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How did the Vegan Society begin in 1944?

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Illustration of a vegan food pyramid divided into four sections: whole grains at the base, followed by vegetables, then fruit, and legumes at the top, with recommended daily servings and images of representative foods in each group. — vegetarianism A vegan food pyramid, which excludes meat and animal products.

The Vegan Society was established in 1944 by British animal rights advocate Donald Watson and a group of fellow vegetarians who chose to abstain from dairy products.1

Driven by a commitment to stop the exploitation of living creatures for human consumption and use—including hunting and medical experimentation—the group sought to identify and promote non-animal alternatives for food, clothing, and other daily needs. This initiative marked the beginning of a nascent movement that formally distinguished itself from broader vegetarianism by rejecting all animal-derived products. The term vegan, a contraction of vegetarian, was also proposed by Watson that same year to describe this strict approach to avoiding animal exploitation.12