There's no typical vegan diet, just like there's no typical non-vegan diet. Vegans can eat whole foods, junk food, high-carb, low-carb, high-protein, etc. There's no macro or micro nutrient that comes exclusively from animals. (Btw, I've never seen Sauerkraut that wasn't vegan.)
I've been vegan for 10 years, have lived in 3 different countries and have met a lot of vegans, usually in situations where food was involved. My personal experience indicates that, overall, vegans eat less processed/refined foods than non-vegans and are more knowledgeable about nutrition than the average.
My experience is that they eat a lot of potato chips and biscuits. Where do you get your vitamin b12 from?
Regardless, the rest of my comment points out why the person I was replying to is wrong. Even your comment points it out. All you need to do to be a vegan is not eat animal products. This means you can avoid all of the foods that are good for your biome. That was the entire point of the quote from the article that was completely missed by the op.
In addition, not all vegetables are equal with regards to bacteria.
I've been vegan for 10 years, have lived in 3 different countries and have met a lot of vegans, usually in situations where food was involved. My personal experience indicates that, overall, vegans eat less processed/refined foods than non-vegans and are more knowledgeable about nutrition than the average.