Plant-Forward vs Plant-Based

Plant forward vs plant based diets and foods. Is there a difference and if so what is it?

In terms of diet, to put it simply: no, there isn’t a difference between a plant-forward diet vs plant based diet. However, the differences between plant-forward vs plant-based foods get more complicated. Partially because, a plant-forward food doesn’t really have a definition where as plant-based food does.

Plant-forward vs Plant-based Diet

While plant-based diet is the more commonly used term, both plant-forward diets and plant-based diets encompass the same principle.

They are both broad terms that encompass diets which are predominantly made up of plants or plant-based foods (more on defining plant-based foods later) [1,2].

Predominantly plants, so does that mean it can include meat? Yes. Can it include Fish? Yes. But the majority of your foods you eat come from plant sources. So, with those meat, fish, and more you are also eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. Some meals you may even choose to have no animal products all together.

Difference Between Plant-Based and Vegan

Wouldn’t a meal with no animal products be vegan? Yes, but eating just one vegan meal doesn’t make you a vegan.

You wouldn’t eat French fries for one meal and call yourself a vegan. Also, veganism can include other aspects outside of your diet as well. For example, looking at consumer purchases, such as clothing, accessories, cosmetics and more to ensure no animals were harmed in the making of certain products.

If your looking to learn more about this to determine which is right for you, check out our Difference Between Vegan and Plant-Based post.

That being said a vegan, vegetarian, Mediterranean, flexetarian, pescatarian and D.A.S.H. diet could all be considered plant-based at their core.

Plant-forward vs Plant-based Foods

Where plant-forward and plant-based really begin to separate is when you talk about them in the context of foods alone.

All plant-based foods, certified by the Plant Based Foods Association are vegan [1]. Meaning free from animal derived ingredients.

However, plant-forward foods don’t really have a definition like plant-forward diet does.

Take Away

Plant-based and plant-forward encompass several diets that include mainly plants as their primary components. But they can include moderate, rare, or even no consumption of animal products such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and honey.

However, certified plant-based foods are vegan while, plant-forward foods we can’t really say for certain.

If you’re looking to learn more about Difference Between Vegan and Plant-Based, check out our blog post Here. .

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