The First Vegan: Who Started This Plant-Based Diet Craze?

The concept of veganism, or flesh-avoidance, can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. The term vegan, however, was coined much more recently, in 1944, by carpenter Donald Watson and his wife Dorothy Morgan. The word is based on the first three and last two letters of vegetarian and was intended to differentiate veganism from vegetarianism, which rejects the consumption of meat but accepts the consumption of other animal products, such as milk, dairy, and eggs.

The origins of veganism

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods. It is also associated with a philosophy that rejects the commodification of animals. The foundations of veganism include ethical, moral, environmental, health, and humanitarian arguments.

The concept of flesh-avoidance can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. Vegetarianism is first mentioned by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos around 500 BCE. In addition to his theorem about right triangles, Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species, including humans. Followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism also advocated vegetarianism, believing that humans should not inflict pain on other animals.

The meatless lifestyle never really caught on in the West, although it would sometimes pop up during health crazes and religious revivals. The Ephrata Cloister, a strict religious sect founded in 1732 in Pennsylvania, advocated vegetarianism, as well as celibacy. The 18th-century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham believed that animal suffering was just as serious as human suffering and likened the idea of human superiority to racism.

The first vegetarian society was formed in 1847 in England. Three years later, Rev. Sylvester Graham, the inventor of Graham crackers, co-founded the American Vegetarian Society.

In November 1944, a British carpenter named Donald Watson, along with five other non-dairy vegetarians, including Elsie Shrigley, decided to create a new term called "vegan" to describe people who did not consume dairy or eggs. Tuberculosis had been found in 40% of Britain's dairy cows the year before, and Watson used this to his advantage, claiming that it proved the vegan lifestyle protected people from tainted food. The word "vegan" was derived from the first three and last two letters of the word "vegetarian", marking, in Watson's words, "the beginning and end of vegetarian".

The Vegan Society was founded in November 1944, and since then, veganism has grown into a global movement. World Vegan Day is celebrated on November 1st, commemorating the founding of the Vegan Society. Today, veganism is not just about diet but also about rejecting the use of animals for any purpose, including food, clothing, toiletries, entertainment, and labour.

The invention of the word 'vegan'

The word "vegan" was invented in 1944 by carpenter Donald Watson, with a suggestion from his future wife, schoolteacher Dorothy Morgan. The word is based on the first three and last two letters of "vegetarian" because it marked, in Watson's words, "the beginning and end of vegetarian".

Watson, who lived to be 95 years old, decided to become a vegan after witnessing the slaughter of a pig on his uncle's farm when he was 14 years old. He later realized that other people shared his interest in a plant-only diet and, in November 1944, called a meeting with five other non-dairy vegetarians to discuss non-dairy vegetarian diets and lifestyles.

The group felt a new word was needed to describe them, something more concise than "non-dairy vegetarians". Rejected words included "dairyban", "vitan", and "benevore". They settled on "vegan", which was first published independently in 1962 by the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, defined as "a vegetarian who eats no butter, eggs, cheese, or milk".

The first vegans

The concept of flesh-avoidance can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. The term "vegan", however, was coined much more recently, in 1944 by carpenter Donald Watson and his wife Dorothy Morgan.

Watson, who lived to the age of 95, decided to give up meat after witnessing a terrified pig being slaughtered on his family farm when he was 14 years old. He eventually gave up dairy too when he realised that others shared his interest in a plant-only diet.

In November 1944, Watson called a meeting with five other non-dairy vegetarians, including Elsie Shrigley, to discuss non-dairy vegetarian diets and lifestyles. These six pioneers were the first to actively found a new movement, despite opposition. They felt a new word was required to describe them—something more concise than "non-dairy vegetarians". Rejected words included “dairyban”, “vitan”, and “benevore”. They settled on "vegan", a word that Watson later described as containing the first three and last two letters of "vegetarian", marking “the beginning and end of vegetarian”.

The first edition of The Vegan News attracted more than 100 letters, including one from George Bernard Shaw, who resolved to give up eggs and dairy. The Vegan Society held its first meeting in early November 1944 at the Attic Club, 144 High Holborn, London. In attendance were Donald Watson, Elsie B. Shrigley, Fay K. Henderson, Alfred Hy Haffenden, Paul Spencer, and Bernard Drake, with Mme Pataleewa (Barbara Moore, a Russian-British engineer) observing.

