World Vegan Day: A Brief World History of Veganism

World Vegan Day doesn’t exactly feel like most of the other festive days. Friends, family, and society at large don’t send us celebratory messages thanking us for being vegan. World Vegan Day is for vegans created by vegans, and there is no prescribed way on how to celebrate World Vegan Day. Some of us will use it as an opportunity to raise awareness of veganism by sharing something relatable on our social media, doing street outreach or organizing a vegan event, or we will simply hang out with our vegan peers and do a vegan picnic. It’s really up to us what we do on our annual day.

If you’re wondering what historic event took place on November 1 that has us celebrate World Vegan Day worldwide, the answer is - not much. In 1994, Louise Wallis, chair of The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom, set the date to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Vegan Society UK and the invention of the term vegan. They knew that the organization had been officially founded in November of the year 1944 but weren’t sure about the exact date, so the 1st it was, ironically coinciding with celebrations for Halloween and the Day of the Dead. 

So in a way, we are celebrating the birth of The Vegan Society of the United Kingdom and the coining of the word vegan by Englishman Donald Watson. There is no doubt that both the organization and the man have been incredibly influential in popularizing veganism worldwide, however, one must ask, are we erasing the long and ancient history of veganism and animal rights by equating the founding of The Vegan Society UK with the birth of veganism? Our movement largely ignores any historical evidence of abstinence from animal products prior to 1944, and World Vegan Day doesn't really tackle this issue; in fact, it potentially reinforces it. To many of us, it is not that surprising that we center our movement around white folks. We tend to do that, don't we?

People worldwide, particularly outside of the Global North, have been practicing veganism for many centuries. We don't know much about that part of our movement because history is often interpreted and narrated by the Global North itself. The examination of ancient and indigenous practices is called anthropology and their co-optation innovation. Unsurprisingly, the reference point for many historical practices is usually set at its introduction to the West. In reality, however, the history of plant-based living does not belong to Western countries. The vegan lifestyle isn't a Western concept and has been present in many areas around the world for thousands of years. Its' history is complex and difficult to trace, but there is no doubt that both animal rights and the abstinence from animal products have their roots in the Global South.

The earliest record of abstinence from animal flesh and the idea that humans should not inflict pain on other animals dates back to 5th Century BC India. Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism generally share the idea that all living beings are part of divine energy, and none shall be harmed. Meat alternatives aren't new either; tofu has been consumed in China for more than 2,000 years. Ancient Greek philosophy is full of references to animal well-being. The famous Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos, who lived around 500 BC, is known to have abstained from animal flesh. He asserted that eating animals was unnecessary, and therefore immoral. Pythagoras promoted peace among all species, including animals, and advocated that all living beings have souls and the capacity to suffer. One of the earliest pieces of concrete evidence we have of a passionate and ethical vegan comes from Syria. Abu al-'Ala' al-Ma'arri, born in 973 AD, was an Arab philosopher, poet, and writer. Known as a fearless freethinker, al-Ma'arri was a controversial and radical advocate for animals. He famously wrote a poem that echoes the contemporary vegan discourse:

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, not noble ladies.

And do not grieve the unsuspecting birds by taking eggs;

for injustice is the worst of crimes.

And spare the honey which the bees get industriously

from the flowers of fragrant plants;

For they did not store it that it might belong to others,

Nor did they gather it for bounty and gifts.

I washed my hands of all this; and wish that I

Perceived my way before my hair went gray.”

Fast forward to the 20th century, and long before veganism hit the mainstream, Rastafarianism, a religious and social movement that originated in Jamaica in the 1930s, advocates for a lifestyle that resists systems of oppression and rejects animal products. The Rastafarian diet is also known as Ital and can be considered a primarily plant-based diet variation. Ital prohibits eggs, dairy products, and most types of animal flesh. Then there is Dimona, known as the Village of Peace, a religious community of 3,000 African Hebrew Israelites who have been eating fully plant-based for the last 50 years. They are an important factor in popularizing veganism in Israel and demonstrate that a fully vegan village is not a utopian idea. Interestingly, the community even opened its own factory, called Teva Deli, and produces successful vegan alternatives. Domino’s Pizza first used Teva Deli’s vegan cheese back in 2013.

Black veganism isn’t new either. To associate veganism with whiteness disregards Black culture and its heritage. Black people have been eating and cooking predominantly plant-based for generations. Ask older generations, and they’ll probably tell you that real food is whole food coming straight from the field. Neither the health care system nor the food system of the Global North have been designed with marginalized folks in mind; we’ve always been wary of what those systems try to sell us, but many of us ain’t buying it. That’s precisely why African-Americans are more likely to be vegan than other Americans and are the fastest-growing vegan population in the country. Products of historically white and colonial structures? No, thank you!

The MOVE organization was founded in 1972. This anarcho-primitivist, anti-racist, revolutionary vegan commune was literally bombed by the police resulting in the destruction of 65 buildings and the death of six members and five of their children. We barely talk about and remember MOVE. Why?

Mainstream veganism is centered around whiteness, with its current and biggest influencers being white dudes who will rarely engage in conversations about racism, diversity, and social and political inequalities. Social and political movements have always been led by those most marginalized by supremacy. Yet, mainstream veganism is neither adequately connected to the larger social picture nor is it aware of its own scope and roots. Let us celebrate World Vegan Day with a vision that goes beyond the coining of the term vegan, learn about the history of our own movement, acknowledge its roots in the Global South, and advocate for animals as a global and collective force that knows no borders, neither geographically nor historically. Let us come together to do the work necessary to center the voices who have been ignored and ostracized by our movement and uplift the pioneers of historic and radical social change.

Ayse Deniz Kavur