veganism

veganism, the theory or practice of abstaining from the consumption and use of animal products. While some vegans avoid only animal-derived food, many others also exclude any items that use animals as ingredients or for testing. These prohibited products can range from clothing (e.g., leather) to makeup. Dietary veganism differs from vegetarianism in that vegetarians may choose to consume some animal-derived foods such as milk, eggs, and honey on the grounds that animals do not need to be slaughtered to obtain these products. Veganism is motivated by a variety of reasons, including personal health, animal rights, environmentalism, and ethics. It is generally practiced less as a dietary preference and more as a lifestyle choice and form of activism.

History

Records of individuals following a vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian, diet go back thousands of years and include such notable figures in history as Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, and the Greek philosopher Pythagoras. The 19th-century English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the first prominent Europeans to eschew dairy and eggs, in addition to meat, for ethical reasons. In Shelley’s time those who did not eat meat were referred to as “Pythagoreans.” Shelley wrote A Vindication of Natural Diet in 1813, in which he blamed societal problems on the consumption of meat. The term vegan, a derivative of vegetarian, was proposed in 1944 by British animal rights advocate Donald Watson. That year he and other vegetarians who abstained from dairy formed the Vegan Society and launched a nascent movement that sought to stop the exploitation of living creatures for human consumption and use (including hunting and medical experiments) and to find nonanimal alternatives for food, clothing, and other human uses.

Philosophy, ethics, and activism

Unlike most dietary choices, veganism is more often seen as a philosophical proposition, an ethical choice, and a form of individual activism that aims to have a global impact. Philosophers from Pythagoras to Peter Singer, the author of such books as Animal Liberation (1975), have argued that humans do not have the right to exploit or inflict suffering on animals and that such exploitation is unethical. Similarly, followers of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism may become vegetarian or vegan on the basis of ahimsa, the ethical principle of not causing harm to any living being.

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The modern vegan movement is tied to the formation of the Vegan Society in 1944. While initially focused mainly on animal rights, vegan activism more recently has also focused on the relationship between the consumption and use of animal products and climate change. On a global level, intensive animal farming has been shown to be a major contributor of the greenhouse gases causing global warming. On local levels, intensive animal farms and feedlots can pollute air and water in their immediate locations. The rise in livestock production for food has led to a dramatic increase in deforestation, especially in the Amazon region. Author Jonathan Safran Foer, who explored the ethics of meat consumption in his book Eating Animals (2009), wrote about the effects of animal consumption on climate change in his book We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast (2019). In addition, activists have accused factory farming of committing animal cruelty.

Health and nutrition

There is debate about the nutritional health of a strictly vegan diet. Some studies say vegans are at risk of being deficient in protein and certain vitamins and minerals, notably B₁₂, iron, zinc, and calcium. Proponents of veganism say modern protein requirements are inflated and that nutrients usually found in meat, fish, and dairy can be replaced by nutrients in vegetables, legumes, and fruit and in the form of fortified foods, such as vitamin-enriched breakfast cereals and plant-derived supplements. In addition, they note that a vegan diet can provide a number of health benefits. According to some studies, veganism can lower one’s risk of heart disease, prevent type 2 diabetes, and decrease the occurrence of certain cancers. Other benefits may include weight loss and improved brain health.

Beginning in the early 21st century, there has been an increase in production and sales of vegetarian and vegan food products, especially those mimicking burgers, chicken, milk, and fish. The terms plant-based and plant-forward have been used to describe a way of eating that is mostly vegan but which has flexibility in terms of consumption of occasional meat, dairy, eggs, and fish.