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Veganism

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals.[c] A person who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan.

"Vegan" redirects here. For other uses, see Vegan (disambiguation). For notable vegans, see List of vegans.

Veganism

Avoiding the use of animal products, particularly in diet

Dorothy Morgan and Donald Watson (November 1944)[3][4]

Distinctions may be made between several categories of veganism. Dietary vegans, also known as "strict vegetarians", refrain from consuming meat, eggs, dairy products, and any other animal-derived substances.[d] An ethical vegan is someone who not only excludes animal products from their diet but also tries to avoid using animals,[19] animal products,[e] and animal-tested products[22] when practical.[23] Another term is "environmental veganism", which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the grounds that the industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.[24] Another motivation for veganism is concern about animal welfare.


Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and phytochemicals, and lower in dietary energy, saturated fat, cholesterol, omega-3 fatty acid, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.[f] As a result of the elimination of all animal products, a poorly planned vegan diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies that counteract its beneficial effects and cause serious health issues,[25][26][27] some of which can only be prevented with fortified foods or dietary supplements.[25][28] Vitamin B12 supplementation is important because its deficiency can cause blood disorders and potentially irreversible neurological damage; this danger is also one of the most common in poorly planned non-vegan diets.[27][29][30]


The word vegan was coined by Donald Watson and his later wife Dorothy Morgan in 1944.[3][31] Interest in veganism increased significantly in the 2010s.

Increasing interest

Alternative food movements

In the 1960s and 1970s, a vegetarian food movement emerged as part of the counterculture in the United States that focused on concerns about diet, the environment, and a distrust of food producers, leading to increasing interest in organic gardening.[92][93] One of the most influential vegetarian books of that time was Frances Moore Lappé's 1971 Diet for a Small Planet.[94] It sold more than three million copies and suggested "getting off the top of the food chain".[95]


The following decades saw research by a group of scientists and doctors in the U.S., including Dean Ornish, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal D. Barnard, John A. McDougall, Michael Greger, and biochemist T. Colin Campbell, who argued that diets based on animal fat and animal protein, such as the Western pattern diet, were unhealthy.[96] They produced a series of books that recommend vegan or vegetarian diets, including McDougall's The McDougall Plan (1983), John Robbins's Diet for a New America (1987), which associated meat eating with environmental damage, and Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease (1990).[97] In 2003 two major North American dietitians' associations indicated that well-planned vegan diets were suitable for all life stages.[98][99] This was followed by the film Earthlings (2005), Campbell's The China Study (2005), Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's Skinny Bitch (2005), Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals (2009), and the film Forks over Knives (2011).[100]


In the 1980s, veganism became associated with punk subculture and ideologies, particularly straight edge hardcore punk in the U.S.[101] and anarcho-punk in the United Kingdom.[102] This association continues into the 21st century, as evidenced by the prominence of vegan punk events such as Fluff Fest in Europe.[103][104]

 : Australians topped Google's worldwide searches for the word "vegan" between mid-2015 and mid-2016.[134] A Euromonitor International study concluded the market for packaged vegan food in Australia would rise 9.6% per year between 2015 and 2020, making Australia the third-fastest growing vegan market behind China and the United Arab Emirates.[122][124]

Australia

 : In 2013, Kurier estimated that 0.5 percent of Austrians practised veganism, and in the capital, Vienna, 0.7 percent.[135]

Austria

 : A 2016 iVOX online study found that out of 1000 Dutch-speaking residents of Flanders and Brussels of 18 years and over, 0.3 percent were vegan.[136]

Belgium

 : According to research by IBOPE Inteligência published in April 2018, 14% of Brazilians, or about 30 million people, considered themselves vegetarians, 7 million of them vegans.[137][138]

Brazil

 : In 2018, one survey estimated that 2.1 percent of adult Canadians considered themselves as vegans.[139]

Canada

 : A government-commissioned survey indicates that as of 2021, 2% of German residents follow a vegan diet.[j][140]

Germany

 : In the 2005–06 National Health Survey, 1.6% of the surveyed population reported never consuming animal products. Veganism was most common in the states of Gujarat (4.9%) and Maharashtra (4.0%).[141]

India

 : Five percent (approx. 300,000) in Israel said they were vegan in 2014, making it the highest per capita vegan population in the world.[142] A 2015 survey by Globes and Israel's Channel 2 News similarly found 5% of Israelis were vegan.[143] Veganism increased among Israeli Arabs.[144] The Israeli army made special provision for vegan soldiers in 2015, which included providing non-leather boots and wool-free berets.[145] Veganism also simplifies adherence to the Judaic prohibition on combining meat and milk in meals.

