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A vegan is a strict vegetarian. This means no animal products at all - no meat (and yes, fish IS meat), dairy, eggs and honey. As well as all animal byproducts and all exploitation of animals, such as circuses and products that use or advocate animal testing. Different people have different reasons for becoming vegan, but I think they will all agree that the main reason is the atrocious exploitation and torture of animals.

Vegans are often misunderstood and criticized. Some people just don't understand why one wouldn't eat meat, or drink milk, for example. A lot of us grew up consuming animal products, and we are still being bombarded by the media with misleading information. Many people chose to blindly follow the insight of so-called authorities with private agendas.

Why is it that many people can understand perfectly what I have to say and some even agree with me, saying the meat industry is horrible and they feel terrible about the animals, yet they still eat them.

Most of us are conditioned to believe that animals are food. Regarding animals as creatures so separate from us probably comes from the fact that most people cannot identify with them. If we were to meet a person from the opposite side of the world, who spoke a foreign language, had foreign customs and looked completely different from us, perhaps it might be really hard to understand that they are not so different from us, in fact, even though we can't communicate or identify with them at all, they are exactly like us, a creature with feelings, hopes and dreams.

What if we could understand what a chicken says, or how a cow feels? What if we could see an elephant cry? What leads us to believe that we are superior to all other animals? Animals are not food, they are sentient beings just like us.

Being vegan goes beyond what we eat and what we don't. Being vegan goes beyond a statement and a way of life. It is about taking responsibility and honoring all living beings as equal.

Being vegan is the ultimate form of compassion.