World Vegan Day is held every 1 November to mark the founding of the Society, and the Society considers November World Vegan Month.

The creation of the Vegan Society

The Vegan Society, the oldest vegan organisation in the world, was founded in the United Kingdom in November 1944 by Donald Watson, Elsie Shrigley, George Henderson, his wife Fay Henderson, and others.

In December 1943, Watson, then secretary of the Leicester Vegetarian Society, gave a talk to the Vegetarian Society on the use of dairy products. A summary of his talk was published in the society's journal, The Vegetarian Messenger, in March 1944. A few months later, Watson and Shrigley requested to form a subgroup of non-dairy vegetarians within the Vegetarian Society. When this request was denied, Watson, Shrigley, the Hendersons, and others met at the Attic Club in Holborn, London, in November 1944 to discuss the formation of a new society.

The group felt that a new word was needed to describe their diet and lifestyle, something more concise than 'non-dairy vegetarians'. Rejected words included 'dairyban', 'vitan', and 'benevore'. They eventually settled on the term 'vegan', coined by Watson, which he derived from the word 'vegetarian' by taking its first three letters and its last two letters. Watson himself described it as "the beginning and end of vegetarian". The Hendersons, however, were credited by Watson with originating the idea for the word, as they had suggested the name 'Allvega' with 'Allvegan' as the title of his magazine.

The Vegan Society published their manifesto in November 1944, which included two aims:

• 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.
• To encourage the manufacture and use of alternatives to animal commodities.

The society was first registered as a charity in August 1964 and its assets were later transferred to a new charity when it also became a limited company in December 1979. The definition of veganism and the charitable objects of the society were amended and refined over the years.

The founding of the society is celebrated annually on 1 November, World Vegan Day, which was established in 1994 by then-president and chairperson Louise Wallis.

The history of veganism in ancient societies

The concept of veganism, or flesh-avoidance, can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India, especially among Hindus and Jains. Vegetarianism was also mentioned by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos around 500 BCE. Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species, including humans, and believed that killing and eating non-human animals sullied the soul and prevented union with a higher form of reality. Followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism also advocated vegetarianism, believing that humans should not inflict pain on other animals.

The meatless lifestyle never really caught on in the West, although it would sometimes pop up during health crazes and religious revivals. The Ephrata Cloister, a strict religious sect founded in 1732 in Pennsylvania, advocated vegetarianism—as well as celibacy. The 18th-century utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham believed that animal suffering was just as serious as human suffering and likened the idea of human superiority to racism.

The first vegetarian society was formed in 1847 in England, and three years later, the American Vegetarian Society was co-founded by Rev. Sylvester Graham, the inventor of Graham crackers. In November 1944, a British woodworker named Donald Watson announced that because vegetarians ate dairy and eggs, he was going to create a new term called "vegan" to describe people who did not. Watson is thus credited with coining the term "vegan" in 1944, although evidence of people choosing to avoid animal products can be traced back over 2,000 years.

The ancient Greeks referred to vegetarianism as "abstinence from beings with a soul". The earliest reliable evidence for vegetarian theory and practice in Greece dates from the 6th century BCE, with the religious movement Orphism, which may have practised vegetarianism. It is unclear whether Pythagoras advocated vegetarianism, but later writers presented him as prohibiting meat altogether.

The ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi is also said to have been vegetarian, and the ancient Chinese diet included tofu, which was created sometime between 206 BCE and 232 BCE during the Han dynasty.

In ancient Egypt from 1380–1362 BCE, Akhenaten, known as "the heretic king", was an Egyptian Pharaoh and pacifist who banned animal sacrifice and traditional Egyptian religion and instituted a religion based on compassion and monotheism.

In ancient Greece during Classical antiquity, the vegetarian diet was called "abstinence from beings with a soul". As a principle or deliberate way of life, it was always limited to a small number of practitioners belonging to specific philosophical schools or certain religious groups.

The ancient Indian diet was also largely vegetarian, with Brahmins, the priests of the highest caste, often adhering to vegetarian diets guided by the Sattva philosophy.

In conclusion, while the term "vegan" is modern, the concept of flesh-avoidance and vegetarianism has a long history in ancient societies, particularly in India, Greece, and Egypt.

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