Do You Regard Veganism as the "Hard-Core Inner Circle" of Vegetarianism?

[Veganism]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/magazine/tell-us-why-its-ethical-...

[Kerry Baker]

They should check out this site

http://www.humanemyth.org/about.htm

I'll watch with interest to see the arguments that readers put forward.

[Kath Worsfold]

Yes, it will be very interesting to read the essays!

"Hard-Core Inner Circle"? Well, it certainly would seem so to an outsider. I've only been vegan for about 18 months, having been vegetarian for 33 years before that. It seemed to me all those years that I was being compassionate, and I would have considered myself 3/4 of the way along to being vegan, once I finally found out what a vegan was. I would have seen vegans in that light, if I'd thought about it.

But, having found out the cruel facts of the dairy industry and the egg industry, even including "free-range" eggs, I see how mistaken I was. I know vegetarians who think the same way that I did, and am wondering how to get through to them, and stimulate them to go vegan. One friend who has been vegetarian as long as I have, on finding out that we were vegan, muttered something about "it just depends where you want to draw the line." I don't think he even realises that the line he has drawn is so pathetically close to being an omnivore or meat-eater. We used to smugly choose food at our circle of friends' pot lucks, saying "is this dish OK?" "oh yes, we can eat that", etc. Now I don't think there is anything that I could eat at one of these gatherings. 

[Susan Cho]

Perhaps vegetarians consider themselves to be animal rights/welfare advocates who are not judgmental enough to be vegans?

[Kerry Baker]

The whole concept of what vegan, vegetarian means is so clouded that even those within the vegetarian community especially I find often believe themselves to be when they actually aren't.  I have known people to describe themselves as vegetarian who eat fish for example, very common.  Now we have lacto-ovo vegetarians, pescatarians and so on.  Those who describe themselves as vegetarian probably genuinely believe they are supporting animal rights.  To know what happens to factory farmed animals requires that you go looking for it, albeit not very far.  But I can't see the issue being sorted out really until there is a clear understanding of what each dietary regime involves.  The truth about factory farming is slowly getting out there and that will take care of itself.  I do wonder however if the labels have become a way of diluting effect, put out there by rolls and sock puppets.  Such as veg*n which honestly I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. 

[Susan Cho]

dunno how taxing it is for them to do it, but vegetarians do self-identify as animal rights activists w/alarming regularity.  Perhaps not so surprising considering the number of "animal rights" orgs advocating vegetarianism.

*edited to add: I just saw your post, Kerry.  I HATE the deliberate blurring of veganism w/ovo-lacto-vegetarianism!  I think "veg*n" is supposed to mean "giving up as many animal products as you can w/o going too far outside your comfort zone, since that's better than nothing."