Vegetarians don’t eat meat, poultry, or fish. Vegans take it further by also eliminating dairy, eggs, honey, and all other animal-derived products, both on the plate and off it. That single distinction, how far the exclusion of animal products extends, is the core difference between the two. But in practice, the gap between these two lifestyles is wider than most people expect.
What Each Diet Actually Excludes
All vegetarian diets cut out beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, fish, and other animal flesh. Beyond that, the rules vary depending on the type of vegetarian you’re talking about. A lacto-ovo vegetarian still eats dairy and eggs. A lacto-vegetarian includes dairy but skips eggs. An ovo-vegetarian does the opposite. A pescatarian adds fish and seafood back in, sometimes alongside eggs and dairy. These are all considered subcategories under the vegetarian umbrella.
A vegan diet is the most restrictive version: 100% plant-based. No milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, eggs, or honey. No gelatin, no whey protein, no casein. If it came from an animal, it’s off the table. This is where the practical day-to-day differences really show up. A vegetarian can grab a cheese pizza, an omelet, or a yogurt parfait without a second thought. A vegan has to check ingredient labels for hidden animal derivatives in bread, pasta, sauces, and even some wines and beers that use animal-based filtering agents.
Why Honey Is the Dividing Line
Honey is probably the product most frequently mistaken as vegan-friendly. It seems harmless, but the vegan perspective treats it the same as any other product of animal exploitation. Bees produce honey as their own food source, and harvesting it means replacing their nutrient-rich food with a sugar substitute that lacks the micronutrients they need. Commercial beekeepers often clip queen bees’ wings to prevent them from leaving the hive, and the industry prioritizes maximum yields over bee welfare. For vegans, the principle isn’t just about cruelty. It’s about exploitation, and that includes insects. Most vegetarians have no issue with honey.
Veganism Goes Beyond Food
This is the part that surprises many people. Vegetarianism is a dietary choice. Veganism is a broader lifestyle philosophy that extends into clothing, cosmetics, household products, and entertainment.
Vegans typically avoid leather, fur, wool, silk, and other animal-based materials. Leather isn’t merely a byproduct of the beef industry; it’s a profitable market in its own right. Wool production often involves raising sheep solely for their fleece. Silk comes from silkworms that are killed in the harvesting process. Beyond clothing, ethical vegans seek out cosmetics, cleaning products, and personal care items that are labeled cruelty-free and contain no animal-derived ingredients. Some also avoid zoos, circuses, and other forms of animal entertainment.
A vegetarian, by contrast, might wear leather shoes or use cosmetics tested on animals without any conflict with their dietary identity.
Nutritional Differences
Because vegetarians still eat dairy and eggs, they have a built-in source of complete protein, vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin D. These nutrients are harder to get on a vegan diet. In one large study from the EPIC-Oxford cohort, about 16.5% of vegan men and 8.1% of vegan women had protein intake below their estimated requirement. That said, research has found that protein-rich plant foods like legumes, nuts, and seeds are sufficient to achieve full protein adequacy in adults on vegan diets, and concerns about amino acid deficiency have been substantially overstated.
The bigger nutritional challenge for vegans is B12, which occurs naturally almost exclusively in animal products. Without supplementation or fortified foods, deficiency is a real risk. Calcium and vitamin D also require more planning on a vegan diet, since dairy is the most common source of both in Western diets. Iron from plant sources is less easily absorbed than iron from animal foods or eggs, so vegans often need to pair iron-rich foods with vitamin C to boost absorption.
Vegetarians face fewer of these gaps but aren’t immune. Anyone cutting out meat should pay attention to iron and B12 intake, though the risk is lower when eggs and dairy are still on the menu.
Health Outcomes Compared
Both diets are associated with lower body weight than typical meat-eating diets. In the EPIC-Oxford study, vegetarians had a BMI roughly 1 kg/m² lower than meat-eaters, while vegans were about 2 kg/m² lower. That’s a meaningful difference, roughly equivalent to 5 to 14 pounds depending on height.
Vegetarians in the same study had a 23% lower risk of ischemic heart disease (the type caused by blocked arteries) after 18 years of follow-up compared to meat-eaters. Vegans showed an 18% lower risk, though the smaller number of vegans in the study made that estimate less statistically reliable. Vegetarians also showed a relatively low risk of diabetes, kidney stones, cataracts, and diverticular disease. However, they had a higher risk of stroke, particularly the type caused by bleeding in the brain, and a higher risk of bone fractures compared to meat-eaters.
Environmental Footprint
Both diets are lighter on the planet than a meat-based diet, but veganism has a clear edge. In a study comparing the weekly carbon footprints of different dietary groups, vegans produced 42.9% less CO2 equivalent than vegetarians, 52.2% less than fish-eaters, and 61.8% less than meat-eaters. The average daily footprint for a vegan was 1.38 kg CO2 equivalent, compared to 2.45 for a vegetarian and 3.62 for a meat-eater. The pattern was consistent: the more animal products removed from the diet, the lower the emissions.
Dairy is a major reason for the gap between the two diets. Cheese production, for example, is resource-intensive, requiring large amounts of milk (and therefore land, water, and feed for cows) per kilogram of finished product. Eggs carry a smaller but still measurable footprint. Eliminating both moves the needle significantly.
How Many People Follow Each Diet
In the United States, roughly 6% of the population identifies as vegetarian and about 4% as vegan. But those numbers can be misleading. When researchers look at strict self-identification, only about 2% of Americans call themselves vegetarian (non-vegan) and 1% identify as vegan, for a combined total of 3%. The larger percentages reflect people who frequently or sometimes eat vegetarian or vegan meals without fully committing. About 59% of American adults report eating vegetarian meals at least sometimes, and 30% say the same about vegan meals. So while full-time adoption remains relatively niche, plant-forward eating is widespread.