The History of Veganism

Veganism, the practice of refraining from involving animal products and otherwise from one's diet and overall lifestyle, has grown significantly as time progresses. As important as understanding why it’s growing is, it is also important to understand its history and how it came to be, which is exactly what we’ll be exploring in today's article. Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, had been the first to mention the idea of veganism, stating that he believed in compassion amongst more than just humans. Furthermore, it was said he advocated that pain should not be inflicted on animals, ideas backed up by many societies at the time. Although Pythagoras had been likely one of the first links to veganism in general, some of the more modern and prominent history of veganism goes back to 1847; the formation of the first ever vegetarian society in England. Although it wouldn’t be known as a vegan society, until nearly a decade later, the vegetarian society had allowed for veganism to develop and allowed for people to better understand and practice vegetarianism. In 1944 however, Donald Watson had publicized the creation of the term “vegan”, where unlike with vegetarians who would eat dairy and other exceptions, the new term described those who did not eat any of the exceptions. Now, hundreds, if not thousands, of companies practice vegan friendly methods, along with an increase in product registrations as time progresses.