What is Vegan?

It seems the past few years that more and more people have become “vegan”. It could be your coworker at their desk munching on some tofu and you’re just like Gee, that’s boring. Why would someone do that to themselves? There are also vegetarians, pescetarians, etc. But what are they and what’s the point? Buckle up, this is about to become a vegan roller-coaster ride.

So… What are Vegans or Vegetarians or those other things?

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I took the liberty of creating a chart so this is easier to understand. I put all of the types of vegetarians first, then Fruitarians and Raw-Foodists in between because they are sort of in between Vegetarians and Vegans, in my opinion, and Vegans at the end.

So, what are all of these things?

Vegetarians: only eat plant-based products (so no meat, whatsoever). There are many variations of them including lacto, ovo, and lacto-ovo (which is what I am currently) vegetarians, which are all described above in the chart.

Other kinds of Vegetarians: pollo vegetarians and pescetarians are a bit different than the others. They don’t cut out all meat, but stick to one kind with a mostly vegetarian diet.

Fruitarians: This is for all of those omnivores and carnivores out there who like to say things like this to vegetarians (and vegans): Well, while you are worried about animals, you’re sitting here killing plants! They have feelings, too. Well, sir, there are people who only eat the fruit off of those plants, without killing the plant. This includes fruits, avocados, cucumbers, etc. So, to heck with you.

Raw-Foodists: do not cook their food above 115 degrees Fahrenheit because of the idea that it kills necessary enzymes in the food. I have heard this from some people, but I am not sure on the validity on this claim.

Vegans: What makes Vegans different from all of these is that it also includes the lifestyle of the individual, not just their diet. They don’t use, apply, or eat anything that has animal products or byproducts in it. This includes silk, wool, and leather. It is a difficult lifestyle but has good cause.

What does Vegan have to do with makeup and/or cosmetics?

A lot of things we use (such as hairspray, drugs, laundry detergent, etc.) are tested on animals. You could look up statistics, but guess what? According to DoSomething.org, 90% of the animals tested go unseen. They are burned, crippled, and abused day after day for our luxury needs. Seriously, go check out Do Something and read up on this stuff. It is disgusting. Rats, mice, birds, reptiles, cows, pigs, etc. are not protected under the Animal Welfare Act. So, many people become Vegan to stand up against this issue. Vegetarianism stands up against the cruelty we’ve all heard of about Perdue and their chicken abuse along with other livestock issues.

What can I do about all of this?

I’m not saying you need to become Vegan or Vegetarian. You do you. Although, you can at least opt to only buy cruelty-free brands. They are marked by the Leaping Bunny.

For your own info, here is a list of huge companies that (sadly) test on animals, provided by Do Something. In other words: these are the “DO NOT BUYS”.

Brands that DO test on animals:

QUICK DISCLAIMER: I am aware that some products talked about on my site are not cruelty-free or vegan, but I did a lot of extensive research on this topic for my own purposes and found a lot of information I didn’t know. So, we both learned something today. Hopefully you will take it a step further like I plan to.

Stay gorgeous!

-Sabrina xx

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