There is no such thing as a dietary vegan

[VeganLu]

We pedants are the guardians of the English language

[VeganLu]

Hi Vegan Bride:

There are many people out there who say they are vegan, either from not knowing what veganism is or they really think they are vegan. The term "strict vegetarian" I believe is the proper term for people who do not eat any animal products, but they use animals that are exploited for their skin, fur, entertainment, experiments in laboratories, plus some might go to zoos, rodeos, bull fights ets, etc. etc. The term "total vegetarian" means the same thing as "strict", but somewhere on The Vegan Forum we had a debate as to what should be the right term, and "strict vegetarian" was proven to be the right term.

Coincidentally, yesterday a friend of mine, who told me she was vegan, e-mailed to me. I assumed she was vegan. I was wrong. After knowing her a little more, and listening to her hobbies, I realized she was not a vegan, but a "strict vegetarian". I rather not go into her relationship with animals because it is not good. As of yesterday, I finally had the nerve to spit out what I was holding in for over a year. I explained to her why she was not a vegan, but deep down I think she already knew, but thought she was pulling the wool over my eyes, no pundent intended.

Now, when someone tells me they are vegan, I ask them if they are just referring to their diet. Most of them say "yes". I immediately tell them that they are not vegan, and I tell them that being vegan is a way of life, not just about eating a totally plant based diet. I am sure many of you go through the same thing. I offer to lend them some of my books that would help them understand what being vegan is all about, but they all say "no thank you". Not one person has said "yes" to me in the past 13 years that I have been vegan. It is very fustrating.