Hello reader…

Our ancient times were full of secretive information as there was no internet, no proof, and no answers to our questions about veganism like who/ why/ how/ when veganism and vegetarianism were initiated… In the previous blog on “Origin of Veganism: Ancient History”, we covered ancient times (perhaps as per whatever information is available) and came to know about some famous personalities who opted for vegetarianism.

In this part, we’re moving into how vegetarianism and veganism differentiated and what were the factors responsible for promoting veganism and unwrap much information to get better insight….

Vegan Movement:

Although the vegetarian lifestyle never really caught on in the West, some spiritual beliefs came up from time to time. In the 18th century, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham believed that animal suffering was just as serious as human suffering, and compared the idea of human superiority to racism.

One of the most attractive figures in the medieval Middle East was Abul ʿAla Al-Maʿarri (973–1058), the first vegan person, born in northern Syria and got blind at the age of four due to smallpox. Al-Maʿarri was a poet and philosopher who believed that reason was better than religion. His ideas are also expressed in a poem that he wrote: “I No Longer Steal from Nature”.

The first Europeans Dr William Lambe and Percy Bysshe Shelley publicly started to object to the consumption of eggs and dairy products on ethical grounds. The English physician and vegan activist Dr William Lambe has been described as the pioneer of vegan nutrients (Father of Vegan Nutrients).

The first vegetarian society was formed in 1847 in England and after three years co-founder of the American Vegetarian Society, Rev. Sylvester Graham supported vegetarianism, soberness, self-restraint, and frequent bathing.

In November 1944, Donald Watson a British animal rights activist and co-founder of “The Vegan Society”, coined a new term “Vegan” and differentiated it with vegetarianism. The word is based on "the first three and last two letters of 'vegetarian'" because, in Watson's words, it marked "the beginning and end of vegetarian".

He chose to adopt a vegan lifestyle mainly due to ethical concerns regarding the treatment of animals. He supported a lifestyle that minimized animal harm and promoted compassion and respect for all living beings. This led him to adopt a plant-based diet.

The first newsletter edition of Watson's on non-dairy vegetarianism aligning his personal choices and ethical values attracted many people.

Every 1st of November is now celebrated as World Vegan Day to mark the founding of the New Vegan Society, and the Society considers November as World Vegan Month.

The New Vegan Society’s Vegan's news front page read: "Advocating living without exploitation", and in 1955, the first time the Society defined Veganism as "the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals".

A vegetarian food movement in the 1960s and 1970s, emerged as part of the counterculture in the United States that focused on concerns about diet, the environment, and a distrust of food producers, leading to increasing interest in organic gardening. Meanwhile, research conducted by scientists and doctors in the United States said that diets based on animal fat and animal protein, such as the Western pattern diet, were unhealthy. And to support that thought they produced a series of books that recommend vegan or vegetarian diets.

Sooner, during the 1970s to 1980s, more people started adopting the lifestyle for ethical, environmental, and health reasons. With the establishment of vegan societies and organizations in various countries, veganism gained more insight and was soon recognized as a social justice movement, advocating for animal rights.

In the 1990s Internet played a crucial role in spreading veganism worldwide. People started accessing information and gained knowledge about vegan products or substitutes for meat and dairy products.

By the early 21st century many Western countries had moved towards vegetarian and vegan diets. And because of many animal rights activists and environmentalists, veganism has gained huge popularity. Large industries were keen to produce special vegetarian and vegan foods or so-called “meat substitutes” made with plants and other plant-based ingredients. Restaurants, supermarkets, food chains, etc. started keeping vegan options in their mainstream.

With time celebrities, athletes, and influencers started promoting vegan lifestyles. Considering the health and environmental benefits and the moral virtues of a fleshless diet, many vegetarian societies and animal rights groups started publishing vegetarian/vegan recipes, and other information on social media platforms.

Now, veganism has become increasingly normalized, with more people accepting plant-based diets and reducing their consumption of animal products. Modernizations in food technology have led to the development of more realistic vegan meat and dairy substitutes.

Jacy Reese Anthis's book “The End of Animal Farming” in 2018, argued that veganism will completely replace animal-based food by 2100.

2019 was declared as "the year of the vegan" by economists. To gain an advantage, chain restaurants began marking vegan items on their menus and supermarkets improved their selection of vegan-processed food.

Furthermore, amendments have been made to the Vegan concept. Vegans can be as strict or relaxed as they want to be in their food choices or environment. Depending on it several categories of veganism came into existence, such as the person who refrains from consuming meat, eggs, dairy products, and any other animal-derived substances known as “dietary vegans or strict vegetarians” whereas ethical vegans not only exclude animal products from their diet but also tries to avoid using animals, animal products, and animal-tested products.

Avoidance of animal products because the industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable known as Environmental veganism. Another term is an offshoot of vegan that is Raw veganism in which a person doesn’t consume any cooked food (cooked above 48 °C or 118 °F).

Today, people choose to become vegan for a variety of reasons but the most common is that they want to improve their health, they do not want to cause suffering to animals, they want to reduce their climate impact and protect the planet.

Veganism is not just a trend. People are concerned about the suffering of animals and the life-taking involved in the production of meat, milk, and eggs; so, to better protect animals as well as their health and wildlife they are choosing Mother Earth rather than consuming or harming animals.

Let’s start today, by trying to minimize a certain percentage of your dairy product consumption. Be a foundation stone in saving our planet.

See you soon with the hope of providing more information.

Don’t forget to like and comment. Till then,

Stay Fit Stay Vegan…!!!