What is Whole Food Plant-Based?

The food we find nowadays in the grocery store is not really food. It is real food that has been processed, stripped of all the goodness that nature intended and repurposed with fat, sugar and salt into “food-like substances.” It looks like food. It has calories. The packaging may even say it is “full of nutrients” or “good source of whole grains.” How can be something be whole grains when you can’t even see a grain? Just because it is brown does not make it whole grain.

When people say they eat “plant-based” there are different flavors to it.

1. Vegan. This is the most commonly used term because people generally understand what it means. Though people still ask me “Do you eat fish?” and “do you eat pasta?” Both of which make me tilt my head a little at the question. People who identify as vegan are those that do not eat any animal products such as meat (beef, chicken, pork, fish, etc), dairy (milk, yogurt, etc) and eggs. Generally their primary motivation is animal welfare and cruelty. This can include all types of foods that are not necessarily healthy- i.e. oreos are vegan. People who follow a vegan diet often also follow a vegan lifestyle, avoiding animal use in clothes (leather, wool), makeup (testing, products), etc.
2. Vegetarian. This comes in all different kinds of levels. Almost all do not eat beef, chicken, pork but some may eat fish.
   • lacto-ovo vegetarian- eats eggs and milk
   • pescatarian- also eat fish
   • flexitarian- may eat meat occasionally but at a much lower rate than the average American.
3. Plant-based. This group eats primarily all plants but may also include highly processed food. This term is often used by people that don’t want to identify with some of the negative connotations that have historically been shown towards vegans.
4. Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB). Whole foods are foods that are as close to the way nature intended them to be be. They are as unprocessed as possible. Whole foods include fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Think potatoes, broccoli, corn, oatmeal, apples, blueberries, etc. Think olives instead of olive oil, apples instead of apple juice.