Vegan:            1.  A person who chooses to abstain from utilizing or consuming any product
                              or consumable that was created at the expense of animals.

                        2.  Dietary choice to consume non-animal based foods.  These may include not only meat, 
                              but dairy and  sometimes even honey.  

                        3.  A lifestyle free from  causing any unneccesarry  harm to animals.  i.e.  None.

                        4.  A healthy alternative to help avoid obesity, animal slavery, high cholestoral , 
                            mad cow disease, animal slaughter, etc.

Common replacement items for a vegan lifestyle:

Beef  - Seitan: wheat gluten derived, excellent for fajitas or french dip sandwiches.
Chicken - Tofu: soybean derived, comes in many forms and uses.
Turkey - Quorn: mushroom derived, makes a perfect Thanksgiving roast.
Sausage - Gimme lean Sausage: heart healthy alternative, even our Italian friends like it!
Honey - Agave Nectar: derived from the Agave plant (like tequila).  Refrigerate to match consistency of honey.
Gelatin - Vegetable Gelatin: vegetable derived.
Sugar - Non-animal bone proccessed sugar.
Eggs -  Ground flax seeds, egg replacer, tofu, applesauce, etc.
Butter & Margarine - Soy butter/margarine:  What do you think Parkay is?
Milk - Soymilk, ricemilk, almond milk:  I recommend starting with almond milk and then moving to the rest from there.
Yogurt - Soy Yogurt.
Cheese - Soy Cheese, rice cheese, nutritional yeast mixes.
Cream Cheese - "Better than Cream Cheese".
Silk - Anything else: Silk worms are boiled alive to extract silk threads.
Bone China - China: If you hold up bone china to the light, you can see light through it.  Regular china will not let light through.
Make up - Non animal based or tested make up.
Leather - Pleather, vinyl, hemp.
Fur - Fake fur.

Uncommon Vegan Knowledge:

Starbursts and Skittles are Vegan in Great Britain and Ireland (because of mad cow disease...), but not in the USA.
Gelatin is found in most candy, jello, and many other items.  Unfortunatley it is derived from ground up horse and pig hooves.
Honey is bee puke.
Many energy drinks contain beetle wings.  Yuck.

More information and details can be found at the VSA "Vegetarians for Social Acceptance"