What is a vegan and what is veganism?

Veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients, and even in some cases no foods that are processed using animal products such as refined white sugar and some wines.

Vegan refers to a person who follows this way of eating, or to the diet itself. The word vegan can be an adjective to describe a food such as “This hot dog is vegan” or can be used as a noun as in “Vegans like desserts, too.”

Perhaps the most asked question would be, “What do vegans eat?” A vegan diet includes all grains, beans, legumes, vegetables and fruits and all the great number of dishes made by combining them.

Vegans eat many of the same familiar everyday foods such as spaghetti, green salads, chips and salsa. A vegetarian burrito without cheese or sour cream would be vegan, a vegetarian Thai curry made from coconut milk is vegan, pasta with tomato sauce or another non...