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Since I became a vegetarian fifteen years ago, I have noticed that there is some confusion as to what constitutes a vegetarian or a vegan. Basically, both vegetarians and vegans reject meat as a source of nourishment. However, there are some fine differences between these two groups.

Vegans only eat only plant foods. It is possible to eat a healthy vegan diet. However, there is just one nutrient which is hard to obtain when you're a vegan. Nutritional yeast is the only natural vegetarian source of vitamin B12, which most commonly occurs in animal products. So if you're a vegan, you have to take some time to ensure that you get the B12 your body needs. If nutritional yeast is unavailable, unpalatable or expensive, be sure to use a good supplement.

Vegetarians, on the other hand, eat some animal based foods. For example, vegetarians may allow themselves eggs, dairy, honey, and other foods which have been produced by animals. A vegetarian who eats eggs is called an ovo vegetarian. If he eats dairy, he's called a lacto vegetarian. If he eats both, he's called a lacto-ovo vegetarian.

Vegetarians never eat any animal flesh at all. Some people mistakenly think that vegetarians eat fish or chicken. This simply isn't true. Someone who eats fish but not meat is a pescetarian. Someone who eats chicken but rejects red meat is simply an omnivore like the majority of people on the planet.

Whether one chooses to become a vegetarian or vegan is merely a matter of degrees. Many vegetarians refuse to use leather products, wool or fur, as vegans do.

The one thing that most vegetarians and vegans have in common is a love for animals. They are strongly rooted in the ethics of treating animals humanely by not killing them and eating their flesh. However, we may disagree on other issues.

Both vegetarians and vegans may refuse to wear wool because of inhumane practices which are used in wool production. Mulesing, which involves making cuts in a sheep's hindquarters without anesthesia, is a cruel practice used in the wool industry. It is believed to prevent insect infestations. Truthfully, vegetarians are just as concerned about this practice as vegans are. There is sometimes some disagreement about what is the solution to this problem. Some people may advocate the abolition of the wool industry. Others may advocate the abolition of the mulesling alone. There seems to be no clear division between vegetarians and vegans in regards to opposing this practice.

However, some agencies like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, develop a reputation as a bunch of kooks because they take their activism to an extreme. PETA tends to encourage total veganism without any kind of compromise. While their cause is a good one, the solutions they advocate often aren't within the reach of most people. Furthermore, some hypocrisy was found within the organization. Some of its members were found abusing animals or putting them to death in a manner which was illegal, cruel and unnecessary.

Veganism can be a difficult way of life, and finding vegan substitutes for favorite foods is often expensive. It can also be very expensive to replace all animal-produced clothing and necessary objects with vegan alternatives. While we might strive for becoming completely vegan, some of us might find such a goal to be out of our reach.

In the end, we all have to do what our conscience guides us to do. It's better have moderate ethics to which one is faithful, than to have ethics of extreme purity which one consistently violates. If we all work together to end animal suffering, regardless of our eating or buying habits, we should be able to make a difference.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Claerr.
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