention of doing good for all creatures.
– Cover Image: foodandnutrition.org
