What is it Called if You Only Eat Plants?

December 30, 2025 •

3 min read

The number of people identifying as vegan in the U.S. grew by 500% between 2014 and 2017, highlighting a significant shift toward plant-based eating. Many who adopt this dietary pattern wonder, "what is it called if you only eat plants?" The most accurate term is "vegan," which refers to a diet and lifestyle that excludes all animal products.

Quick Summary

The term for someone who exclusively eats plants is a vegan, a dietary practice and lifestyle that forgoes all animal-derived foods and byproducts. It is distinct from vegetarianism, which may include dairy and eggs, and is often motivated by health, environmental, and ethical concerns.

Key Points

Veganism is the official term: The word "vegan" specifically refers to a person who eats only plants and avoids all animal products.
Beyond just food: For many, veganism is a lifestyle that rejects all forms of animal exploitation, not just in food but also in clothing and cosmetics.
Vegetarianism is different: Vegetarians abstain from meat but may consume animal products like dairy, eggs, and honey, distinguishing them from vegans.
Health and environment are key drivers: Motivations for a vegan diet often include animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and well-documented health benefits.
Careful nutritional planning is required: Vegans must be mindful of nutrients primarily found in animal products, such as vitamin B12, and may need to seek supplements or fortified foods.
Variety of plant-based diets exist: Terms like lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pescetarian, and flexitarian describe other plant-focused diets with varying levels of animal product inclusion.

Understanding the Vegan Diet

At its core, a vegan diet is defined by the complete exclusion of all animal products, including meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs. This goes beyond the traditional vegetarian diet, which typically allows for some animal-derived foods. Veganism is not just a diet for many, but a lifestyle choice motivated by animal welfare, environmental concerns, or health benefits. In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.

Motivations for Adopting a Vegan Diet

Individuals choose a vegan diet for a variety of reasons, which can overlap and reinforce one another:

Ethical Concerns: Many vegans are driven by the philosophy that animals should not be exploited for human purposes. They seek to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of cruelty and exploitation of animals for food, clothing, or other uses. This includes avoiding products like leather, wool, and silk, and opposing animal testing.
Environmental Sustainability: Animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water usage. A vegan diet generally has a lower environmental footprint compared to diets rich in animal products, and many adopt it to reduce their personal impact on the planet.
Health Benefits: Well-planned vegan diets are associated with numerous health advantages. They are often lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in fiber and vitamins, leading to a reduced risk of chronic diseases like obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

Vegan vs. Other Plant-Focused Diets

To understand what is it called if you only eat plants, it's helpful to distinguish veganism from other related dietary patterns. The key difference lies in the level of animal product exclusion.

Comparison of Plant-Based Diets


Dietary Type	Animal Products Included	Focus	Motivations
Vegan	None (no meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, honey)	100% plant-based food and lifestyle	Ethics, environment, health
Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian	Dairy and eggs	Plant-based, plus dairy and eggs	Health, environment, personal belief
Lacto-Vegetarian	Dairy (no eggs)	Plant-based, plus dairy	Health, religious reasons
Ovo-Vegetarian	Eggs (no dairy)	Plant-based, plus eggs	Health, personal preference
Pescetarian	Fish and seafood, dairy, eggs	Mostly plant-based, plus seafood	Health, sustainability
Flexitarian	Limited and occasional meat, dairy, fish	Mostly plant-based	Health, flexibility

Navigating the Vegan Lifestyle

Adopting a vegan diet requires careful planning to ensure adequate nutritional intake. Since vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal products, supplementation or fortified foods are often necessary. Iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids also need consideration. However, the abundance of plant-based protein sources makes a well-rounded diet very achievable.

Protein sources: Lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, beans, nuts, and seeds are excellent sources of protein.
Calcium sources: Fortified plant milks, tofu, kale, and broccoli are good options.
Iron sources: Plant-based iron (non-haem) is found in legumes, tofu, leafy greens, and fortified cereals. Pairing these with vitamin C-rich foods enhances absorption.

The rising interest in veganism has spurred innovation in the food industry, with countless plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs now widely available. This makes the transition and maintenance of a vegan diet more accessible than ever before. For example, brands like MeliBio have developed honey alternatives with a molecular composition similar to bee-derived honey, providing options for those who forgo all animal products.

Conclusion

To answer the question "what is it called if you only eat plants?", the definitive term is vegan. While vegetarianism is a broader category that avoids meat, veganism is the specific practice of consuming only plant-based foods, completely excluding all animal-derived products. This dietary choice is often part of a larger ethical and environmental commitment. Thanks to a wide variety of plant-based foods and modern culinary innovation, a vegan diet is both achievable and nutritionally sound, offering significant health and environmental benefits to those who adopt it.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, vegan and vegetarian are different. While both diets are plant-focused, vegetarians may still eat animal products like dairy and eggs. Vegans, however, strictly avoid all animal-derived foods and byproducts.

Yes, vegans can get plenty of protein from a variety of plant-based sources. Examples include lentils, beans, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, nuts, and seeds.

Vegans do not eat honey because it is a product made by bees, which are animals, and harvesting it is considered a form of animal exploitation. The Vegan Society's definition seeks to exclude exploitation, not just cruelty.

The term 'plant-based' can be broader than 'vegan'. It can mean a diet that primarily consists of plants, but may or may not include some animal products. A strict plant-based diet, however, is essentially a vegan diet.

A well-planned vegan diet can be nutritionally adequate, but vitamin B12 is a key nutrient that is typically only found in animal products. Therefore, it is often necessary for vegans to take supplements or consume fortified foods.

Generally, yes. Plant-based diets use fewer natural resources and are associated with less environmental damage compared to diets rich in animal products. The complete avoidance of animal agriculture in a vegan diet has a lower environmental footprint.

A flexitarian, or 'flexible vegetarian', is someone who eats a mostly plant-based diet but includes meat and other animal products in moderation. There are no strict rules, and it is a less rigid approach than veganism or vegetarianism.