World Vegan Month 2020
November has been granted the title of ‘World Vegan Month’ all around the world. It’s a great month to sit and reflect on how far the Vegan movement has come- especially during the past few years. It has been recognised, now more than ever to be a lifestyle & an advocacy act than just a diet.
Why did you become vegan? What first drove you along this path? Was it a documentary? A friend or family member? Health aspects? We’d love to know! Comment below.
Once seen just as a chosen diet, is now known as a 100% cruelty free lifestyle & World Vegan Month is that time of the year Plant Based individuals come together to celebrate their growing community and the growth in conscious living across the globe.
How many of you know the history behind Veganism? In the recent years it has become almost a trend of a lifestyle (GOOD!) But beforehand, vegans of the day didn’t really have a diverse range of alternatives to eat – unlike today with all of our incredible food technology!
The lack of education made veganism a VERY niche way of life. However, the term ‘veganism’ has been around for longer than you may think. With the term being coined back in 1944 and ‘World Vegan Month’ began in 1994.
The concept of ‘vegetarianism’ can be traced back to ancient Indian & eastern Mediterranean cultures, first mention by the Greek Philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras of Samos around 500BC (yes the creator of the Pythagoras Theory!) Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species, including humans. In addition to Buddhists, Hindus & other communities believing in the avoidance of harming other living entities.
Another interesting past Vegetarianism advocate was the 18th century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, who believed that animal suffering was just as serious as human suffering, and likened the idea of human superiority to racism.
In November 1944, a British woodworker named Donald Watson announced that because vegetarians ate dairy and eggs, he was going to create a new term called “vegan,” to describe people who did not. Tuberculosis had been found in 40% of Britain’s dairy cows the year before, and Watson used this to his advantage, claiming that it proved the vegan lifestyle protected people from tainted food. By the time Watson died at age 95 in 2005, there were 250,000 self-identifying vegans in Britain and 2 million in the U.S. (“A Brief History of Veganism”, 2020)
Conclusion: While ‘Veganism’ may be quite new. The belief of not inflicting harm on animals alike has been around for centuries. Although, in recent times becoming vegan is even more than those individual animal lives, but for the sake of combating climate change!
Celebrate your compassionate ways knowing – it has been a way of the past & now is the only way of the future. We’ve come so far and its a month to be extremely proud of our community!