In November 1944, Donald Watson announced that because vegetarians ate dairy and eggs, the Vegan Society would create a new term called ‘vegan,’ taking the beginning and symbolising the end of vegetarian. The new term was issued in his new Vegan Society newsletter. They recognised that a vegan lifestyle protected people from tainted food - such as tuberculosis, which was in 40% of Britain’s dairy cows by the 1930s, as well as protecting animals. 

Veganism is more than a trendy fad. It is a movement based on compassion, sustainability, and a desire for a healthier, more ethical world. While veganism, as we know it today, is a relatively new term, evidence suggests that ancient humans may have been predominantly vegan. 

Ancient history

According to archaeologist Dr. Richard Leakey, our prehistoric ancestors started off on a plant-based diet. He’s quoted in the Independent saying that: “You can’t tear flesh by hand, you can’t tear hide by hand, and we wouldn’t have been able to deal with the food sources that required those large canines”. 

This Independent article goes on to state that: “This theory suggests we turned to animal flesh out of necessity when there were shortages of our nut, seed, and wild cereal staples. Hominins are considered to be opportunistic scavengers of meat where they could find it while relying on plant-based diets.”

Anthropologists and archaeologists have long debated what our early human ancestors ate. Some researchers argue that early humans were opportunistic omnivores, others suggest they were primarily plant-based eaters. Evidence for a vegan diet among ancient humans comes from their teeth. The teeth of our early human ancestors were flat and broad, consistent with a plant-based diet. In contrast, the teeth of carnivores are sharp and pointed, ideal for tearing meat.

Cultural veganism

The rise of agriculture around 10,000 years ago led to the widespread consumption of animal products, but even then, plant-based diets remained common in many cultures. In ancient India, for example, vegetarianism was a deeply held religious belief, and many Hindus still follow a plant-based diet today. Vegetarianism was also encouraged by the sacred texts of Buddhism and Jainism. These religions taught the doctrines of non-violence and respect for all life forms. 

Some of the earliest known vegans in India were the followers of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, who lived around 600 BCE. He taught that all living beings have souls and that harming them creates negative karma. Jain monks often carry brushes to sweep the ground in front of them to avoid accidentally crushing insects when they walk. As well as wearing muslin cloths over their mouths in case they swallow any insects is also observed.

Güldem Üstün/CC BY 2.0

After ancient times, the meatless lifestyle didn’t fully catch on in the West until relatively recently, although it popped up during health crazes and religious revivals, such as The Ephrata Cloister, a strict religious sect founded in 1732 in Pennsylvania, which advocated vegetarianism. And via some Western philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham, who compared animal suffering to human suffering, saying that neither was acceptable. Bentham even compared consuming animal products to racism and feeling superior to other races.

5 historical advocates

A famous early advocate of veganism was Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived around 500 BCE. He believed that all animals had immortal souls that would be reincarnated after death, and he practiced “abstinence from beings with a soul.” He also influenced other Greek thinkers, such as Plato and Socrates, who were recorded as following vegetarian and vegan diets.

Another early philosopher, Porphyry (c. 234 - c. 305), wrote On Abstinence from Killing Animals, an early and thorough case for ethical vegetarianism and veganism. He opposed animal killing and abuse and upheld animal rights and interests with reason and compassion.

Al-Ma’arri (c. 973 - c. 1057), a blind Arab poet, pacifist and philosopher who renounced meat, eggs, cheese, and honey, wrote: “Do not unjustly eat fish the water has given up / And do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals / Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught / for their young”.

Angela Davis is well known for advocating human rights and social justice since the 1960s. In 2009, Davis became vegan and stands up for all sentient beings, which “endure pain and torture as they are transformed into food for profit, food that generates disease in humans whose poverty compels them to rely on McDonald’s and KFC for nourishment.”

American feminist scholar and animal rights advocate Carol J. Adams, wrote the groundbreaking book The Sexual Politics of Meat in 1990, which analysed the links between patriarchy, meat-eating, and the oppression of women and animals. She also coined the term “the absent referent,” which refers to how animals are made invisible and objectified in language and culture

Today

Today, the evidence in favour of a vegan diet is more compelling than ever. Studies have shown that a plant-based diet is associated with a reduction in the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Additionally, the production of animal products has a significant impact on the environment, contributing to deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Veganism is growing around the world. According to a global survey conducted in 2021 by Rakuten, 81% of consumers had tried plant-based milk, 48% had tried other dairy alternatives, 44% had tried vegan meat alternatives and 25% had tried a vegan egg replacement.

In a 2021 global survey by NSF, 88% of food industry practitioners said that they expect demand for plant-based products to increase. There are significant pro-veganism movements in Western countries.

So how old is veganism? It depends on how you define it. As a term, it is relatively new. As a concept, it’s ancient history.

What’s going on now - delve into the world of how the animal agriculture industry uses terms to spin its agenda and take a look at how vegan brands cleverly play on words to promote ethical eating.