Why don’t vegan eat what vegetarian eat?

Recently something interesting popped up on my Facebook feed. You might be familiar with the TikTok fame Chef Dave. He’s known to be promoting his vegan journey and also providing vegan-friendly recipes on his page.

In one of his posts, he posted about his experience of the lack of vegan options on one of Malaysia’s low-cost flights. Many of the netizens were quick to chime in to say, “But they have a vegetarian option!”. And there were a few who are on the same food diet who also felt the same as the Chef.

Same same but different

It’s a common misconception that veganism and vegetarianism are the same thing. This is because while vegetarians stay away from meat, they still consume dairy products such as milk and cheese. Vegans on the other though follow similar beliefs as vegetarians; they avoid eating and consuming dairy products.

Why don’t vegans consume dairy?

A Vegan will not consume milk regardless of how it is produced, even if it is organically farmed. This is due to a number of factors. Vegans are concerned about animal rights in all aspects of farming. Animals are sometimes mistreated in the farming industry. Some are compelled to become pregnant after being given hormones.

Apart from dairy products some vegans also stay away from honey, due to the way how honey is retrieved from the hives. They deem it as inhuman.

So, what do vegans actually eat?

Vegan meals usually consist of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, bread, rice, pasta, and dairy alternatives such as soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk, and vegetable oils.

While vegetarians can consume vegan products, vegans can’t eat all vegetarian products due to the difference in beliefs.