You must have heard of terms such as vegan and non-vegan. Any friend of yours would've said “I am going vegan” . Well what does that mean? In the current dietary situation, people can select a diet of their choice, vegan or non-vegan or go vegan depending on their taste, ethical believes, health status and environmental concerns. To see the pros and cons of the individual's nutritional status is what enables this individual make an informed dietary routine choice. Here we will look at some pros and cons of both the lifestyles:

Vegan Lifestyle:

What is Vegan?

A vegan lifestyle involves the complete avoidance of all animal products that include meat, fish, milk, eggs, and bee honey. It expands beyond food to include the entire way of life, involving the matters related to clothing and cosmetics, and so on, and has the aim to do the least harm to the animals, as well as to lower the negative impact on the environment.

Pros of a Vegan Lifestyle: 

1. Health Benefits: Numerous researchers say that by means of closeness with a vegan approach which follows logical planning chronic conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and some cancers can be prevented. A plant based-diet comprising of fruits, vegetable, whole grains, and legumes; which is the primary source of its essential nutrients and antioxidants are the major contributors to ones health.

2. Environmental Sustainability: Shifting to a vegan diet creates a drastic reduction in the footprint a human leaves and helps keep a rich environment. Forests get cleared down at an alarming rate, and the release of one third of the Earth’s greenhouse gas emissions is caused by animal agriculture. As many greenhouse gases end up in water, animal farming contributes greatly to water pollution as well. Vegans do that by preventing the animal products to be in their diet, which in turn leads to mitigation of their environmental impact.

3. Ethical Considerations: Ethical considerations on harm done to animals and their welfare as their main driver of dietary choices compel many vegans. The vegans do not use it to support activities that treat animals like food, clothes, and other products. Instead, vegans promote compassion and respect to all living beings that can accompany only fair, ethical, and moral practices.

4. Weight Management: Much of what vegan diets consist of is less in the likes of saturated fats and calories compared to a non-vegan diet which is helpful in dealing with any weight issues hence the body ends up with healthy body weight.

Cons of a Vegan Lifestyle:

1. Nutritional Considerations: Alternatively, although a vegan diet can be nutritionally complete, lacking those necessary nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, is still possible. While it's true that quantities of animal-derived proteins, vitamin B12, iron can be somewhat lacking among vegan diets, it's important to make sure they get enough especially by taking supplements.

2. Social Challenges: Vegans may face a tougher time indulging in a palatable restaurant food or socializing in non-vegan friendly environments like paginated menus with limited choices. Vegans can face peer pressure, met with disapproval, or nominal discomfort in case their daily diet divergence from that of their social circle is not catered for.

3. Cost Considerations: Another problem is that the specialty vegan things and products can be more pricey than non-vegan products. This can increase the cost of purchasing vegan merchandise and preparing the meals.
 

4. Limited Food Choices: Even though vegan options are becoming more available on the market, some people may find themselves having a limited variety of food that also includes the products made from plants. Their food choices may be restricted or even limited in regions where the number of plant-based products on the local market is not high enough.
 

Non-Vegan Lifestyle:

What is Non-Vegan?

Non-veganism refers to the way of life that includes eating animal products, e.g. meat, dairy, eggs, and honey. Then, maybe others, non-vegans, can also use products from animals (clothes, cosmetics, house appliances) in other parts of their life.

Pros of a Non-Vegan Lifestyle

1. Nutrient Availability: The animals-based diets yield those nutrients that human beings require and facilitate convenience such as protein, vitamin B12, iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids that are found in the flesh.

2. Food Variety: Non-vegans have the privilege of opting for large numbers of diet resources to choose from, for instance, meat, dairy and seafood products, these food selection provides a multitude of complex and terrific meal.

3. Social Convenience: Vegans may perceive non-vegans as having greater skills at adapting themselves to prevailing social norms and negotiating outings or dining in restaurants where this dietary choice is widely accepted and endorsed.

4. Cultural and Culinary Traditions: Beyond-vegan diets habitually are taken as evidence of cultural traditions so deeply rooted in most of the world’s communities, thus food give a sense of identity, connection and heritage for a community.

Cons of a Non-Vegan Lifestyle

1. Health Risks: Foods originated from animals such as meat, egg, and milk, high in saturated fats, cholesterol and processed meats foodstuffs are the major risk factors for heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancers.

2. Environmental Impact: Animal husbandry leads not only the deforestation of appropriate areas but also the destruction of habitats, for instance, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions thus aggravating global warming and biodiversity loss, as well.

3. Ethical Concerns: Vegetarian diets are not depended on agriculture, which is solely meant for food production, clothing, and other animals; the major ethical bet that at present, animals are treated badly and suffer because of this.

4. Personal Values: For the people whose cause of the animal suffering and exploitation contradicts their core moral or ethical values, eating in a non-vegan way will create the issue of them having to decide between these principles.

Conclusion:

The decision to be vegan or not impacts tremendously the food choices, but there are many factors to consider and different personal opinions involved. These factors range from health considerations to people’s ethical or environment beliefs, cultural values plus personal preferences. And, the individual should constantly bear in the mind these benefits and drawbacks, to assure himself/herself that he/she opt either of these styles well fits his/her values and goals.