Vegan or Vegetarian? Why fans trolled Virat Kohli for his diet?

From the whole furore, the fans of Kohli must have learnt that it is better to be doubly sure of one’s claims before jumping the gun.

Indian Cricket team Captain Virat Kohli and his fitness are always a hot topic on the internet among his fans. Recently, the Indian skipper was a part of an Instagram session when one fan of his asked him about his diet regimen. Obliging the fan with the answer, Kohli said that he consumed lots of vegetables, some eggs, a couple of cups of coffee, lots of spinach and quinoa. Little did Kohli know that his answer would create a furore on the internet as people trolled him on the internet for his response and alleged that the cricketer had admitted eating eggs while he had earlier claimed to be a vegan.

What made people troll Kohli?
People who took to social media questioning the cricketer said that Kohli had earlier claimed to be a vegan and including eggs in his meal was not justified. Kohli, surprised by the accusations on the internet, took to Twitter and clarified that he was a vegetarian and had never in his life claimed to be a vegan. The cricketer added that he had consistently maintained that he was a vegetarian and in a light-hearted manner asked his fans to take a deep breath and eat veggies.

I never claimed to be vegan. Always maintained I’m vegetarian. Take a deep breath and eat your Veggies (if you want ????)????????✌️

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 1, 2021

A section of Kohli fans also dug up a two year old tweet of the actor in which he clearly mentioned that he was a vegetarian athlete. In the same tweet, Kohli had also said that he had felt a lot better in his life after turning into a vegetarian. Apparently, the fans who trolled Kohli had got confused between vegetarianism and veganism and criticised the sportsperson pointlessly.

Saw game changers on Netflix. Being a vegetarian athlete has made me realise what I have believed all these years regarding diet was a myth. What an amazing documentary and yes I’ve never felt better in my life after I turned vegetarian.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 23, 2019

Vegan vs Vegetarian
Since the two words are most often used in the same breath, the generated confusion between the two is not unusual. The Indian Express talked to a nutritionist and the founder of EAT.FIT.REPEAT Ruchi Sharma to clear the confusion once and for all. Sharma told IE that while both vegan as well as vegetarian people avoided animal meat, the latter do not refrain from using other animal products like milk, eggs, honey, leather etcetera.

On the other hand, the vegans constitute an extremely small minority who avoid each and every animal product and by-product including milk, leather, honey, butter etcetera. The vegans believe that animals have an independent existence of humans and humans have no right to use animals and their products for their diet and other lifestyle needs.

From the whole furore, the fans of Kohli must have learnt that it is better to be doubly sure of one’s claims before jumping the gun.