World Vegan Day

Today, November 1, is World Vegan Day, which marks the 69^th anniversary of the founding of the Vegan Society, and the commencement of World Vegan Month.

First, a little history on how the term “vegan” came to be. It started with “vegetarian” which is defined as the elimination of all animal flesh in the diet.  The concept of vegetarianism as an organized society dates back to the early 1800s with the founding of the Vegetarian Society. Several decades later, a young man named Donald Watson tried making movements within the Vegetarian Society to incorporate a section that also excluded dairy and eggs but was met with resistance.

By 1944, while the world was at war, Donald gave up his fight to create a non-dairy section of the Vegetarian Society, and instead created a new Society with a few like-minded pioneers. He came up with the term “vegan” which is the beginning and end of vegetarian.  Another way to look at the word is to take vegetarian and cut out everything in the middle, which is basically what a vegan lifestyle does.

Vegan Lifestyle

Although it is also used to describe a diet that abstains from all animal products, “Vegan” is really a full lifestyle. It is not just the elimination of animal derived foods, (meat, fish, chicken, gelatin, egg, and dairy), but also the avoidance of anything pertaining to an animal, including fur, down, wool, and cosmetics and other products that are tested on animals or contain animal ingredients.

I also consider the term “vegan” to come with a side of activism as well. Vegan activists are outspoken against the cruelties of factory farming, animal testing, fur industry, and so much more, speaking up for animal rights, giving a voice to the voiceless.

While compassionate living has been a part of my life for over 17 years (more than half my life!), “vegan” has never been a label that I felt comfortable attaching to myself.  You won’t find me at the nearest animal rights protest, but I do wear my “Animals have rights too” tee shirt from time to time, and I do advocate for a compassionate lifestyle with plant-strong eating at the forefront.

I don’t know my vegan-nivesary; I get asked about it a lot. I never thought to mark the calendar on the last day I ate a dairy product because I didn’t know it would be the last piece of cheese I’d ever eat. I never really made a conscious decision to “go vegan”. My vegetarian lifestyle has been a continuously evolving process for the last two decades.

It has been one that I’ve embraced without really emphasizing, although, since 1996, I have always made conscious efforts to avoid fur at all costs, to not use products that are tested on animals or contain animal ingredients, and to steer away from leather (no pun intended!) and down. 

I like to encourage people to come to their own conclusions with a little boost in the right direction. Eating even one plant based meal a week is good for your health, the animals and the environment. 

Vegan Does Not Mean Healthy

Make no mistake, just because a food is “vegan” does not mean that it is healthy.

Oreos are vegan, as are Lay’s potato chips, French fries, Duncan Hines frosting, Pillsbury crescent rolls… you get the idea.

Despite what my uncle thinks when he offers me a plain salad (aka rabbit food), a vegan diet is more than just lettuce. It is a variety of foods, including the processed, bad for you mentioned above.

Along with the standard processed foods, many vegans also eat fake meats that are made to look and taste like their animal counter parts.  I think this is fine for someone transitioning to veganism, or as a once in a while indulgence, but not a long-term dietary solution. It can be difficult for someone to move away from a diet they are comfortable with to something completely foreign.  

This is especially true if you are coming from the Standard American Diet (SAD) of unhealthy foods that are loaded with fat, salt, sugar, artificial flavors and ingredients that your body doesn’t recognize.

My biggest concern with the increasing availability and variety of faux meats is that they seem to suggest that animal protein is something to be replaced, when really it is completely unnecessary.  It’s almost glorifying the idea that our plate should contain a “meat”, a starch and a vegetable.

When I went vegetarian in 1996, there were basically two options for meat replacement – Morningstar or Boca. Now, it seems as if new companies are popping up daily with a new product that tastes, looks and feels more like real chicken, fish, steak, etc.

A Healthy, Plant Based Diet

Despite that misconception that “vegan” means healthy, there still so many vegans who are unhealthy because they rely heavily on a diet of processed foods.

However, with more light being shed on the health benefits of a diet free of animal foods, I see an important distinction to be made between a vegan diet and a whole-foods, plant-based diet.

While it is encouraging that the number of Americans who consider themselves vegan has more than doubled in the last three years, we are still a long way off from getting the world to stop eating meat. If we can raise awareness towards eating more vegetables, I think we could stand a fighting chance.

We need to stand together against the low cost, poor quality, government subsidized factory farming industry for the health of ourselves and the animals. If we could put an end to factory farming and focus more on creating a better quality of life for the animals, the cost of animal products will go up and the demand will continue to go down… or so we could only hope.

We have a long way to go before we live on a plant-based planet, or even a plant-based nation, for that matter. I’m just happy to do my small part by feeding people delicious vegan-friendly food, teaching them how to eat and enjoy more vegetable heavy meals and coaching them towards making a transition to a plant-based diet.

It’s moving when my clients, friends and family go out of their way to tell me that they enjoyed a meatless meal, always starting with “you’ll be so proud.” And I am. It makes me feel the work I’m doing is paying off.

It is the continued work that Donald Watson started almost 70 years ago when he founded the Vegan Society. 

It is the work we celebrate throughout the month of November as we encourage others to take the Vegan Pledge for the full 30 days, a week, or even just a day.

As always, I’m here to support you with coaching, teaching and personal chef services and, of course, free recipes!