Veganism is a way of life avoiding the use of all animal products: food, clothing, cosmetics and so on. The most common reasons cited for becoming vegan, according to the Vegan Society , are:

• Animal welfare
• Health
• Religious/spiritual beliefs
• Environmental concerns
• Resource use (ie it takes more land and water to raise livestock than to raise crops)

While many vegans will share most or all of these reasons, priorities may well differ from individual to individual.

Though veganism is an entire lifestyle, this piece focuses on the new vegan's top priority - how to adopt a vegan (animal product free) diet.