What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?
Created on: 09.10.2025
Last edited on: 09.10.2025
The main difference between vegan and vegetarian is that vegetarianism is a diet, whereas veganism is a justice movement. But what exactly does that mean?
Difference between vegan and vegetarian
Vegetarians do not eat meat (i.e. cadaver parts) out of compassion for animals, for health reasons, or for environmental reasons. At heart, most of them (like all people) are already vegan, because they do not want to use animals as commodities.
So what is the difference between vegetarian and vegan? Veganism takes the principle that animals are not commodities to its logical conclusion. Veganism therefore stands as an ethical principle against animal abuse in all areas of life - food, clothing, cosmetics, entertainment, etc.
The question "What is vegan and vegetarian?" should therefore be answered. But why should you live vegan in the first place?
Difference between vegetarian and vegan: Why vegetarian is not enough
Anyone who shares the view that animals are WITH us and not FOR us must live vegan. Because even for vegetarian products, sentient animals with their own interests are treated like inanimate objects. We will explain this using the milk, egg, and leather industries as examples.
Difference between vegetarian and vegan: Milk
In order to produce milk at all, cows (just like human women) must be pregnant. Therefore, sperm is first masturbated from the bull and the cow is inseminated. This rape and birth is followed by the separation of mother cow and baby cow. Since humans want to drink the mother's milk, the baby is ultimately not meant to have it. If the calf is male, it ends up in the slaughterhouse and becomes veal; if it is female, it is abused as a dairy cow just like its mother. After a few years, as soon as a dairy cow is exhausted and no longer profitable enough, it is usually killed at the slaughterhouse.
Difference between vegetarian and vegan: Eggs
Something similar happens in the egg industry. Since male chicks cannot lay eggs, they are considered worthless and are usually shredded, gassed, crushed immediately after birth, or alternatively killed after a short fattening period and sold as chicken meat. Laying hens are kept as slaves for eggs and often suffer from, for example, broken bones or inflammation of the cloaca due to massive overbreeding. As soon as the profit is no longer sufficient, they are also destroyed.
Difference between vegetarian and vegan: Leather
To make the difference between vegetarian and vegan even clearer, we will look beyond the literal plate - because animals are not only abused for food, which vegetarianism completely denies.
This is shown by the example of leather. This is often mistakenly seen as a byproduct of the meat industry, but it is an economically valuable product for which slaughterhouses receive additional money. Many cows are also slaughtered specifically for leather. Most leather is imported from countries like India, where cows often have to walk long distances without food until they reach the slaughterhouse. There, in many cases, their throats are slit in front of each other without stunning, or they are even flayed alive.
Vegetarian or vegan, which is healthier?
Neither vegetarian nor vegan is generally healthier. Health depends on how well the diet is planned and balanced. This means that with both vegetarian and vegan diets, certain nutrients such as vitamin B12 can be critical, and supplementation is particularly necessary for vegans. A plant-based diet can also reduce the risk of certain diseases, but this also depends on the quality of the food used. For example, anyone who only eats french fries and cola is unlikely to expect any health benefits.
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The decision for a vegan life is not made for health reasons, but for ethical reasons concerning animals. If you catch and eat a fish once a month, it will most likely not affect your health. However, it will affect the fish very much, because its entire interest in life is denied.
Likewise, wearing fur, leather, or wool does not harm your health - but it massively harms the integrity of your victims. The conclusion is clear: Not being vegan is not OK - especially from the animals' point of view. So if you are already living vegetarian and believe that we must consider the interests of animals, take the logical step and start living vegan now. Everything you need for the transition can be found at WIE-VEGAN.COM 🤗
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