Well, there goes another “Veganuary”. I always hope it inspires lifelong vegans, but it feels increasingly like a month of meaningless experimentation during which people rave about trying veganism as though it’s a dietary fad, a health kick, a pose or a lifestyle choice. With irritating concepts such as “vegganism” surfacing, perhaps it’s time for a simple definition of veganism.

Can you be a vegan and eat eggs? Read more

A vegan is someone who doesn’t use any animal products. No wool suits, no leather shoes, no honey in your tea, no cheese on your pizza. A vegan doesn’t eat eggs. A vegan can’t eat eggs. If a vegan eats eggs, they’re not a vegan. Nor are they a “veggan”. There’s a perfectly good word for someone who eats no meat or fish, but does eat the occasional egg: a vegetarian. (If a vegetarian eats the occasional fish, they’re a pescatarian.)

Being vegan is an ethical mindset promoting non-violence in which animals matter morally. If animals matter morally, we can’t justify their exploitation in any way. You can’t be a little bit vegan. The word veggan infuriates me, because it exists to suggest that you can.

Who benefits from the promotion of vegganism? The egg industry. The image of the vegan desperate to find sources of ethically sourced animal produce is a fiction created to suggest that a true vegan diet is inadequate. Think about what egg consumption involves: a hen lays eggs to create a brood; we take the eggs; the hen lays more in a further attempt to create a brood and we take those, too. And on it goes. “Cruelty-free”? I don’t think so.

Even if it were, a vegan doesn’t exploit animals. I wouldn’t eat roadkill. And – before you ask – no, I wouldn’t accept a transplant involving animal organs, even if my life depended on it.

You want to know how I feel about animals? Well, how do you feel about your pet? That’s the closest I can get to making non-vegans understand. For me, veganism boils down to an attempt to treat all animals the way most people treat their pets. Not as instruments, commodities or sources of protein, but with love and respect.

Trying to promote veganism can be a tricky business. I tend not to bring the subject up unless asked, because simply explaining what I believe can provoke extreme reactions. Some people get angry because they don’t like being told what they should and shouldn’t eat – and rightly so. I don’t want to dictate what people eat.

If the subject comes up, though, I want to have a frank discussion about what’s involved in the choice to use animal products and let others draw their own moral conclusions. Some get angry because they feel they’re being judged and found morally wanting. But I believe that exploiting animals is wrong, so guess what? If you exploit animals, I do find you morally wanting. Just as most people would find someone who mistreated their dog morally wanting.

Most people who raise the subject are open and interested, but there are several typical reactions. The polite non-vegan will tell me about the vegetarian meal they had last week, often going on to explain that it might actually have been vegan and “really good” (always said with a degree of surprise).

Others say they are eating meat less, often going on to justify their meat-eating by explaining that it comes from free-range organic animals who have “lived a happy life outside” (just so I know they have thought about animal suffering, you know, a bit). Most non-vegans ask the same standard questions:

1. From where will I get my protein?

2. Won’t I suffer from some sort of vitamin deficiencies?

3. What if you were stranded on a desert island and would starve to death if you didn’t eat an animal?

4. Wasn’t Hitler a vegetarian?

5. What will happen to all the animals if we don’t eat them? (One of my favourites, and the most asinine.)

The answers?

1. To name a few: beans, pulses, nuts, tofu, tempeh, broccoli, kale ... and yes, Guardian readers, quinoa.

2. There is the risk that some vegans won’t get enough vitamin B12, although loads of vegan foods are fortified, so you can have a balanced vegan diet without supplements.

3. In the unlikely event, I refer you to my point about animal transplants.

4. FFS.

5. See 4.

I get it. Most people don’t want to think about changing their habits. In a culture where animals other than pets are mere commodities, the desire not to be implicated in their mass exploitation requires effort, commitment and – at a stretch – the occasional vitamin pill. It’s too easy in so many areas of life to be corrupted by convenience.

The reality of animal agriculture is utterly hideous. It’s no surprise that most choose not to think about it and others strain to find justifications for slightly lesser evils like “free range”, “organic”, cruelty-free and other “happy meat” marketing buzzwords. After all, how can you make a difference?

Actually, it’s quite easy. You don’t need to consume any animal products to live a healthy or happy life. Animal agriculture is destroying the planet and most animals used for our consumption live and die in atrocious conditions. You could achieve a lot by giving up just a little – eggs included. After all, caring about animals isn’t just for January.