I think this misconception dilutes the core values of veganism which are to reduce the demand for animal products so that fewer animals have to suffer. What do you think?|||Veganism has never been about health or anything but the animals. Veganism is not a diet, or a bits and pieces lifestyle. It is also not a lightswitch you turn on and off. Veganism is a path in life to understanding the full circle of compassion and avoiding intentional exploitation of animals and destroying speciesism. People like to misdefine veganism because it is more convenient for them, it works better for them, it is all about them. It is purely based in selfishness rather than anything else. They don't care about animals they just happened to find out that not eating animal products is in fact healthier for them and veganism to them seems like this really cool "club" and if they are members of this club they have made up, it elevates them. They don't want to understand what veganism truly is and that is a sad fact. It is great people want to be healthy but there are words for folks who are just in it for health or diet such as: healthetarians, plant based diet, strict/pure vegetarian. They are fine words, and are accurate words and there is no need to muck up veganism when you can easily describe yourself without attacking veganism. Those who can fit the below definition are on the path of veganism, those who cannot fit it aren't there yet but the one thing that everyone can do no matter what is get on the path. There is nothing exclusive or club like about veganism it is a simple definition and you fit it or you don't yet. "The word 'veganism' denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to end the idea of animals as property and exclude all forms of intentional exploitation of, use of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, research or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, including people and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."|||Hey, I would actually say it is a mixture of both. Obviously the ethical considerations are the main motivation of veganism, but there is certainly a health aspect to it as well. For example, on this site people regularly recite the benefits of a vegan diet, and the fact that a person feels healthier after becoming a vegan may be a factor which influences them to stick with it. If it were 100% purely ethical, and health wasn't a factor, then even if veganism was dangerous there would be the same number of vegans, which clearly wouldn't be the case. I myself am a vegan. I do it for ethical reasons, but that was not actually how I initially got into it. I happened to eat a purely vegan diet for a while, and it felt right. I felt healthy. From there I looked into veganism, and that is when I learned about all the exploitation of animals that goes on. That is when I became a vegan. So even though it was for ethical reasons, the health factor was a driving force. I wouldn't say that people go vegan for health reasons, but I also wouldn't say that it isn't a factor which influences their choice. x|||I think it is because of the underlying misconception you can also see in some of the answers: the only part of veganism many people are familiar with is the diet part. Which in itself is not called veganism, but strict vegetarianism. If you know that veganism means to not use any animals (as far as possible) in ALL parts of your life, you see that it makes no sense to think people are vegans because of health reasons. After all, what 'health reason' could ever motivate somebody not to wear wool or silk or leather? Or to not buy pearls? Or to opt for cosmetics that were not tested on animals? If all you see is a diet, it is not strange to think that people might adopt it for health reasons.|||It's quite a generalization to say that people always thing that veganism is a health choice. People pursue veganism for a variety of reasons, the two most prominent being health and ethics. As far as I can tell both reasons are equally associated with vegans and veganism. In the case of veganism especially, it would reason that ethics are associated if only because it is such an extreme dietary restriction that it would be more logically backed by something strong like ethics than by health concerns. People tend to be far more impassioned about ethics than health and thus seem more likely to choose a strict diet like veganism. As far as the theoretically stronger association with health concerns devaluing the ethical concerns, I think it is unlikely that one reason would draw any appreciable amount of attention from the other. In the end, an individuals reasons for their individual choices are limited to that individual and those they interact with. Your ethical or health reasons for choosing veganism are unlikely to have any profound effect on society at large or the animal industries you are fighting. The media gives little attention to veganism as a whole. I think it's far more likely that people would misunderstand what it even means to be vegan before they even consider the reasons behind it (I get the question of 'what is vegan?' before I get the question of 'why?' more often than not. Very few people seem to be readily familiar). Moreover, who ever said that the reduction of the demand for animal products was a core value of veganism? While the specific term "vegan" did not come about until the 20th century and was defined at some point to mean the view that man should live without exploiting animals, the idea of an animal product and by product free diet has been around for a long time, more often it was a religiously mandated practice. In this respect it was not to reduce the demand for animal products, it was to individually practice/learn compassion, avoid violence, or simply to avoid consuming that which would sully the body/blood or what considered impure. To assume your ethics compose the core of a diet as a whole is folly. If this is a concern to you then take time to spread the good word. But again, I would be far more concerned with whether people even know what you're talking about before you worry about why you're talking about it.