It is a popular belief that the words vegetarian and vegan means the same. But they do not. Care24 explains the difference and breaks the myths.
A vegetarian does not eat any animal product that requires killing of an animal like meat, fish etc., but they may consume animal products like milk, honey etc. Whereas, a vegan does not eat anything that is of animal origin like flesh, nor do they use animal based products for clothing, or any other purpose.
Vegetarianism is usually a dietary choice or for personal or religious reasons, while being a vegan is more of a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than a diet.The three main reasons people adopt to be a vegan.
Animal Rights
Vegans do not consume or use dairy products or eggs even though doing so will not kill the animal. Part of the reason is a belief in the absolute right of animals to exist freely without human intervention. But also because many moneymaking-raised egg- laying chickens and dairy cows are slaughtered when their efficiency/output declines with age, even this is the case with free range animals.
Environment
Producing food through animal farming is inefficient, because animal feed production takes up a lot of land, fertilizer, water, and other resources that might be used for feeding humans.
A significant amount of polluted underground water and rivers comes from the animal waste from immense feedlots and factory farms.More people globally could be fed on existing land if hypothetically everyone opts to become vegan.
Health
Studies have shown that eating animal fats and proteins raise a person’s risk of having cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and a number of illnesses.
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