Vegan and proud? Vegetarian, thinking of going vegan? Just wondering if a vegan diet might be for you? Sunday November 1 is World Vegan Day and the start of World Vegan Month. Take this day, this month and celebrate the joys of being vegan. Any big change takes baby steps to get there, let this be your first step. For the month of November, remove animal products from your diet, avoid buying products,clothing and accessories that use animal ingredients, find out what it's like to live life in a manner that causes no harm to others.
Unsatisfied with the word vegetarian, it's inclusion of dairy and eggs in the diet and it's allowance of the use of animal by-products, Donald Watson set out to find a less ambigous, more strictly defined term for those living a lifestyle of consuming and using no animal ingredients at all. He took the first three and last two letters of the word vegetarian, and came up with vegan (pronounced vee-guhn).
“The word “veganism” denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practical- all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” -The Vegan Society
On November 1, 1944 Donald Watson formed the first ever society for vegans, The Vegan Society, in the UK. World Vegan Day is now celebrated annually on November 1 to commemorate this founding. The first Vegan Society in the US was founded in 1948, and incorporated into the American Vegan Society in 1960.
According to a poll conducted by CNN and Time magazine in 2002, only about 0.2% of American adults consider themselves vegan. In 2008, a study published by Vegetarian Times shows that 3.2 percent of adult Americans (7.3 million people) follow a vegetarian-based diet and that approximately 0.5 percent of those (1 million) are vegan.
So, as VeganMoFo draws to a close, vegans have yet another reason to celebrate. Starting on World Vegan Day, November 1, celebrate veganism. Not vegan? Try it out, see how joyous life can be as a vegan. Already vegan? Share some vegan food with your friends and family, encourage them to move toward this lifestyle too.
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