In my article “When is a plant-based diet not plant-based and what about health?“, I expressed concern about the fact that Melbourne-based food sciences academic, Katherine Livingstone, had indicated that plant-based diets could legitimately contain meat and dairy products.
In relation to diet, I believe most vegans regard the terms “vegan” and “plant-based” as synonymous. Examples are easy to find, including:
Will Tuttle, author of “The World Peace Diet”
Tuttle refers to “a plant-based way of eating” under the heading “The Vegan Revolution”. He uses the term “plant-based” more than sixty times in his book, usually with the word “diet”, but also with “food”, “meals”, “eating”, “way of eating” and others, and argues strongly against the use of egg and dairy products.
Beyond Meat, a company producing only vegan products
The company refers to its products as “plant-based”.
On its FAQ page, it poses the question: “Beyond Meat® looks just like meat. Is it really vegan?”
The response: “Absolutely. Beyond Meat® products are 100% vegan.”
Beyond Meat has received widespread media attention, including (but not limited to): CNN; Forbes; Fortune; Fox Business; LA Times; New York Times; Wall Street Journal; and Washington Post.
Australian campaign group, Animal Liberation Victoria (ALV)
The term “plant-based” appears dozens of times on ALV’s stand-alone “Vegan Easy” website (including on the page “Why Vegan” and on pages highlighting vegan businesses), and many times on its main website.
A response to my article caused me to look into the issue further. It appeared on the “Cellular” website, which I had not heard of previously. [Footnote]
I was unimpressed with various aspects of the Cellular article, including the fact that the author used the main image from my article and misspelt my name. (Both issues were unchanged at the time of posting this article.)
However, to the extent there are competing views among well-credentialed authors on the subject, the Cellular author had reasonable grounds for an alternative view.
He linked to another article partially addressing the issue, by Martica Heaner, which appeared on the website of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Heaner focused initially on the terms “vegan” and “whole food, plant-based” but also commented on “plant-based”.
She noted that the concept “appears to have been co-opted by many in the non-vegan world”. That notion is consistent with the concern I had expressed regarding potential confusion among consumers.
Nevertheless, those who take the position that the term “plant-based” allows for some animal products may justify their approach through a strict interpretation of the word “base”. For example, the word is defined by the Oxford dictionary as:
“A main or important element or ingredient to which other things are added”
Heaner indicated that prominent author Marion Nestle, from the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, re-defined the term “plant-based” when she said in an interview that it “does not necessarily mean vegan, which entirely excludes animal products”.
Other academics who appear to have adopted a similar position include:
- Frank B Hu of the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. Hu distinguishes between “plant-based” and “strict vegetarian” diets.
- David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel from Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University. They have referred to the lactoovovegetarian diet (which includes egg and dairy products) as plant-based.
- Emma Lea, Anthony Worsley and David Crawford from (like Katherine Livingstone) the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at Deakin University. They define a plant-based diet as “an eating pattern that is dominated by fresh or minimally processed plant foods and decreased consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products”.
Another relevant point is that some products consumed by many vegans are not plants or derived from plants. For example, mushrooms are fungi.
Conclusion
To assist in conveying a clear message, I recommend that those who promote a vegan lifestyle or vegan diet avoid using the term “plant-based”.
With benefits for all animals (including humans) and the environment, it should be natural to express and perceive the term “vegan” in an extremely positive sense, and those of us who adopt and promote the lifestyle should be proud to use it.
Author
Footnote
The response to my article appeared without an author’s name on the “Cellular” website. The “About” page refers to the site’s author as Rico.
The Cellular article also criticised various aspects of my involvement with the animal rights group Melbourne Pig Save. I will respond separately to those comments.
References
Livingstone, K., “Why you should eat a plant-based diet, but that doesn’t mean being a vegetarian”, 13 July 2017, https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-eat-a-plant-based-diet-but-that-doesnt-mean-being-a-vegetarian-78470#
Heaner, M., “Vegan, Plant-Based Diet or… What Label Works?”, T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, 16 Oct 2015, http://nutritionstudies.org/vegan-plant-based-diet-or-what-label-works/ (The article was utilised for the Cellular article.)
