There’s a lot of veg terms floating around out there. There’s vegan and vegetarian, but under the umbrella of these terms there’s more specific labels like plant-based, ahimsa vegan, and lacto-ovo vegetarian, plus other phrases like pescatarian and flexetarian. But who does and doesn’t eat, wear, or support what? And most importantly, why? Read on for a full explanation of today’s animal loving lingo.
Vegan
Vegan means avoiding all animal products. Vegans don’t consume meat and seafood, eggs, dairy, or honey (typically) or purchase clothing made from animal products (leather, wool, down, etc.) or health and beauty products tested on animals. Animals being used for entertainment purposes is not generally supported either (circuses, zoos, animal rides for tourists, goldfish for prizes at the fair, etc.). If we use animals in any of the above ways there is typically abuse and exploitation involved. Being vegan is an ethically motivated choice based on the concept that animals are not ours to use in any way, that rather than treating them as objects to be used or profited from, we should see them as their own individual living beings with their own feelings, connections, and unique set of circumstances, having just as much of a right to a peaceful existence as we do.
Ahimsa Vegan
Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word meaning non-violence. So, an Ahimsa vegan will avoid all animal products unless they can be obtained through peaceful and compassionate means. This is of course not possible for meat since violence (killing and butchering) is required to obtain it. Ahimsa vegans will consume milk, but only if it comes from cows treated according to ahimsa standards. This means that the cows will never be slaughtered. When they are too old to produce milk, they are simply allowed to retire. Bulls are not slaughtered just because they can’t produce milk (they typically are trained to help with tending the fields). Mothers and their babies are not separated. The calves are allowed to drink their mother’s milk, and only the excess (which happy cows usually produce plenty of) is taken for human consumption. Overall they are all treated as family and as an integral part of a peaceful and functional farm system. Some ahimsa vegan may also consume eggs if they are unfertilized and come from chickens treated with the above standards, but many ahimsa vegans avoid eggs regardless of farming practices. This is because there is a very fine line between an egg and a baby chicken; the difference of a single sperm cell. The egg has everything needed to create the body of a chicken as this is its biological intention. Some classify eggs as flesh because both are a lump of matter that is capable of housing a soul but doesn’t. Meat is a dead body that had a soul but now doesn’t and the unfertilized egg just never got the chance.
Plant-Based
Plant-based is a term that refers to diet and health. A plant-based diet means no meat/seafood, egg, or dairy products. Plant-based differs from vegan in that it is motivated by health, environmental reasons rather than ones relating to animal welfare. It doesn’t take into account things like animal testing and leather goods, and some followers of this diet may occasionally let an animal product or two slip onto their plate. Animal foods have been linked to heart disease, certain cancers, high cholesterol and hight blood pressure, amongst other health problems. Animal agriculture causes more deforestation than plant agriculture. Much of our country’s grain production feeds animals being used for meat, milk, and eggs, while many people go hungry. Factory farms create mentally grueling and physically unsafe working conditions for their employees and hazardous conditions for those living around the facility. So, even without the ethics of animal welfare being taken into consideration, there are many reasons people give up animal products.
Whole Food Plant-Based
This follows the definition of plant-based above, but with some additions. Followers of a whole food plant-based diet avoid animal products as well as processed foods including refined sugars, bleached flours/white grains, and oils. A whole food plant based diet has even more benefits than just being plant-based/vegan. It has been shown in many studies to reduce the risk of or even outright reverse heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, as well as to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar, and reduce the risk of cancer, just to name a few.
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
In it’s most basic form, vegetarian simply means not eating the bodies of animals. This means no meat, fish, seafood, or anything derived from them such as cod liver oil and gelatin. Lacto-ovo means refers to a vegetarian that does not consume meat but does consume milk products (lactose) and eggs (ova). The idea is to not directly condone or participate in the killing of animals. While some may go vegetarian to reduce the suffering of animals, some may choose a vegetarian diet to reduce deforestation, carbon emissions, and water consumption, or to get a portion of the health benefits offered by a plant based diet.
Vegetarian (lacto)
While lacto-ovo is a common form of vegetarianism in the western world, for those in India and the east and for some in the Americas and Europe as well, vegetarian refers to lacto vegetarian which means avoiding eggs as well as meat, fish, and seafood products, although milk products are still consumed. This is because eggs can be placed in the same category as meat and even considered a form of meat. Meat is the flesh from a body that does not contain life. Typically this means the body of a living, breathing animal that was killed and cut apart, but it can also mean a body that never got the chance to develop (an egg). This may seem more intuitive with a fertilized egg, but even unfertilized, the egg is only one cell short of a living being. It contains everything needed, apart from the male gamete, to transform itself into a fully functioning young bird. The egg is seen by many as a sacred life force rather than a commodity.
Vegetarian (ovo)
Although less common, there are vegetarians who consume eggs, but abstain from dairy. This is possibly due the lack of ahimsa milk in a particular community and the comparatively higher availability of eggs from pet chickens who are treated with love, whereas the chickens and cows that eggs and milk are taken from in the factory farms supplying the supermarkets suffer considerably.
Pescatarian
Pescatarian refers to someone who consumes fish, seafood, eggs, and dairy, but avoids meat from land animals. This can be because meat from land animals is seen as the least healthy type of animal products, and it can also be because wild caught fish and seafood is seen as less cruel than animals being raised on a farm for the sole purpose of being killed.
Flexetarian
A rapidly growing number of Americans are considering themselves to be flexetarians. Flexetarians are those who don’t avoid meat altogether, but are try to incorporate more plant-based choices into their lives. This can look like having one day a week or one meal a day that’s meat free. It can be choosing the Beyond Burger instead of the meat burger when it’s an option or asking for no bacon on that loaded baked potato. With all of the plant-based alternatives and vegan menu items out there, it’s never been easier to start making more healthy and compassionate choices without committing to a big change.
It’s important to note that not everyone will fall neatly into one of the categories listed above. For example, it’s possible to be both vegan and whole food plant based, or to be strictly lacto-vegetarian and mostly vegan, but not quite full vegan. Labels are useful things, but don’t get too caught up in fitting perfectly within their walls. Do what’s right for you, and if that means living in between the lines, that’s okay!
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