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A vegan is a person who eats a diet that does not contain any animal products. This includes parts of the animals (including land animals, birds, fish, etc.) themselves and products that they produce, such as eggs and milk. Rather, such a diet relies entirely on plant products, including grains and starchy vegetables for carbohydrates, beans, lentils and nuts for protein, and nuts and seeds for fat. A vegan is different from a vegetarian in that the latter is a person who does not eat animals but can eat products produced by them, namely dairy products. Only a small percentage of vegetarians are true vegans. There are various reasons that people become vegans. One is that veganism is a part of some religions. A second is the belief that it is morally wrong to kill animals unnecessarily. A third is the belief that the mass production system of producing meat and other animal products in many countries is cruel and bad for the environment. A fourth is the belief that being a vegan can result in better health and greater longevity. Indeed, various studies have shown that vegetarians tend to live longer and be healthier than non-vegetarians, and that among vegetarians, vegans are the healthiest. In particular, vegans have much lower rates of many so-called adult diseases (which have been becoming increasingly common in children in recent years), including obesity, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Many people would like to become a vegan but do not because they think that the diet would be too boring and that they would miss the meat and other animal products that they have consumed for many years. However, vegans do not just eat salads (some vegans never eat salads), but rather enjoy a great variety of tasty foods, often much more variety than some meat eaters eat. It can be particularly easy for people who like cooking to become vegans, because they will enjoy experimenting with a variety of plant foods. But even for people who do not like cooking or are too busy, it is now easier to become a vegan than in the past because of the increasing variety of prepared vegan foods that are commercially available, ranging from imitation meats to non-dairy ice cream-like desserts. Not all vegans are overly concerned about strictly adhering to their diet at every meal, and on occasion they might consume something that contains a small amount of animal product. Even for people who are not vegans, adhering to a partial vegan diet or to a vegan diet for some meals may provide substantial health benefits. Created November 30, 2006. |