A ‘vegetarian’ (coined by The Vegetarian Society of Great Britain in 1847, before that people abstaining from meat were ‘Pythagoreans’) is “a person who does not eat meat, fish, or fowl, and who may or may not eat dairy products or eggs.”
The term ‘vegan’ was coined by Donald Watson in 1944 and adopted by The Vegan Society of England founded later that year. Their definition of ‘veganism’, accepted as the decisive standard worldwide, is “…a way of living which excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals.”
People who call themselves vegetarian but eat fish, or vegan but eat honey, are ‘pescetarians’ and ‘vegetarians’ respectively. Once you take on the definition to ‘describe’ yourself there’s really no excuse to give non-veg*ns ammo, or make it harder for those who follow them to the letter, by not sticking to them.
Yes, terms like ‘lacto’ and ‘ovo’ have their uses but, unfortunately, only add to the confusion…
Richard, volunteer moderator and fan of a peaceful, compassionate and unified Volentia!