Vegan vs. Plant-Based – What’s the Difference?

I bet you’ve heard both terms, vegan and plant-based, and wondered what’s the big difference? I promise that you will know after this post. To start off – they’re not the same.

What is vegan?
First of all, when you claim yourself as a vegan you don’t eat any animal products at all. Also, the veganism philosophy is a lifestyle that involves animal rights, ethics and politics. In other words, a vegan “diet” is a lifestyle where not only animal food is eliminated, it’s also no fur, leather, wool or silk, any products derived from animals or tested on animals.

So by being a vegan doesn’t mean you just cut out animal foods. Often vegans don’t do the whole vegan lifestyle because of health reasons, they’re doing it for the animal rights etc.

What is plant-based?
If you eat plant-based you’re committed to eat a diet that focuses on whole plant foods. In a plant-based diet you also cut out all animal foods such as meat, fish, diary and anything made from animals (gelatin, honey etc.).

So a vegan diet and a plant-based diet both cut out ALL animal products. No wonder there is confusion.

What’s the big difference?
First of all, the veganism philosophy is strong and the animal rights, politics and ethics are very important in this lifestyle and maybe the only reason they don’t consume animal products.

Health reasons is a big difference. A plant-based diet refers to whole, plant foods and not just foods considered to be “vegan”, for example oreos, French fries and highly processed foods. So a vegan can live on oreos and French fries while on a plant-based diet you can’t.

A Vegan diet is: ANY foods considered vegan (also processed foods, white sugar, gluten etc.)

A Plant-based diet is: whole plant foods (fruits, veggies, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds). All of the recipes that I make are plant-based.