“Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practicable — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”
There are many ways to embrace vegan living. Yet one thing all vegans have in common is a plant-based diet avoiding all animal foods such as meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs and honey — as well as avoiding animal-derived materials, products tested on animals and places that use animals for entertainment.
History
Although the vegan diet was defined early on in The Vegan Society’s beginnings in 1944, it was as late as 1949 before Leslie J Cross pointed out that the society lacked a definition of veganism. He suggested “[t]he principle of the emancipation of animals from exploitation by man”. This is later clarified as “to seek an end to the use of animals by man for food, commodities, work, hunting, vivisection, and by all other uses involving exploitation of animal life by man”.
The society was first registered as a charity in August 1964 but its assets were later transferred to a new charity when it also became a limited company in December 1979. The definition of veganism and the charitable objects of the society were amended and refined over the years. By winter 1988 the current definition was in use — although the phrasing has changed slightly over the years.
So what do vegans eat?
A great deal — you’ll soon find a whole new world of exciting foods and flavours opening up to you. A vegan diet is richly diverse and comprises all kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, beans and pulses — all of which can be prepared in endless combinations that will ensure you’re never bored. From curry to cake, pasties to pizzas, all your favourite things can be suitable for a vegan diet if they’re made with plant-based ingredients. Check out our vegan recipes for ideas.
It’s not just about diet
Vegans avoid exploiting animals for any purpose, with compassion being a key reason many choose a vegan lifestyle. From accessories and clothing to makeup and bathroom items, animal products and products tested on animals are found in more places than you might expect. Fortunately nowadays there are affordable and easily-sourced alternatives to just about everything. With over 56,000 products and services registered with our Vegan Trademark alone, living a vegan lifestyle has never been easier.
Other aspects of vegan living
Medicine
Currently all medicine in the UK must be tested on animals before it is deemed safe for human use, but please note: The Vegan Society DOES NOT recommend you avoid medication prescribed to you by your doctor — a dead vegan is no good to anyone! What you can do is ask your GP or pharmacist to provide you, if possible, with medication that does not contain animal products such as gelatine or lactose. For more information visit the medicines website, which contains information on medicines prescribed in the UK, including ingredients lists.
Medical charities
If you’re a medical charity supporter you may wish to check whether your chosen charity performs tests on animals. There are many charities that don’t currently conduct animal tests and many vegans prefer donating to charities that actively seek alternative methods of testing.
Entertainment
Vegans choose not to support animal exploitation in any form and so avoid visiting zoos or aquariums, or taking part in dog or horse racing. A great alternative is visiting and supporting animal sanctuaries that provide safe and loving homes for rescued animals.
Want to find out more about the vegan lifestyle? Sign up to the free Vegan Pledge today. There are hundreds of thousands of vegans across the globe — with you, we’re that much stronger.
Why people avoid using or consuming animal products
While vegetarians choose not to eat animals, vegans also avoid eating dairy, eggs, and honey as well as not wearing fur, leather, wool, down, or using cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.
Why vegan? Veganism, the natural extension of vegetarianism, is an integral component of a true cruelty-free lifestyle. Living vegan provides numerous benefits to animals’ lives, to the environment, and to our own health–through a healthy diet and lifestyle.
You can make an impact
BEING VEGAN CAN SAVE :
200 animals per year.
1.3 million gallons of water.
1.5 tons of carbon emissions.
For The Animals
Despite the common belief that drinking milk or eating eggs does not kill animals, commercially-raised dairy cows and egg-laying chickens, factory-farmed or free range, are slaughtered when their production rates decline.
The same factory farm methods that are used to produce most meats are also used to produce most milk and eggs. These cows and chickens live their short lives caged, drugged, mutilated, and deprived of their most basic freedoms.
As with any mammal, cows produce milk only when pregnant and stop after their calves have been weaned. When a dairy cow delivers a female calf, the calf becomes a dairy cow herself, born to live in the same conditions as her mother. But when a dairy cow delivers a male calf, the calf is sold to a veal farm within days of birth, where he is tethered to a stall, deprived of food and exercise, and soon slaughtered for meat.
