Sure maybe they came off a bit snobby but I still don’t necessarily agree with your stance either - veganism isn’t “all about eating” - it’s a moral framework that rejects animal commodification - like my earlier example of not wearing leather or going to the zoo.

This extends to all sort of stuff - having pets, keeping bees, sheering sheep, testing on animals, etc.

Just as Islam is “more than diet choices,” veganism is far more than just a diet. The dairy farmer’s use of “vegan” would be like the pig farmer’s use of “Muslim” - both incorrectly reduce comprehensive philosophical/ethical frameworks to just their dietary components.

But yeah w/e sometimes it’s easier to use the wrong term to convey an idea - which is why I still appreciate @jerkface@lemmy.ca’s effort to clarify that here so other people can learn as well.

Tho I see we can continue this argument forever so I’m gonna dip out as I’ve got other stuff to get on with.

Idk to me it seemed like @jerkface@lemmy.ca was just trying to explain the difference between vegan and plant-based - hence “I don’t expect a dairy farmer to know better, but of course he means “plant-based”, not “vegan”. “Plant-based” is a functional description, while “vegan” is a set of moral values and their ethical consequences.”

“Since the farmer is talking about the outcome as opposed to the justification is there anything functionally different between ‘plant-based’ and “vegan” here? As in would the diet of the vegan and someone eating only ‘plant based’ look different in any way?”

So by your logic if he was a pig farmer instead and said “In the future everybody would be Muslim because we wouldn’t be able to grow pigs” - you’d say that’s splitting hairs since the outcome is functionally the same?

I feel you’re intentionally trying to misunderstand the argument.

Veganism is specifically about the moral implications of commodifying animals - plant-based is about consuming plants - so while all vegans are plant-based not all plant-based folk are vegan.

In really simple terms:

Imagine two kids who don’t eat ice cream:

The first kid doesn’t eat ice cream because they really love cows and don’t want them to be used to make milk for ice cream. This kid also won’t wear leather shoes or go to the zoo because they don’t want any animals to be used by people. This is like being vegan.

The second kid doesn’t eat ice cream just because the ice cream store closed down and there’s no ice cream to buy anymore. This kid would still eat ice cream if they could get it, and they’re fine wearing leather shoes or going to the zoo. This is like being plant-based because of economics (what the farmer was talking about).

So even though both kids end up not eating ice cream, they’re doing it for very different reasons. That’s what @jerkface@lemmy.ca was saying - the farmer was talking about a future where people would eat plant-based food because animal products would be too expensive to make, not because everyone suddenly decided to become vegan and care about animals.

Veganism is a moral philosophy that rejects the exploitation and commodification of animals.

Plant-based is a dietary choice defined in terms of high frequency of plants and low frequency of animal food consumption.

Plant-based diets may also be vegan or vegetarian but do not have to be as one may choose to eat plant-based due to personal health concerns and not animal rights ones for example.