Today we’re asking a simple question that you’d think would have a simple answer. And yet, there’s more nuance there than many of us would care to admit. So, what actually is veganism?

Veganism, a definition

   According to The Vegan Society, veganism is “a philosophy that seeks to exclude- as far as is possible and practicable- all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”

   (You can find the Vegan Society website here. Check them out if you’re looking for some sort of authority on veganism, as a whole, because they are rooted in the history of the movement.)

Vegan, more colloquially

   That being said, that definition is wordy and frustrating in nature. There are so many obscure words and clauses to tease apart that it can feel intimidating or irrelevant to try to parse through. So to put it in simpler terms for those who don’t know or aren’t super familiar, the base of veganism is as follows: Vegans do not consume animal products or products tested on animals. 

   This means that they’re not going to be eating things with eggs, dairy or meat. They’re not going to buy leather diaries or fur jackets. They will be against animal agriculture as a whole. And if you’re not vegan or close to anyone who is, this is pretty much all you need to know about veganism. But when you get closer to different vegans, well, you’re going to start to see that what “vegan” means to each individual vegan can vary, and sometimes a lot more than you might expect. 

Veganism is a movement, not a doctrine

   I think one of the weird misperceptions that people have of veganism is that it’s like a cult, or at least a religion or set of beliefs. And while in some ways there are vegans who agree with each other on most things, on most issues (even pertaining to veganism) you’ll find individuals with a wide range of different views. For me, this is quite comforting. Any sort of movement where you’re told what to think and what to believe is of concern to me, and if that was what veganism was, I wouldn’t want to call myself vegan. Plain and simple. 

   In general, what you’ll find at the base is that vegans don’t support the current state of agriculture, mostly how it intersects with our involvement with animals. There are as many different views on what veganism is as there are people who’ve heard of it and practiced it. And I think that’s worth acknowledging. If you’re not on the vegan scene, (then I’m not sure how you even stumbled upon this post but) it’s enough of an understanding to say vegans=no animal products. But if you are, or you’d just like to dive deeper for your own edification, keep on reading. Because today, we’re going to look at The different views that fall under the umbrella of veganism.

Eating Plant Based

   I think there’s been a lot of focus on this subject in the vegan community at large. Maybe more than is strictly necessary. And so for this reason, I don’t feel like spending too much time on this one.

   In many ways, veganism is more than just a diet. It’s about what you wear, how you decorate your home, what sorts of things you use and who was affected by that. However, when we do think about going vegan, normally our first concerns are about diet, since it’s something we have to deal with the specifics of on a daily basis. And there are people who, more or less, stop there. We call these people plant based eaters, or people who eat a vegan diet (hence the confusion). I’m not here to gatekeep or say that these people are not “really vegan”, so they’re not whatever. But eating plant based is only one aspect of veganism as a whole. (The other aspect being the other ways in which you spend your money on things that either are animal products or were tested on animals.)

   People might go on a vegan diet because they heard it’s healthier, or because they’re trying to transition into veganism and are focusing on this one aspect first. (I think that’s a fairly valid way of doing it, because the learning curve is faster. And as I said, it’s something you contribute to every day.) Or they may just feel like this is one thing they can do to make more compassionate choices, even if they think they can’t be a “full vegan”. So for these people, it’s all about their diet. They eat plants. Not dairy, eggs or meat. No gelatin or fish, and so on and so forth. They often come around in vegan spaces, and if you ask me, they should have a place there. They certainly have a place here, on this website insofar as they find it interesting or useful.

Honey eaters

   Now, here’s a question. Is honey vegan? (And, I suppose, by extension, is beeswax vegan?) This is something that not all vegans agree on, and it’s a very cerebral disagreement. Because if we’re talking about not consuming animal products, to answer this question we have to ask, “are insects considered to be animals?” And some people say yes, while others say no. Which, as far as I can tell, is the basis of the disagreement. 

   So basically, some vegans will eat honey (or buy chapstick with beeswax in it, for example), while others will not. Now personally, I do not. But when I think about it, I don’t think it makes sense to say that someone who does isn’t a “real vegan”.

