some history about veganism
This is for info mainly and was copied from another source all listed below :
Vegan. By: Harmon, Angela, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, 2020
A vegan is a person who does not consume or use any animal products. Vegans differ from vegetarians, who do not eat meat. Vegans practice this way of life for ethical, health, and environmental reasons. Veganism is tied to the animal rights movement. Some people are vegan because they want to exclude all forms of animal cruelty and exploitation from their lives; others follow a vegan diet but still use items made from animal products. World Vegan Day is celebrated on November 1 each year.
Background
Although veganism is a relatively new concept developed during the twentieth century, people have been forgoing the consumption of animals and animal products since ancient times. The avoidance of meat can be traced to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. In about 500 BCE, Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras first promoted a diet free of meat. According to some schools of Buddhism, the Buddha admonished his followers not to eat meat; according to all schools, he preached against killing any living being. Adherents of Jainism believe that pain should not be inflicted on animals, so meat should not be consumed; many schools of Hinduism teach this also.
Soon, many other people began to reject meat and other animal products, such as eggs and dairy items, for ethical reasons. They felt that eating animals and their by-products was wrong. For a long time though, vegetarianism was not popular in Western societies. However, some radical groups promoted meatless ways of life. For example, in 1732, the religious sect known as Ephrata Cloister of Pennsylvania advised its followers to forgo meat and remain celibate. Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham believed that animal suffering was akin to human suffering.
In 1847, a group formed the first vegetarian society in England, the Leicester Vegetarian Society. A few years later, a group of Americans led by the Reverend Sylvester Graham formed the American Vegetarian Society. Then a new type of vegetarian began to emerge. These vegetarians did not consume dairy or eggs. Donald Watson was one of these people and coined the word "vegan" in Great Britain in 1944 as a shortened version (the first three and last two letters) of the word "vegetarian" to describe the new lifestyle. Watson had tossed around other terms to describe this group of vegetarians who rejected the consumption of meat and animal by-products, such as eggs, dairy, and honey, and the use of any items made from animals, including leather and silk. These names to describe non-dairy vegetarians included "dairyban," "vitan," and "benevore," but the term "vegan" stuck. Watson and a few other like-minded individuals broke from the Leicester Vegetarian Society and formed a new vegan organization. The new group called itself the Vegan Society, and in 1979, it became a registered charity.
Overview
The extent of veganism practiced is up to the individual. Some vegans are very strict and do not consume any foods from animals at all, such as meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, dairy items, honey, whey, and gelatin. Every aspect of eating animals and animal by-products—from the cooking process to the refining process—is usually avoided; for example, vegans may not use animal fat for greasing pans or consume cereals made with animal-based glycerin or sugar refined with bone charcoal. They may also avoid foods with animal-derived ingredients such as albumin, casein, carmine, gelatin, lactic acid, pepsin, and shellac. Strict vegans, however, may lack certain nutrients found in meats, such as vitamin B12 and iron, and should consult with their physician to avoid any deficiencies caused by their vegan diets.
In addition, strict vegans forgo any item that is made from an animal. This includes leather, silk, fur, wool, pearls, and ivory—products that are typically used to make clothing, cosmetics, and accessories. Vegans also may be animal rights supporters and avoid patronizing places in which animals are used for entertainment such as circuses and zoos. They may even be against keeping animals as pets.
Other vegans are not as strict. They may follow a vegan diet, which means excluding meat and other animal products, but may still use items made from animal products. For example, they may wear leather boots or pearl earrings. These vegans are known as dietary vegans.
In addition to strict and dietary vegans, other types of vegans exist. Junk-food vegans eat processed vegan foods such as faux meat, non-dairy ice cream, and frozen dinners. Whole-food vegans avoid processed foods and favor whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and legumes. Raw-food vegans eat uncooked fruits and vegetables or those cooked under a certain temperature. Fruitarians are a type of raw-food vegan; they mainly eat fruit.
Further, some vegans of color see veganism not as a single cause in isolation, but rather as intersecting with lack of food access, economic inequality, farm-worker conditions, and cultural reclamation. Additionally, they note vegan advertising has been overwhelmingly white, vegan businesses run by people of color have received less funding, and white vegans have appropriated and profited from their cuisines.
Following a vegan lifestyle limits a person's food choices, but plenty of foods exist that are free of animal products. Many grocery stores carry a variety of vegan products that were once only available at speciality stores. Many restaurants also have begun to offer vegan choices. In addition to fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, common foods eaten by vegans in place of meat include tofu (soybean curd), lentils, beans, seitan (wheat gluten), tempeh (soy), nuts, and seeds. In place of honey and refined sugars, vegans can opt for plant-based sweeteners such as agave, molasses, and maple syrup. Dairy can be replaced with numerous nondairy products such as nut, plant, rice, coconut, and oat milks, vegan cheeses, and egg substitutes. Numerous processed vegan products also exist and include faux meat, chips, crackers, dips, and ice cream.
Many vegans believe that animals have a right to life and should not be used for food or other purposes. These individuals oppose farming practices, medical testing, and animals being used as entertainment. Some people eat a vegan diet for health benefits, to lose weight, and to avoid illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. People who eat a plant-based diet avoid fats, antibiotics, and hormones found in most meat.
Vegans also generally believe that it is better for the environment not to consume meat or other animal products. It takes more nonrenewable resources to raise livestock than plant-based crops. Animal agriculture emits high yields of greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere. It also requires more water than is used for grain and plant crops. Critics have countered that the transportation of imported foods commonly eaten by vegans contributes to carbon emissions; that for people in arid and semiarid regions, animal husbandry is a more practical and efficient means of delivering nutrition; that increasing cropland could have negative impacts on biodiversity; and that veganism does not address food wastage.
As of a 2014 Friends of the Earth report, about 5 percent of people worldwide were practicing vegetarians, with vegans as a subset of that group. A 2018 Gallup poll showed that 5 percent of Americans identified as vegetarians, the same proportion as in 2012; 3 percent identified as vegans, versus 2 percent in 2012. While India continues to boast high numbers of vegetarians because of Hinduism, Israel reportedly had the highest proportion of vegans, at more than 5 percent of the population in 2018. Millennials, celebrities, elite athletes, and popular documentaries have been credited with popularizing veganism, vegetarianism, and flexitarianism (a diet consisting mostly of plants but occasionally including animal products).
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