Plant-Based vs. Vegan

What is the difference between plant-based and vegan? Some may say they are one and the same, others disagree. Plant-based is a very relative term, you see. For me, I call myself plant-based rather than vegan for two reasons:

1. Because I consume honey and wear leather ( I do not buy it new) I am not strictly vegan, because vegans do not consume/use ANY animal products. I will call myself vegan to people who do not know the difference between these lifestyles, because vegan is amore mainstream term.

2. When I hear the word vegan I normally think of a person who has adopted the lifestyle for social/ethical reasons rather than dietary, and when I hear plant-based I think of someone who chose not to consume animal products for dietary reasons, which is what I did.

There are a lot of people who choose to abstain from animal products for BOTH reasons. I am not trying to label everyone and say that one label is better than the other. In fact, I don't even like to label my own diet let alone other people's. It is easier to label your diet because people are fascinated with what and how other people eat. I don't parade around with a flag saying "I'm plant-based", no more so than any omnivore would, but seeing as I do eat a "specialized" diet, people are curious as to what I do and do not eat.

I first abstained from meat/dairy because of health reasons. Not only do I have Celiac Disease, but a dairy intolerance as well. As for the meat, I have never liked it and had been vegetarian for a few broken up periods of my life. Because of a lack of family support and health issues, I never stuck to it. Now that I have been diagnosed and am much more educated in all things diet/health it was a no brainer to become vegetarian. I digress, long story short, it was easy for me to give up meat. When I did it in conjunction with no gluten or dairy I felt more vibrant and more alert than I have in my life. So, I started being "vegan" for myself; as I became more educated on the subject and the treatment of animals in the food industry I realized that I will never eat meat again. Not only for my physical well-being, but my mental as well. Now as I have stated, you can synonymously be plant-based AND vegan but I think the major difference between the diets is that vegans can eat processed junk all of the time and that is considered VEGAN, but it is definitely not plant-based.

However, processed soy-based products are not ideal for a PLANT-BASED diet. Plant-based means eating real, whole foods; whole grains and fresh produce, not pre-packaged "health" food. However you eat, you need to eat to nourish your mind and soul to the best of your ability; whether you are vegan/vegetarian/raw/omnivore/plant-based( how many dietary labels are there?!) eat to nourish your body. That is what food is for. For me, eating a diet void of animal products has been a miracle for my body and I want to share my "secret" with everybody. No one should be denied the gift of good health.