I prefer to err on the side of caution and consistency. Insects do fall under the umbrella of the animal kingdom when classifying it, so that speaks to me of consistency. I wouldn’t want to eat an insect for my protein source, and I avoid carmine (a red dye made of insects, also listed as cochineal or natural red 4 on some ingredient labels). So it doesn’t make sense to start drawing lines for honey and beeswax, even though they are more “normal” products. And I remember being taught in middle school biology that insects don’t feel pain. However, according to the Smithsonian magazine, we’ve found out that they do. (Find that article here.)

   It bothers me to think that I might’ve been taught something incorrect in science class. Or that the Smithsonian would be putting out misinformation, for that matter. But to me, it makes sense to err on the side of caution when we’re talking about causing suffering to others. Even if they are “just insects”. It’s easy enough for me to avoid those few products when it comes to maintaining caution and consistency.

Freeganism

   So here’s a word you may not have heard before: freegan. Yes, believe it or not, there are still those under the vegan umbrella that consume animal products–even eating chicken fried steaks. Let me explain.

   Under the freegan world view, it’s all about supply and demand. If animal agriculture is bad (environmentally and ethically), then you don’t want to do anything to contribute to it via supply and demand. Now freeganism is also just its own thing that has a lot to do with anticapitalism in general. Freegans are all about coming up with alternatives to capitalism and animal agriculture. Freeganism is really more of an economic concept, and for this reason, freegans don’t consume exclusively vegan foods and products. 

   For example, going dumpster diving for nonvegan (but still safe and edible foods) is a way of not contributing to the supply and demand for animal agriculture, and freegan to boot. By dumpster diving, you’re not giving your money to the companies who are incentivised to buy these products, and you’re consuming something that would have otherwise gone to waste.

If you hadn’t eaten that trashed loaf of bread with milk in it, you would have gone out to buy something to eat (or the ingredients for something to eat), thus using more unnecessary resources. And no, freeganism isn’t only about dumpster diving. But that’s one of the main ways that it intersects with the “regular vegan ideology”–the basis of supply and demand. And, as far as food goes, foraging is also a popular freegan activity. Freegans are certainly their own separate concept, but where they intersect with vegans is basically this: they do not buy animal products. 

The Liberation Pledge

   So after freeganism or what some (misinformed) people might perceive as “lax vegans”, I figured it was worth looking at the other side. (Or, again, what others may perceive as the other side.) When you decide to take the Liberation Pledge (or even consider it), you definitely get the reputation of an extreme vegan. So let’s look at that idea, really quick.

   Now, I’ve written about The Liberation Pledge before on this site (you can find that post here) but it is a very simple concept. Vegans who take the liberation pledge decide they will no longer be sharing meals when there are bodies on the table (ie, meat). Some of these people also pledge to not share a meal when there is any nonvegan food at the table. 

   The idea behind this is that your silence about this is the same as being complicit. If you simply go along with having bodies at your table, that is a subtle way of saying to nonvegans, “I accept this behavior.” So for this reason, some vegans choose to take a pledge to not share a table which displays parts of a dead body at its center or on people’s plates.

This is an especially attractive option for those who find it very difficult to turn off their emotions in their day to day life. Once you’ve decided not to eat animals anymore, the awareness that meat is pieces of once-living bodies is there, and very distressing. For nonvegans, it’s like if someone decided to cook up their cat to serve at the dinner party that night. It’s upsetting and difficult not to have uncomfortable feelings in the face of that. If you’re good at compartmentalizing your feelings, then you may be able to cope with that. But if you’re not, having that around you every day feels abysmal. 

   So I guess this has become a sort of defense for vegans who’ve taken the liberation pledge, in a way. They’re not “extreme vegans”, just people who are asserting a boundary. There is nothing in The Liberation Pledge that encourages you to not be friends or share meals with nonvegan individuals. If you’re not vegan but you want to have dinner with someone who took the liberation pledge, that’s no issue. As long as you’re willing to eat vegan for one meal. It’s really no big deal. And hey, you may find a new favorite food you’d never considered trying before. Give it a shot. 

