But veganism at the core isn’t even about refusing to eat animal product. It’s about living a lifestyle that causes the least amount of suffering possible. Like some people would consider cocaine not vegan even though it’s not an animal product since an inconceivable amount of suffering is caused in the production and distribution of the product.

If a Star Trek food synthesizer exists that can make beef burgers out of carbon and hydrogen molecules, those burgers can be considered vegan since no suffering is involved.