“The greatest ethical test that we’re ever going to face is the treatment of those who are at our mercy.”-Lyn White
In our society being vegetarian is strange, and to be vegan is considered radical. People feel as if the vegan movement upon us is a very new thing, when in the fact the word “vegan” has been around for decades. In 1944 Donald Watson coined the word vegan in England. Some members of the Vegetarian Society in Leicester, England, including Watson, wanted to create a faction of partnered nondairy vegetarians. This idea was rebuffed, so they started a brand new institution. They agreed to call themselves “vegan” after considering possibilities. This word comes from the word vegetarian, it starts with the first three letters and ends with the last two. “Veganism starts with vegetarianism and carries it through to its logical conclusion.” This was the way that Donald Watson explained it.
The Vegan Society was created in the end of the year of 1944. Shortly after their establishment, they drafted a manifesto. This platform described their merged perspective and mission. A completely plant based diet was advocated by this institution. This excluded fowl, honey, fish, flesh, eggs, any animal’s butter, cheese, and milk.
At this time they also enlivened the idea of using and manufacturing alternatives to animal commodities. This included shoes, clothing, and other dress. This society also agreed that the extermination of exploitation of any kind was needed to create a more compassionate and plausible society in order to free animals and people. The movement for vegetarianism in the United States had reached its full potential several decades earlier and was now in a state of decline. It was also created strictly for health considerations. However, the British Vegan Society was founded on deeply entrenched ethical ideals; “Reverence for life” was what it was named by Albert Shweitzer.
The American Vegan Society was started by Jay Dinshah in 1960. It completely advocates, and continues, to do so by sticking to the guidelines of its British ancestor. It promotes a lifestyle free of animal products and a plant-based diet. The American Vegan Society follows Ahimsa, this philosophy comes from this Sanskrit word which translates into “dynamic harmlessness”. This philosophy also upholds the ideas of providing a service to creation, humanity, and nature.
The point of learning about the origin of being vegan is to truly understand what it means to be vegan. It is not just a diet change or a way of living life. It is actively changing your philosophy to doing no harm. We vegans have to understand that in order to champion our way of living we can not passively not use animal products or consume them. We must take our compassion to the next level in an effort to do no harm and help animals who do not have a language we can easily understand. It is our duty to raise awareness about the atrocities being committed under the guise of normalcy. We have to actively help animals who can not save themselves. For more information about the origin of being vegan go to: http://www.vegsource.com/jo/vegan.htm.
Thank you for this article!.. It is always good to know who and when this principle started and the true mission of being vegan.. I decided to turn my life around more than two years ago and my level of compassion has grown significantly ever since. Cruelty of any kind to either animals or humans is despicable and we should do everything we can to stop it.