Do the best you can. There are no vegan police, not even the self-appointed ones.
Or perhaps especially not the self-appointed ones.
When you can afford better, you'll buy better.
There's a Vegweb saying: The only perfect vegan is a dead one.

I think we need to clarify what you are really asking. Are you wanting the word "vegan" to be defined for you or are you asking for peer acceptance? I assure you that I accept you as a human being who is doing an awful lot to avoid using animals. I also assure you that if you are knowingly consuming a product that has animal parts in it then you are not a vegan. Just to be clear - let me further assure you that I personally don't give a rat's ass. I don't know what your vita pak has in it but if it really does have animal in it then it, and you, are not vegan.

It's a WORD. It has a definition. If the definition of vegan does not describe you then you are not a vegan. See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vegan for further clarification. "Vegetarian" has a definition too, if it applies then wear it with pride!

Really people, it's just a word, don't treat it like a title that has to be given to you by the Great Vegan Council. It doesn't signify that a vegan is better than a vegetarian, it's just a descriptive word. Be honest and proudly call yourself what you are.

Words do have defiinitions that we can turn to but often people have different associations, perceptions and connotations attached to a word. A certain word for one person can hold great significance, but to another it has no functional meaning. I can see why some people would take great pride in being Vegan. Some people feel so strongly about it that it is like a religion to them, a holistic lifestyle. Yet, we don't determine someones Christianity by referring to a definition--even though there are actions, rules and beliefs that you are supposed to follow to be a Christian.

Veg*nism is not a religion, thank Goddess. Furthermore, (what you said) is why I and many others smirk when someone says they are a christian, because we know it doesn't really mean anything. There are child molestors calling themselves christians! More commonly there are women who teach about religion though the apostles very clearly said 'don't do that'. Don't participate in letting that happen to the veg*ns.

More to the point, veg*nism is much more clearly defined than any religion, it's not nearly as complex so I don't think that is a good comparison. However it does raise the question of how you feel about people who say 'I'm a christian' yet you see them do some very non-christ-like things. I would think you would feel they are dishonest at the least. That is something that veg*ns don't need. We're already thought of as weird - let's not throw hypocritical into the pot for all of society to stir.

I thought those vita paks were pretty expensive...?
My vegan vitamins are $10 a bottle on amazon....

Yeah that.....there are plenty of vegan vitamin supplements cheaper than a Vitapak....you may think you "need" a vitapak, but a good multivit in one pill, with a vegan diet that's nutritious and has variety is good enough.

I think if we willingly do unvegan things, then we're not vegan.  However, like was said above, there are no vegan police and someone that is 99% vegan is a pretty good vegan in my opinion.

I think if we willingly do unvegan things, then we're not vegan.  However, like was said above, there are no vegan police and someone that is 99% vegan is a pretty good vegan in my opinion.

That's a relief. . . because I sometimes swallow bugs while riding my motorcycle.

LOL :)

I've said this before, on other threads, but at the risk of boring long-term foodfighters... again: what changes the world is what you DO; what you call yourself, what others thing of you, what group labels you slap upon yourself = window dressing, at best! words are flimsy, and intrinsically deceptive, because they are only SYMBOLS of reality, not reality itself. Furthermiore, unless it's a dead language, meanings evolve with changing culture & usage, so the 'dictionary as ethics manual' approach is guaranteed to fail. *Words* are not the hot issue; your actions are! so do the best you can... & whatever that is, well done! labels are irrelevant. Don't let other people dictate to you what you are or aren't... on this or any issue important to you.

:)

Yes, the word is the issue. He is not vegan, he is vegetarian. There is a clear difference. Communication is important and is the reason there are so many words to describe very specific differences. If you want to allow miscommunication to sully your character then you certainly have the right to misuse your language. I, however, would call him out on his error.

Besides, what's wrong with being a vegetarian?

Yes, the word is the issue.

Nope/ shrug/ we completely disagree: actions rule!

DO GOOD, the best you can; SAY... *whatever*-- that is, whatever makes the most sense to you (not to someone else!). Omnis will be confused regardless; they're omnis: it's their main setting! Doesn't matter whether someone else thinks you're vegetarian or vegan or Venetian... EVEN the lovely folks on this forum! Consider all perspectives; go with what makes sense to you; & don't get too involved in what other people think about it. That's my advice... but then, that's only what makes sense to me!

;)

My family made me take a non-vegan supplement when I first made the switch. It was one of their conditions that allowed me to remain on my diet. I knowingly did it (though I tried to "forget" to do so as often as possible), but I certainly don't think that that pill negates all of the efforts I put in, or means that I was only a vegetarian at that time.

Sometimes people don't have a perfect option. IMO you've done plenty to earn the title of vegan.

I identify as a 'recycler'; not only do i sort & recycle cardboard/ glass/ plastic at home, i pick up glass bottles from coworkers (i work in a town that doesn't recycle glass) & bring it home, to add to my own... when i travel, i come home with a hefty-bag of recyclables, to put in our bins, rather than throwing things away in the hotel room if they're recyclable. But once... i was 3 weeks on the road, had the flu, and-- in a moment of weakness-- threw a plastic oj bottle in the cafe's trash, 'cause i was just that stressed & couldn't deal with carrying around ONE MORE damn thing all day til i could get it to my 'recycling' stash... not proud of it; but there it is.

Still consider myself a recycler.

I took the OP's question to be 'letter of the law' vs 'spirit of the law'... using not only the 90/10 'what you do most' rule, but the 99.99/ 0.01 rule, in this case: if 99.99% of the things that you consume are vegan, and you're actively working on getting better at being vegan, it seems mostly appropriate to call yourself vegan if that's what feels right to you to call yourself (i don't, myself, btw, partly to avoid this exact kind of bickering about purity, in the 3-D world, which imo does no one any good at all)... i see what you're saying, but if someone's doing the best they can to live up to the ideals they aspire to, and embrace the group name they most identify with, i don't think that's any of your business or mine.

Call yourself whatever seems to YOU to match you best; keep working towards those ideals; and you'll get better and better at meeting the dictionary definition. Hearing 'you can only call yourself a member of the club if you are perfect at it in all ways at all times' just drives people away from trying... that's my opinion, anyway. I think we're just prioritizing different parts of the question.