Since it is unprofitable to keep cows alive once their milk production declines, life is only a few years longer for dairy cows, and are usually slaughtered at 5 years of age.Thus, a cow’s normal lifespan of 25 years is cut 20 years short just to cut costs and maximize production.
On U.S. farms, an average of 7 egg-laying hens spend their entire lives in a battery cage with a floor area the size of a vinyl record cover.
Living on wire floors that deform their feet, in cages so tiny they cannot stretch their wings, and covered with excrement from cages above them,
these chickens suffer lameness, bone disease, and obsessive pecking, which is curbed by searing the beaks off young chicks.
Although chickens can live up to fifteen years, they are usually slaughtered when their egg production rates decline after two years. Hatcheries have no use for male chicks, so they are killed by suffocation, decapitation, gassing or crushing.
Today’s farms are not like the ones most of us learned about in school; they are mechanized factories where an animal’s welfare is of little concern compared to profit. Veganism emerges as the lifestyle most consistent with the philosophy that animals are not ours to use.
For the Environment
Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It is an inefficient way of producing food, since feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could otherwise have been used directly for producing human food.
Animal agriculture’s dependence on higher yields accelerates topsoil erosion on our farmlands, rendering land less productive for crop cultivation, and forcing the conversion of wilderness to grazing and farm lands. (8) Animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms are a leading cause of pollution in our groundwater and rivers.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has linked animal agriculture to a number of other environmental problems, including contamination of aquatic ecosystems, soil, and drinking water by manure, pesticides, and fertilizers; acid rain from ammonia emissions; greenhouse gas production; and depletion of aquifers for irrigation.
In a time when population pressures have become an increasing stress on the environment, there are additional arguments for a vegan diet. The United Nations has reported that a vegan diet can feed many more people than an animal-based diet. For instance, projections have estimated that the 1992 food supply could have fed about 6.3 billion people on a purely vegetarian diet, 4.2 billion people on a 85% vegetarian diet, or 3.2 billion people on a 75% vegetarian diet.
For Your Health
The consumption of animal fats and animal proteins has been linked to heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other debilitating conditions (cows’ milk contains ideal amounts of fat and protein for young calves, but far too much for humans).
Eggs are higher in cholesterol than any other food, making them a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease. The American Dietetic Association reports that vegetarian/vegan diets are associated with reduced risks for all of these conditions.
Vegan foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans, are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are rich in fiber and nutrients. Vegans can get all the protein they need from legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) and grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat breads and pastas); calcium from broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices and soy milks; iron from chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products; and B12 from fortified foods or supplements.
With planning, a vegan diet can provide all the nutrients we need without any animal products.
To Fight Hunger
Land is being used to grow food to feed to animals who are then raised and slaughtered to feed to people. It is an inefficient system and it’s not working. We have food insecurity in one of the wealthiest nations in the world because of this inefficiency. As the population grows, there will not be enough land to sustain animals raised for food at the same rate. Converting land over to growing food for people provides more available protein, is better for the environment, and better for the animals.
In the United States in 2017:
- 40.0 million people lived in food-insecure households.
- 9.7 million adults lived in households with very low food security.
- 6.5 million children lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with adults, were food insecure.
540,000 children (0.7 percent of the Nation’s children) lived in households in which one or more child experienced very low food security.
While there are many variables that contribute to food insecurity, changing our farming practices and providing an abundance of affordable and healthy plant foods is an important step.
For Better Job Opportunities
Slaughterhouse work is among the most dangerous and underpaid work in the U.S. Approximately 38% of slaughterhouse workers were born outside of the U.S. and are undocumented. Therefore they are not afforded the same rights or a voice. They are often forced to work with injuries, without bathroom breaks, and under the threat of being fired or deported. In addition to this hazardous work, we also have evidence of the mental and emotional impacts on these workers with higher risks of depression, anger, and PTSD. No one wants to work in these unsafe and disturbing environments however, for some, this is their only option. Our demand for more plants and less animal products drives the industry toward plant farming and away from animal factory farming.
