I would like to comment on the conclusion paragraph of this piece. As a vegan, I believe it is unfair to define a vegan diet by what it "[does] not contain." Many moral and health concerns go into the decision of whether one pursues a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. It is true that many people suffering from eating disorders restrict the same sorts of foods that vegans and vegetarians do from their diets, but a vegan lifestyle goes beyond the plate. Most vegans do not consume animal products of ANY variety, including leather sneakers, cosmetics produced by companies that test on animals, and you get the picture. A further investigation into this aspect of vegan culture might have yielded a different conclusion. A careful vegan will monitor his diet so as to maximize the nutritional value of everything he eats. In this way, vegans often are more aware of their dietary and nutritional needs than non-vegans.