Vegan vs Vegetarian Diets

A plant-based diet is any diet that primarily focuses on plants, and limits or eliminates meat, poultry and other animal products (eggs, milk and cheese). Plant based diets are becoming more popular for a wide variety of reasons, but each version of a plant-based diet is different. So, let’s learn what these differences are.

What does it mean to be vegetarian?

Vegetarians are people who have decided to avoid eating meat or anything made with meat. There are many reasons that people decide to be vegetarian including health, the environment or simply not wanting to eat dead animals, but whatever the reason, meat of all types is the main food avoided. For example, while a typical breakfast may include oatmeal, eggs, and sausage, for a vegetarian the sausage would need to be removed.

What does it mean to be vegan?

Vegans are people who have decided not just to avoid eating meat but anything that comes from an animal as well. This means that in addition to meat, milk, eggs, butter, even honey and gelatin are off limits. Similarly, to vegetarians, there are many reasons why a person would want to go vegan including helping the environment, health, and not wanting animals to be killed. While a typical breakfast could be oatmeal, eggs and sausage, a vegan would be able to eat only the oatmeal if it was prepared with water and not milk, but this oatmeal could be served with fruit, nuts, spices or even jam on top.

What Do Vegetarians Eat?	What Do Vegans Eat?
Fruit and vegetables Nuts and seeds Grains Beans, lentils, peas, tofu Dairy Eggs Honey	Fruit and vegetables Nuts and seeds Grains Beans, lentils, peas, tofu
What Don’t Vegetarians Eat?	What Don’t Vegans Eat?
Meat: Beef, pork, lamb, veal … Poultry: Chicken, turkey… Fish and shellfish Meat based broths like beef broth Animal fats (lard, tallow…)	Meat: Beef, pork, lamb, veal … Poultry: Chicken, turkey… Fish and shellfish Meat based broths like beef broth Animal fats (lard, tallow…) Dairy Eggs Honey Gelatin Anything that comes from animals