Reference

Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the plant-based, animal welfare, climate and sustainability terms used across VegEco reporting.

Diet

Plant-based diet: A dietary pattern centered on foods from plants — vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds — with animal products reduced or excluded.
Vegan: A way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible, all forms of exploitation of animals — including in food, clothing and other uses.
Vegetarian: A diet that excludes meat, poultry and fish but may include dairy and eggs (lacto-ovo).
Flexitarian: A mostly plant-based eating pattern that occasionally includes meat or fish.
Whole-food plant-based (WFPB): A plant-based diet emphasizing minimally processed whole foods and limiting oils, refined sugar and refined flour.

Complete protein: A protein source that provides all nine essential amino acids in sufficient amounts; combinations of legumes and grains achieve this over the day.
Vitamin B12: An essential vitamin produced by bacteria; reliably supplemented or obtained from fortified foods on plant-based diets.
Omega-3 (ALA / EPA / DHA): Essential fatty acids; ALA is found in flax, chia and walnuts. EPA/DHA can be obtained from algae oil.
Heme vs non-heme iron: Heme iron comes from animal foods; non-heme iron from plants. Absorption of non-heme iron is enhanced by vitamin C.

Factory farming: Industrial-scale animal agriculture that concentrates animals in confinement to maximize output at low unit cost.
CAFO: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation — a US regulatory term for the largest confinement livestock facilities.
Sentience: The capacity to feel, perceive or experience subjectively — recognized in vertebrates and many invertebrates by contemporary science.
Speciesism: The assumption of moral superiority of one species (usually humans) over others, often used to justify exploitation.
Cage-free / free-range: Labels regulating hen housing; both permit indoor confinement and are not synonymous with high-welfare or pasture-raised.

GHG (greenhouse gas): Gases such as CO₂, methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) that trap heat in the atmosphere and drive global warming.
CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e): A common metric that converts different greenhouse gases to the warming effect of an equivalent mass of CO₂.
Enteric methane: Methane produced by microbial fermentation in the stomachs of ruminants such as cattle and sheep.
Carbon footprint: The total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by a person, product or activity.
Land-use change: Conversion of ecosystems (often forests) to agriculture or pasture — a major driver of biodiversity loss and emissions.

Circular economy: An economic model designed to eliminate waste by keeping materials in use through reuse, repair and recycling.
Regenerative agriculture: Farming practices that aim to restore soil health, biodiversity and water cycles rather than merely sustain them.
Food miles: The distance food travels from producer to consumer — one of several factors in a product's environmental impact.
Zero waste: A design philosophy aiming to send nothing to landfill or incineration by preventing waste at the source.

Bycatch: Non-target marine species caught unintentionally during commercial fishing.
Overfishing: Removing fish faster than populations can reproduce, degrading marine ecosystems and food security.

Fast fashion: A business model producing high volumes of low-cost, rapidly changing clothing, with heavy environmental and labour costs.
Vegan leather: Leather alternatives made from plant materials (cactus, pineapple, apple), recycled polyurethane or bio-based films.

Certified Vegan: A third-party label indicating a product contains no animal-derived ingredients and was not tested on animals.
Fair Trade: Certification that goods were produced under standards for wages, working conditions and community investment.