Tuttle, W. “The World Peace Diet”, Lantern Books, 2005, http://www.theworldpeacediet.com/
Hu, F.B., “Plant-based foods and prevention of cardiovascular disease: an overview”, Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78(suppl):544S–51S, http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/544S.long
Pimentel, D. & Pimentel M. “Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment”, Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78(suppl):660S–3S, http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full
Lea, E.J., Worsley, A., Crawford, D., “Consumers’ readiness to eat a plant-based diet”, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2006) 60, 342–351 (2006), doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602320, https://www.nature.com/articles/1602320
Image
saschanti17, “Healthy homemade chickpea and veggies salad, diet, vegetarian, vegan food, vitamin snack”, Shutterstock
terrastendo 
I fully agree with you that there are “plenty of issues concerning animals and the planet” to occupy our time and it is to pursue those pressing needs as best I can that I often use ‘plant-based’ rather than ‘vegan’ diet, feeling that a transition might be more widely adopted if the terminology is not seen as too abrupt.
I wonder whether the 13,364 scientists who recently signed the Warning to Humanity, urging us, inter alia, to “promote dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods” would have been equally happy with the word ‘vegan’ instead of ‘plant-based’ (and perhaps ‘wholly’ instead of ‘mostly’?). They have provided their contact details so perhaps this could be a worthwhile investigation? (https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix125/4605229)
For me one difficulty with the word vegan is precisely that it tends to imply lifestyle rather than just dietary choices and that there are many situations where people are just not ready to hear the full message. But the current wave of ‘vegan pride’ is strong, the landscape is evolving fast and I may well adapt my vocabulary accordingly in this new year!
Hi Annie, I was talking of myself when mentioning “plenty of issues”, simply indicating that I do not spend time trying to determine if people who refer to themselves as vegan are strictly adhering to the concept.
There may be reasonable arguments for using the term “plant-based” rather than “vegan”, but I hope those who continue to use the former are aware that there are many who use it for diets that include some animal products. As I wrote in my article, “In relation to diet, I believe most vegans regard the terms ‘vegan’ and ‘plant-based’ as synonymous”.
William Ripple, who was the first-named author of the paper you cited, has used the terms “plant foods” and “plant products” elsewhere.
Hi Paul, I do hear you and I too had noted the trend for a lax use of ‘plant-based’ but perhaps it’s a sign of increased cultural acceptance? If it was to get systematically co-opted I’d stop using it.
Re Bill Ripple, I have heard him talk passionately against carnivory but indeed not heard him, nor read him, using the word vegan, always ‘plant-based’. In the most recent paper that, as far as I know, he has co-authored (besides the Warning to Humanity) it is written that “intensive livestock systems can reduce the land use and GHG emissions of meat production, most dramatically for beef. This offers an important opportunity to achieve land sparing and reduced emissions even with projected increases in meat demand” (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971732123X). I imagine that he would much prefer not recommending any form of livestock farming but I guess is being realistic and pragmatic, as with his choice of words? He comes from a ranching family so perhaps can’t eliminate all taboos at once?
Anyway I’ll keep alert to the terminology and want to thank you for your work, which I deeply appreciate. I wish there were more vegan activists with a strong interest in science and the major issues of our times, including of course climate change.
I have been a vegan for a long time but still often say that I choose a plant-based diet. It much depends on the context. One priority for me is to raise awareness around climate change and the impact of our food choices – and if I feel that the term ‘vegan’ is more likely to turn people away and hamper changes, I’ll use it less often or not at all. I am also weary of labels that can be too rigid. For instance, I have seen quite a few of the most fervent vegan activists in a photo with their pet cat(s), apparently unaware of any inconsistency in their principles: cats are obligate carnivores – and there is the broader topic of ‘owning’ pets, perhaps of deciding on their sexuality even as we’re criticising farmers for doing so with farm animals, etc. I am not trying to ‘wrong’ anyone here, just pointing to complex ethical inquiries – and there are plenty more. I remember reading a series of articles by vegan (or possibly veganish) author James McWilliams, who was keen to ‘defuse the off-putting “total abstinence” dictum inherent in the vegan ideology’ (http://james-mcwilliams.com/?p=5991). But after reading your post (and another recent one: https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/whats-difference-between-plant-based-diet-vegan-diet) perhaps I should consider sometimes saying I’m on a plant diet – dropping the word ‘based’?
