] Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that avoids using animals and animal products for food, clothing and other purposes. In practice, a vegan (an adherent to veganism) commits to the abstention from consumption or use of all animal products, including meat, fish, poultry, honey, eggs and dairy products, as well as articles made of fur, wool, bone, leather, feathers, pearls, mother of pearl, coral, and other materials of animal origin. Many vegans also avoid products that have been tested on animals. People who avoid eating all animal products, but who otherwise use animal by-products (for example, leather shoes) are commonly referred to as dietary vegans.

People become vegans for a variety of reasons, including ethical concerns such as animal rights and the environment, as well as more personal reasons such as health benefits http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm and spiritual or religious concerns. A Time/CNN poll published in Time Magazine on July 7, 2002, found that 4% of American adults consider themselves vegetarians, and 5% of self-described vegetarians consider themselves vegans. This suggests that 0.2% of American adults are vegans.

In 2002, the UK Food Standards Agency reported that 5% of respondants self-identified as vegetarian or vegan. Of that 5%, approximately 10% ate white meat, nearly half ate fish and 95% ate dairy. Based on these figures, vegans are approximately 0.25% or less of the UK population. http://www.food.gov.uk/science/101717/ndnsdocuments/.