Words matter. Scanning supermarket shelves and restaurant menus, you’re sure to see the terms ‘vegan’ and ‘plant-based’, but what do they mean? Vegan food contains no animal-derived ingredients – nice and simple.

Research conducted by the Vegan Society showed that most consumers believe ‘plant-based’ means the same thing, but they may be wrong. For example, Rustlers Meatless Maverick burger is advertised as ‘plant-based’ but uses dairy cheese, and celebrated chef Alain Ducasse was quick to call his new restaurant ‘plant-based’ despite having fish, eggs, and dairy on the menu. It’s confusing, and that’s why PETA is championing the word ‘vegan’.

‘Vegan’ is always animal-free, and despite a recent study claiming that consumers preferred the term ‘plant-based’, it certainly didn’t impede the success of Greggs’ vegan sausage roll. ‘Greggs’ plant-based sausage roll doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Vegan foods are in high demand – and for good reason. Everyone should know by now that meat, egg and dairy consumption is a major contributor to the climate catastrophe. In fact, the UN has stated that a shift to vegan eating is an important step in mitigating its worst effects. A study by the University of Oxford found that eliminating animal-derived products can reduce an individual’s food-related carbon footprint by 73 per cent! Even beans grown overseas are better for the environment than locally grown meat. More land and water would be available for our ever-growing population, too.

The production of meat, eggs, and dairy is literally spewing crap all over the planet, as the waste from farmed animals creates 65 per cent of the world’s nitrous oxide emissions, exacerbating the climate catastrophe.

Eating vegan isn’t just better for the planet, it’s better for us and for animals, too. Vegan foods have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer and diabetes. And raising animals to eat them is always fatal for the animal. Most animals used for food are intensively farmed. They’re confined to filthy, windowless sheds and certainly don’t go to their death willingly. With delicious vegan options now widely available for almost every type of product, there’s no reason to eat animal-based foods at all – and every reason not to.

Today, our planet is burning up and eating animal-derived foods is like throwing petrol on the blazing fire. Whether it’s for the sake of our health, the planet or those we share it with, going vegan ticks all the boxes.

That’s why the word matters and why the future is vegan.

By Dawn Carr, director of vegan corporate projects for PETA.