|||Core values of veganism??!!!! What, is veganism some type of corporation or something. What, are you some type of corporate snob? Maybe some people do choose a vegan diet for health reasons...there's plenty of reasons. What do I think? Why do you care what reason's other people use to choose their diet? What if it's for religeous reason, and has nothing to do with animal welfare or so called rights? do you have a problem with that? edit: Then ask your question diplomatically. You're not asking a question here, you're just pontificating and inviting others to do the same in the form of a question. It's called Yahoo Answers, not Yahoo Opinion or Yahoo Pontification....Now go ahead and pick one of your veganazis as the best answer and stop wasting electrons. They have rights too!!|||Most of us certainly do not agree that eating animals is unethical. Are the Inuit in the North of Canada, Alaska and Russia unethical because they consume mostly meat? Until the advent of huge farms and shipping of produce was possible, virtually everybody above the 40th parallel relied on consuming animal products to survive. Being a vegetarian is a luxury that was not possible 100 years ago in many parts of the world. I hesitate to call these people unethical either.|||People do it for both reasons. Switching to a vegan diet often leads to substantial weight loss, more energy, and a clear complexion. Reducing the demand for animal products not only means fewer animals have to suffer, but also equates to less green house gasses and animal waste for the planet.|||Not all vegans, or vegetarians are that way due to ethics. Many are as a health choice. Personally I have a good friend that is Vegan because she just feels better when she doesn't eat meat or anything like that. Same with another friend who is just Vegetarian. Personally meat just makes her sick.|||They don't. You are wrong. People don't (always) think that. (Some) people do. And there are people that do it only for health reasons. I don't care what your reason is. I don't even care what you eat as long as you don't care what I eat.|||Because many people think veganism is a diet and don't actually understand what it is about. That is mainly due to misinformation in the media.|||over 90% of the people on the face of the earth don't know what a vegan is. nor do they care. it's irrelevant except in a vegans small little world and those who inhabit it. i'm pro vegan but i'm also a realist.|||It must be an ethical choice mainly, because many many vegans and vegetarians don't even eat very healthy really to begin with (though many think that they are, but are nutritionally uneducated or misinformed).|||If anything, I think that when people believe it is for an ethical choice they feel it is sillier than if it was a health choice.|||FYI everyone, exsft is a middle-aged child molesting Catholic! He once molested his daughter!!|||It can be either, or both.|||Veganism is a personal choice, just as a religion is a personal choice, whether for one's health, ethics, philosophy or ideology, but it is only a choice, if someone chooses to go vegan for these reasons, that is fine with me, but just don't try to tell me or others that we must go vegan too. You can eat , believe and wear what you want, and I'll eat and wear what I want! Edit: Some seem to think that that veganism is like some kind of a "religion" and that others should be made to accept it, many people do not even follow any type of organized religion, but that dose not make them wrong!|||The reason(s) s to why a person is a vegan is important only that person. It is also his/her business not yours. The fact is, since it is a choice, people can make it for whatever reason they want. They are not in anyway obliged to live up to your expectations or uphold what you believe as vegan "core values". Actually in my opinion (and believe me, I am being diplomatic here), you are one reason why vegans have a hard time. People probably hear you and go "see? what did I tell you, they are all nuts!!"|||many people think vegan-ism is an eating disorder. There are misconceptions in everything because small groups of people get more attention than the rest of the crowd. Much like how a small group of terrorists can be perceived to define an entire culture.|||I think there are MANY reasons to go vegetarian, health beliefs, ethical beliefs, religion, social reasons, influence from others etc.|||Why are people always so obnoxiously arrogant to assume that there can be only ONE (their) reason for making a personal choice?|||Animals are yoummy

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