Personal approach to activism

   That being said, the flip side to The Animal Liberation Pledge is that there are vegans who purposefully seek out the company of nonvegans. To educate them on the vegan cause and help them try new things that they might otherwise avoid. These are both valid and distinct approaches to activism. And the reason I think they’re both valid is the same reason I’m writing this post in the first place. Different individuals see the world differently. 

   Some people may be convinced to eat vegan frequently, if it means that’s the only way they can share a meal with someone they care about. But some people might find this approach cold, mean and frustrating. It may cause them to simply shut it off and not spend any meals with this person again, because they feel like they’re being forced to do something.

   On the other side of the coin, being the only vegan at a clearly nonvegan get together can be a good piece of activism in its own way. If the group has never seen a vegan before, then it might help bring awareness to the idea in a way your absence couldn’t. And this rang true for me; I didn’t know that someone could sustainably not eat meat until I had a friend who was vegetarian and I watched them eat lunch alongside me every day. 

   If someone sees vegan food that they’re interested in, then they’re more likely to try it. And if they try it, they’re more likely to find out that vegan food can be delicious. Hey, they might even really like it and decide they want your vegan pasta dish more often. They may ask you for the recipe. They might even swap it out for one of their weekly lunches or something. 

   Different people respond differently to each approach, and it is my opinion that we need vegans of all sorts of persuasions if we’re going to reach more people. There is not one “right way” to approach activism. Just effective and ineffective ways.

How we deal with mistakes

   And there’s one more thing that I’d like to mention.( Not because there are people who are so divided over this issue that they claim the other side isn’t really vegan or whatever.) Because I think it portrays the differences in vegans well. And that’s how we deal with mistakes. 

(Mistakes are the end of the world)

   There are vegans who really beat themselves up over a mistake (and sometimes that attitude extends to other people). But the thing is, as I so often say on this website, there’s no way to be a perfect vegan. You’re just…bound to mess up, some how, at some point. And that’s okay. Well, okay may be the wrong word. But it’s the reality. 

   This is not a vegan world, and while it’s growing increasingly vegan-friendly, stuff happens. There might be an obscure ingredient you didn’t know was animal derived until after you already ate something. Someone might trick you into eating something that had milk in it. (Which, for goodness’ sake people, stop doing this!) And there’s no going back. Don’t torture yourself over something you had no control over. 

(Apathetic justifications)

   Then the other side is people who make excuses for their mistakes and don’t put any weight into them. I wonder if, deep inside, these people are not making mistakes at all. Instead, they’re making decisions and then trying to justify them later. At any rate, if you make a mistake, do try and think it through. What could you do to avoid that in the future? 

(When the damage is done)

   Sometimes you’ll get the wrong order at a restaurant or you’ve already bought and opened some food before realizing you missed whey written on the label. This is a decision point, too, but in my opinion, largely a personal one. Some vegans may decide to eat the thing, because you know that even if you return it, it’s just going to get thrown away. Others may not feel comfortable knowingly eating something that’s nonvegan. I think either perspective is valid, and neither has any bearing on whether you can consider yourself a “real vegan”. At that point, the damage is done. What you do from there has no more bearing on veganism or the supply and demand of it all. And the next move will vary from individual to individual.

Veganism is not just one action or process

   By now, it’s clear that there’s not just one way of being vegan or being considered vegan. And just because someone is called a vegan doesn’t necessarily mean they’re living a specific way. There are vegans of all different religions, politics, cultures and economic backgrounds. Vegans are not the homogenous group that we’re grown to assume they are. Thank goodness, right? 

   Because truly, if they were all the same, that’d be boring. As it stands, with such a diverse vegan scene, you can find others who share your beliefs and circumstances and will support you in your decision to be vegan, whatever “flavor” you may find yourself. There are many of us who have gone through different subcategories of being vegan ourselves. Especially the ones who stay vegan for years. Because over time, you’re bound to change your mind about some things. And not all habits are for you anyway. 

   So as vegans, let’s please stop the gatekeeping. There are many different ways to fall under the vegan umbrella and it’s not for us to say that our way of understanding the vegan philosophy is the only or best way. Let’s just all do our best, and help each other learn. Do what you can to make compassionate, sustainable choices, and always strive for the best you can do. So, tell us in the comments below. What sort of vegan are you?