Living a Vegan Lifestyle
Vegan and vegetarian are not the same thing. They both are similar in that they refrain from eating meat, but vegans live a lifestyle based on moral beliefs.
Foods to Avoid
There is more than one kind of vegetarian and all of them have different food restrictions they live by. Some don’t eat meat but eat dairy (lacto-vegetarians), some eat eggs but not meat or dairy (ovo-vegetarians) and some eat no meat but do eat eggs and dairy (lacto-ovo-vegetarians). It is not uncommon for vegetarians to eat fish and chicken but not other meats.
Vegans have more restrictions and are often referred to as strict vegetarians. This is because they have strict moral beliefs about eating any type of meat at all and also no dairy products or eggs or any other animal products. The reasons for the beliefs can be based on morality and respecting animal rights or on the desire to lose weight and be healthy or it can be a little of both.
Vegans and Clothes
Vegans believe it is wrong to both eat and wear animals in any way, shape or form. They are opposed to leather in clothes, shoes and purses. They strongly believe that it is wrong to wear fur. Animal right groups like PETA often encourage the fur avoidance because the animals are killed simply for their fur. Vegans also go as far as to say it is wrong to wear silk and wool because it is cruel to the animals that produce the material.
Vegans and Other Animal Based Products
We all probably knew that vegans don’t wear leather or fur but you may not realize how many products out there actually contain animal based products. This can include personal items like shampoos and soaps and even cleaning products that you have around your house. It is difficult to tell that many of these things even contain any animal products so vegans have to be vigilant about reading labels.
Vegans also refuse to use products that are tested on animals. You may not realize just how many products of all kinds are tested on animals from personal items to make-up to cleaning products. Vegans are especially concerned about the continued animal testing done by cosmetic companies and only use products with no animal testing involved.
Vegan Morals
Vegans base a lot of their beliefs on their strong moral belief in animal rights. For this reason they are against factory farming, circuses and other industries that they feel exploit and mistreat animals on a regular basis. There are other beliefs that are behind their lifestyle as well.
Vegans believe that if everyone ate less or even better no meat at all, it would help the environment tremendously. They say that the amount of natural resources and energy used to raise animals for food, transport them, slaughter and package them is killing our environment and is partially to blame for global warming. By encouraging people to be less and less dependent on meat, they hope to encourage farmers to use more resources to grow produce.
Vegans also think that if more fruits and vegetables were grown in our country and others, there would be less hunger in the world. It is less costly to produce more produce than it is to raise less farm animals for food. The more fields and farms dedicated to produce, the more food we could share with the hungry.
Vegans are more than just vegetarians. They take their beliefs to a different level and base their decisions on their moral and ethical views about animal rights. It is not the lifestyle that everyone can or wants to lead but it is growing in popularity and vegans have more options to choose from when shopping now than in years past.
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