Thanks for your comment Annie. As indicated in the article, if you eat (for example) mushrooms, then you’re on something more extensive than a plant diet.
Thanks Paul. I guess for most people mushroom (wrongly) fit in the plant kingdom – but in a way this confirms the difficulty in sticking to any tight concept. Should vegans worry about the life of bacteria within and around them? Avoid killing a malaria mosquito landed on their body? Is riding a horse OK? How do we relate to people who currently have no alternative but to keep – and sometimes kill and eat – animals, such as landless nomadic herders? Are they ‘wrong’ and we’re ‘right’? Paul I’m very much on your side and greatly admire your work but I’m pleading a case for not being too rigid nor too judgemental in situations where it might do more harm than good… At least that’s my current position but the social landscape is changing very fast and is very different from when I first became a vegan, decades ago. So perhaps I’m just showing my age with my hesitations…
Annie, here and elsewhere, much of the discussion in response to the article has touched on the question of veganism generally, whereas the article was focusing on the vegan diet. As I mentioned in one response, a person can wear leather, wool and silk, go to the rodeo, and follow a vegan diet. In terms of the point I was making in the article, their reasons for adopting such a diet are irrelevant.
In writing the article, my main concern was that a person (including the rodeo fan who follows a vegan diet) might hear others referring to a plant-based diet and assume the diet is vegan, when that may not be the case.
I try not to be rigid or judgemental in considering whether or not people who refer to themselves as vegan are strictly adhering to the concept. Likewise the practices of those who have little choice, such as the landless herders you have referred to. There are plenty of issues concerning animals and the planet to occupy my time without spending it on such an approach.
I can override the hyperlink, but what i meant was that the the purpose of the image was to represent your article (and when it’s clicked, go directly to it). Is there a reason you want me to remove it? You didn’t provide me the same courtesy of a link, even though you linked to various other sites. No doubt this is because you find my article objectionable, but this makes it more difficult for readers to find the article and make their own minds up.
You are incorrect; the link to your article is in the word “response” in the paragraph that follows the comments on ALV.
A problem with using the same image as me is the lack of originality. Also, I hope you, like me, paid a license fee for its use.
Yes, my mistake, i clicked everything but that.
The image wasn’t meant to be original, it was meant to reflect your article. But as you’re unhappy with it, i’ll replace it.
Thanks, Paul. I keep thinking about Dr. John McDougall who is fond of talking about his college roommate, a “potato chip vegan,” who wasn’t getting the disease-reversing benefits of a plant-based diet. I appreciate Dr. McDougall (and the Campbells and Esselstyns, Dr. Barnard, Dr. Greger, Dr. Ornish) in upholding the research and exposition of the healthfulness of eschewing animal-derived foods, but I see this as a swinging door — a focus on the healthiness of plants does not qualify one as vegan, which is an ethical stance that expresses values beyond one’s own wellbeing. While switching out the animal inputs to the Standard American Diet offers little health gain, it does tick all the boxes set out by the definition set by The Vegan Society.
It is also worth noting that the self-oriented objective of a plant-based diet is, I am certain, the cause for the high rate of vegan recidivism. If health results are one’s motive, it takes but a tummy-twinge for one to self-diagnose a mysterious Vitamin-M deficiency that justifies a conscience-clean return to meat and/or dairy.
Thanks Ray, although your comments appear to be focusing more on the issue of diet vs lifestyle and philosophy. My article focuses on the distinction between the terms “plant-based” and “vegan”.
Many (possibly most) vegans seem happy to interchange the terms, possibly unaware that others are using “plant-based” in a way that is not vegan.
My apologies for misspelling your name, Paul, but the image is hyperlinked to your article. I’ve just updated the spelling of your name (hopefully i’ve got it right this time).
Thanks Rico, but I would have thought you could override the hyperlink. It’s fine when re-posting an article, but not (in my opinion) when critiquing one.