All in a Name: Plant-Based and Vegan

One of the biggest ironies in the food world is that the term ‘plant-based’ does not mean what it sounds like it should mean. Try this short experiment: what comes to mind when you think of plant-based foods? A simple Google Image search of the word brings up images of sliced avocados, nuts, grains, colorful vegetables and fruits, dark green leaves, freshly squeezed juice. Etymologically speaking, this all makes sense. The Oxford dictionary defines ‘plant based’ as ‘designating food or drink consisting of or derived from plants (or fungi)’. The synonym being, of course, ‘vegan’.

Indeed, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that plant-based and veganism are synonymous. But in fact, ‘plant-based’, when it comes to modern dieting at least, refers to an eating regiment that make plants a focal part of the diet, though still allowing for foods derived from animals.

The history is important here. The term was first coined in 1980 by a Cornell University biochemist by the name of T. Colin Campbell. For over a decade, he studied the eating habits of the rural Chinese. In his research, he noticed their diet was low in animal products and high in plant-based foods. This led to significant health benefits, particularly in the realms of cardiovascular health and cancer. In 2005, he published a book entitled The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition…