The Vegan Society
British charity

The Vegan Society
FoundedNovember 1944; 79 years ago (1944-11)
Founders
TypeCharity
FocusPromoting veganism
Location
Area served
International
MethodInformation, support, campaigns
Members
7,727 in 2022[1]: 19 
CEO
Steve Hamon
Employees
68 full-time equivalents in 2022[1]: 4 
Volunteers
40[1]: 5 
Websitevegansociety.com
Vegan Trademark for the labelling of vegan products
The Vegan Trademark is a registered trademark that registers products as vegan.
Effective regionUnited Kingdom
Effective since27 February 1990
Legal statusRecognised by consumers
Websitevegansociety.com

The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan organization in the world, founded in the United Kingdom in 1944 by Donald Watson, Elsie Shrigley, George Henderson and his wife Fay Henderson among others.[2]

History

In November 1944, Donald Watson, secretary of the Leicester Vegetarian Society, who identified as a non-dairy vegetarian, started a newsletter called The Vegan News, sub-titled "Quarterly Magazine of the Non-Dairy Vegetarians".[3][4] Watson coined the term vegan to describe a vegetarian diet devoid of all animal-derived ingredients such as dairy and eggs. He derived the term from the word vegetarian by taking its first three letters and its last two letters because "veganism starts with vegetarianism and carries it through to its logical conclusion".[5][6] However, Watson credited founding members G. A. Henderson and his wife Fay K. Henderson as originating the idea of the word vegan as they had suggested the name 'Allvega' with 'Allvegan' to be used as the title of his magazine. It was from this that the term vegan was taken by Watson.[7]

Watson had given a talk to the Vegetarian Society on the use of dairy products in December 1943 and a summary was published in their journal,The Vegetarian Messenger in March 1944.[7] A few months later Watson and Shrigley requested to form a sub-group of non-dairy vegetarians within the Vegetarian Society. There were arguments from vegetarians against the formation of a non-dairy group within its organization.[4] It was considered but its trustees felt that its inclusion might not be comfortable for its vegetarian membership and it was suggested that the non-dairy vegetarians should form their own society.[7] In November 1944, Watson, Elsie Shrigley, the Henderson's and others met at the Attic Club in Holborn, London to discuss the formation of The Vegan Society. According to Shrigley, the day of the founding meeting was "a Sunday, with sunshine and a blue sky – an auspicious day for the birth of an idealistic movement".[6][7] During the same month, The Vegan Society published their manifesto with two aims:

1. To advocate that man's food should be derived from fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains and other wholesome non-animal products and that it should exclude flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, and animal's milk, butter, and cheese.

2. To encourage the manufacture and use of alternatives to animal commodities.[6]

When The Vegan Society was being formed, Watson's newsletter was sent to 500 readers, and its successor, The Vegan first published in 1946, ran to a thousand copies.[4]

Vegan Eatwell Guide

The Vegan Society has produced a Vegan Eatwell Guide adapted from the Public Health England's Eatwell Guide under terms of the Open Government Licence.[8] The guide includes a pictorial representation of a balanced vegan diet emphasising the consumption of fruits, legumes, vegetables and whole grains. It includes the use of fortified foods and supplementation.[9][10]

Definition

In 1945, Watson and committee members of The Vegan Society defined veganism as "the practice of living on fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, and other wholesome non-animal products". Writing in 1947, Fay K. Henderson commented that

There has been much conjecture as to the origin of the word VEGAN and its meaning. It is therefore interesting to realise that in the first instance it was an attempt to get beyond the rather negative phrase "non-dairy vegetarian" which was originally applied to the founders of The Vegan Society. The word indicates an all vegetable base and is a restricted form of vegetarian, being both the beginning and the end yet implying hopefully that what starts as vegetarian may finish as vegan.[11]

The definition of veganism was amended over the years into an ethical philosophy.[12] In 1951, Leslie Cross an animal rights activist and Vice-President of The Vegan Society commented that "The object of the Society shall be to end the exploitation of animals by man"; and 'The word veganism shall mean the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals".[13]

The Vegan Society currently defines veganism as "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 humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."[14]

Activities

  • Information – The Vegan Society provides information on all aspects of vegan living on their website, from their nutritional pages such as Vitamin B12: the key facts to the how and why of going vegan, to lifestyle articles and blogs. Their 30 Day Vegan Pledge has been running since 2008, each day providing a recipe, tips, and advice on going vegan.[15][16] The Vegan Society also offer tools for activists such as free leaflets and advice on effective outreach.
  • Campaigns – The Vegan Society campaigns on multiple issues. Current[date missing] campaigns involve improving hospital catering and their 'Grow Green' campaign, whereby farmers are incentivized to move from animal farming towards plant protein crops.
  • Support – The Vegan Society provides support via its UK network of local contacts as well as a free email-in service.
  • Vegan Trademark – the label ensures all products and its derivatives are free from animal ingredients and testing. The Vegan Society defines 'animal' as all vertebrates and invertebrates, meaning its policy does not allow testing on insects, water fleas or any other creature.[17]
  • The Vegan – the charity publishes a quarterly magazine sent free to members.
  • Since June 2020, The Vegan Society has a podcast, called The Vegan Pod.[18]

World Vegan Day

The founding of the society is celebrated annually on 1 November, World Vegan Day. The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, the then president and chairperson;[19] however, the actual date of founding was on 5 November 1944.[20]

Controversy

In 2021, complaints were made against Eshe Kiama Zuri, former vice-chairperson of The Vegan Society, who made a series of controversial posts deemed offensive and racist on social media.[21][22] In response, Zuri accused other members of The Vegan Society of being racist. Zuri, who describes themself as disabled and non-gendered, argued that although veganism was coined by a white man it had been built on indigenous and non-western ancestral traditions in Africa and Asia. She argued that this was not being acknowledged by its members, and that they had been "forced out" of the Society by a smear campaign.[21][22]

The Vegan Society commissioned Ijeoma Omambala, QC, to investigate such claims. Omanbala in her report found that the complainants did not present any evidence to support the alleged claims of racism but that some of Zuri's posts had been unprofessional and inappropriate and noted that Zuri had been misgendered in meetings at the Society.[21][22] Zuri and four other trustees resigned prior to the completion of mediation.[21][22] The Vegan Society have published a summary of Omambala's report on their website and have released a public statement claiming "as with many charities, The Vegan Society has a number of challenges that we must address as we evolve into an even more diverse and inclusive organisation."[23][24]

Movement for Compassionate Living

A breakaway group from The Vegan Society, the Movement for Compassionate Living, was founded in 1984 by the former Vegan Society secretary Kathleen Jannaway and her husband Jack.[25][26]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2022". Charity Commission for England and Wales. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Interview with Donald Watson – Vegan Founder". Foods for Life. 15 December 2002. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Organisation of the Group" (PDF). The Vegan News. 1: 1–4. 1944.
  4. ^ a b c Leneman, Leah (1999). "No Animal Food: The Road to Veganism in Britain, 1909-1944" (PDF). Society & Animals. 7 (3): 219–228. doi:10.1163/156853099X00095.
  5. ^ Stepaniak, Joanne. (2000). The Vegan Sourcebook. McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 2-4. ISBN 9780071392211
  6. ^ a b c Preece, Rod. (2008). Sins of the Flesh: A History of Ethical Vegetarian Thought. UBC Press. pp. 298-299. ISBN 978-0-7748-1509-3
  7. ^ a b c d "Ripened by human determination. 70 years of The Vegan Society" (PDF). The Vegan Society. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  8. ^ "The Vegan Eatwell Guide". vegansociety.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Introducing the Vegan Eatwell Guide". bda.uk.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  10. ^ "All things veganuary!". shsc.nhs.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  11. ^ The Vegetarian, issue 4, Winter 1947 [1]
  12. ^ "History". vegansociety.com.
  13. ^ "Veganism Defined". ivu.org. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Definition of veganism". vegansociety.com.
  15. ^ "Veganism: How a maligned movement went mainstream". BBC News. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  16. ^ "What Is the Vegan Society Organization?". The Manual. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Vegan Trademark standards". The Vegan Society. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  18. ^ "The Vegan Society launches new podcast – The Vegan Pod!". The Vegan Society. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
  19. ^ "A Cruelty Free Vegan-Friendly Rock N' Roll Website". Save A Scream. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  20. ^ Calvert, Samantha (31 October 2014). "Ripened by human determination: 70 years of The Vegan Society" (PDF). The Vegan Society. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  21. ^ a b c d Ames, Jonathan. (2021). "Trustees quit Vegan Society after claims of racism at the top". The Times. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d Bird, Steve; Hope, Christopher. (2021). "Five trustees quit Vegan Society as one labels it 'not a safe place for young, black, queer or any other marginalised people'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  23. ^ "The Vegan Society Investigation Report Executive Summary". The Vegan Society. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Statement following trustee resignations". The Vegan Society. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  25. ^ Mather, Harry; Horne, Malcolm (Spring 2003). "Kathleen Jannaway 1915–2003: A Life Well Lived" (PDF). Vegan Views. No. 96. p. 11. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Kathleen Jannaway, 1915 – 2003". The Vegan Society. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012.
  • Official website
  • First issue of "The Vegan News", the Vegan Society newsletter November 1944, Published and written by Donald Watson. Accessed August 2021
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