As the ‘plant based’ diet continues to rise in popularity, many of us have a few questions… Does plant based mean vegan? What’s the difference? Let’s talk about it…
A lot of people hear the term ‘plant based’ and immediately think ‘vegan’, that’s not always the case though. There are a few important differences between the two diets, and a few things are important to remember, especially when you are choosing a diet based on your beliefs, like becoming Vegan.
Plant Based Vs Vegan
Defining the terms:
A plant based diet is a diet that is based on eating mostly plants; veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, etc. It also focuses on using minimally processed whole-foods.
A vegan diet is a diet that is based on avoiding all animal products and by products; no meats, fish, cheese, milk, etc.
What can’t they eat?
Plant based diets don’t necessarily avoid anything. Their diets are comprised primarily of plants, without restricting animal products out right.
Vegans, as mentioned above, don’t eat anything that comes from an animal. They also tend to avoid using any animal products like leather.
What is their “why”?
Plant based eaters mainly choose a plant based diet for health reasons. Plant based diets have been shown to have many health benefits, like reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Vegan eaters choose their diet based on ethics and morality. They don’t believe in harming animals for human consumption or use, also they avoid animal products to limit the effect on the species and our planet.
It’s important to note that people can have MANY reasons as to why they choose their diets, these reasons just happen to be the most popular ones.
If you plan on choosing a diet, plant based vs vegan, it’s important to know that plant based does NOT always mean vegan. If you are choosing a vegan diet based on your own personal ethics and morals, make sure you read recipes and ingredients thoroughly so you don’t accidentally consume something.