Israel

 : Between 0.6 and 3 percent of Italians were reported to be vegan as of 2015.[146]

Italy

 : In 2018, the Dutch Society for Veganism (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Veganisme, NVV) estimated there were more than 100,000 Dutch vegans (0.59 percent), based on their membership growth.[147] In July 2020 the NVV estimated the number of vegans in the Netherlands at 150,000. That is approximately 0.9% of the Dutch population.[148]

Netherlands

 : Followers of the Romanian Orthodox Church keep fast during several periods throughout the ecclesiastical calendar amounting to a majority of the year. In the Romanian Orthodox tradition, devotees abstain from eating any animal products during these times. As a result, vegan foods are abundant in stores and restaurants; however, Romanians may not be familiar with a vegan diet as a full-time lifestyle choice.[149]

Romania

 : Four percent said they were vegan in a 2014 Demoskop poll.[150]

Sweden

  : Market research company DemoSCOPE estimated in 2017 that three percent of the population was vegan.[151]

Switzerland

 : A 2016 Ipsos MORI study commissioned by the Vegan Society, surveying almost 10,000 people aged 15 or over across England, Scotland, and Wales, found that 1.05 percent were vegan; the Vegan Society estimates that 542,000 in the UK follow a vegan diet.[152] According to a 2018 survey by Comparethemarket.com, the number of people who identify as vegans in the United Kingdom has risen to over 3.5 million, which is approximately seven percent of the population, and environmental concerns were a major factor in this development.[153] However, doubt was cast on this inflated figure by the UK-based Vegan Society, who perform their own regular survey: the Vegan Society themselves found in 2018 that there were 600,000 vegans in Great Britain (1.16%), which was seen as a dramatic increase on previous figures.[154][155] YouGov reported 3% vegans in 2021.[156]

United Kingdom

 : Past estimates of vegans in the U.S. varied from 2% (Gallup, 2012)[157] to 0.5% (Faunalytics, 2014).[158] According to the latter, 70% of those who adopted a vegan diet abandoned it.[158] But Top Trends in Prepared Foods 2017, a report by GlobalData, estimated that "6% of US consumers now claim to be vegan, up from just 1% in 2014."[159] In 2020, YouGov published results of 2019 research that showed only 2.26% reported being vegan. Nearly 59% of the vegan respondents were female.[160] According to Gallup, black Americans are three times as likely to be vegan and vegetarian as whites as of July 2018 (9% compared to 3%).[161][162]

United States

The city with the most vegan restaurants per resident in 2021 according to data collected from HappyCow was Chiang Mai (Thailand), followed by Ubud (Bali, Indonesia), Phuket (Thailand), Tel Aviv (Israel), and Lisbon (Portugal).[163]

The sometimes provides on-duty staff with food. After not being provided a vegan option in this context, a vegan employee has been granted an additional food allowance.[348]

German police

In , starting in 2017, public administration canteens and cafeterias such as schools, prisons and social services must offer at least one vegan option at every meal.[349]

Portugal

In , a province of Canada, there were reports[350] that ethical veganism became protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code, following a 2015 update to legal guidance by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. However, said body later issued a statement that this question is for a judge or tribunal to decide on a case-by-case basis.[351]

Ontario

In the , an employment tribunal ruled in 2020 that the Equality Act 2010 protects "ethical veganism", a belief it defined as veganism that extends beyond diet to all areas of life and is motivated by a concern for animals.[352][353]

United Kingdom

In some countries, vegans have some rights to meals and legal protections against discrimination.

Ahimsa

al-Ma'arri

Buddhist cuisine

List of diets

List of vegan media

Raw veganism

Sustainable food system

Vegan nutrition

Vegan school meal

Monbiot, George (2022). Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet. London. . ISBN 978-0143135968.

Penguin Books

Williams, Howard (2019). The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh Eating. Czechia. Good Press.  978-9389614305.

ISBN

of The Vegan Society

Official website