Being vegan and vegetarian are related but fairly different. A vegetarian doesn't eat animal flesh - whether it's from cows or fish - but may consume milk, eggs, or both. Vegans try to avoid animal products altogether, getting their food, clothing, and other things from plants or minerals (or a synthetic based on them). They also look for products that haven't been tested on animals. Vegans go a step past being vegetarian because there's still cruelty in producing things like milk. For example, dairies routinely take calves away from their mothers within a few days, the mother is made continually pregnant so she gives milk every year, and is milked while she's pregnant. When her milk production goes down she's killed - typically around 5 years old, 15 years before her natural death. many dairy cows also suffer from painful conditions such as foot disease and breast infection. Those who follow a vegan diet and do no more are called dietary vegans, but they don't qualify as 'full vegans' because veganism in the fullest sense includes a mandatory component of intentionality, INTENT to BE VEGAN (not merely to 'degault to vegan diet and ways' - even though abolition of animal oppression in all areas would result in a de facto 'ad hoc veganism' but not veganism of the intentional sort that we consider to be de jure today in the definition of who is 'a vegan'). http://www.vegansociety.com/phpws/ind... (less)