World Vegan Day – 1 November

World Vegan Day is celebrated on 1st November every year, the Vegan lifestyle is beneficial for the health of human beings, not to mention that it fosters environmental protection as well as the lives of animals.

Who is a Vegan

A person who doesn’t consume anything that is derived from animals and follows a strict plant-based food. The word Vegan and Vegetarian sound the same but Vegans avoid all types of animal-sourced food like poultry, meat, fish, eggs, honey, and dairy. Vegetarians on the other hand are not that strict they don’t eat meat, fish but eat eggs, honey, as well as dairy products like milk, paneer, cheese, and yogurt.

History of World Vegan Day

World Vegan Day was established by Louise Wallis, the Chair of The Vegan Society in 1994 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the organization and the year the word ‘vegan’ first came into use.

The term ‘vegetarian’ had been used since the 1830s. Still, it was not until 1944 when the word ‘vegan’ was coined by Donald Watson – an English animal rights activist who co-founded the Vegan Society in the United Kingdom. Initially, veganism used to mean ‘non-dairy vegetarian’, but, by May 1945, the term related to not consuming any products derived from animals, and 1951 onwards, the society defined it as ‘the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals.’

Twenty years later, during counterculture in the US, a vegetarian food movement began focusing on diet, environment, and the growing distrust of food producers – which led to an increase in organic farming.

In the 1980s, the diet became associated with straight edge hardcore punk in the US and anarcho-punk in the UK, and the first International Vegan Festival was held in Denmark.

On the society’s 50th anniversary, World Vegan Day was memorialized on November 1st, 1994 by the then-chair of the Vegan Society, Louise Wallis. Veganism finally went mainstream in the 2010s with the European Parliament defining the meaning of vegan for food labels and was in force as of 2015.

Speaking in 2011, Louise Wallis said: “We knew the Society had been founded in November 1944 but didn’t know the exact date, so I decided to go for 1 November, partly because I liked the idea of this date coinciding with Samhain/Halloween and the Day of the Dead – traditional times for feasting and celebration, both apt and auspicious.”

Why go vegan on this World Vegan Day

1. To help animals: Products made from animals are the result of horrendously suffering of the animals. By going vegan and eating only a plant-based diet you will be supporting and ending horrific animal suffering.

2. Environment Care: Farming animals are one of the biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water use, land use, and water pollution. A vegan diet will reduce the carbon footprints in the world.

3. It’s healthy: Dieticians and nutritionists in the world have been recognising a balanced vegan diet is healthy and provides all of the nutrients one needs to live a happy healthy life. A plant-based diet suffers lower rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

4. Save money: Plant-based food is one of the cheapest food available. Beans, pulses, legumes, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, whole grains, and things of that nature are easily available food which is a good source of nutrients and also good for your wallet.

5. Lot of delicious food to choose from: Going vegan doesn’t mean going without. You can now get vegan versions of all of your favorites – from ice cream to burgers, to chicken nuggets and beyond.

World Vegan Day Top Tips

• Vege vs Vegan Don’t mistake a vegetarian option for a vegan option. Your local Thai place’s Pad Thai with tofu still contains egg and fish sauce – two items off the menu if you’re sticking to a plant-based diet.

• Breaky Watch out Watch out for a drizzle of Worcestershire Sauce on breakfast, as the condiment tends to contain anchovies.

• Be fussy Tweak the dishes to suit your needs, you can add and remove most ingredients when ordering from an online food delivery service like Menulog by making a note to the kitchen at the end of your order.

• Ordering Indian? Hold on the Naan. Despite the simplicity of the bread and garlic, it’s surprisingly prepared with yogurt. Go for the Roti if you can’t have your curry without your carbs.

• Vegan Asian Order Veggie tempura when ordering sushi or Japanese can often contain egg, as can fresh pasta, and sadly, simple potato chips.

Suggested Read: Important Days In November