World Vegan Day

World Vegan Day takes place every year globally on the 1st of November, it aims to celebrate all of the positives of a vegan lifestyle. For example, the positive impacts on the environment, biodiversity, animal welfare etc. Celebrations include hosting stalls, planting trees and other similar activities with the goal of commemorate how far veganism as a movement has progressed as a lifestyle and as a political statement of intent.

What is Veganism?

Although many of you will be aware of what veganism is as a concept it is important to define it as it was originally intended. The most widespread definition highlights that veganism is a lifestyle which seeks to exclude, where possible, any form of exploitation and cruelty to animals whether that is for clothing, food of for any other means and in doing so limit negative implications for animals, humans and the natural world. Although, definitions have been moulded through politics to encompass different ideologies and perspectives, for example reasons for going vegan may stem from a desire to contribute less to greenhouse gas emissions or may be solely an issue of morality.

History of World Vegan Day

The beginning of World Vegan Day started in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vegan society. The vegan society was first conceived as an outlet from which the rising vegan movement could be concentrated, the society aims to educate the world about the benefits of veganism, help people maintain a vegan diet, protect the rights of vegans. They also do important work in agriculture, often meeting with policy makers to discuss developments in sustainable agricultural practices. The founder of the annual event Louise Wallis originally chose the 1st of November because of the clash with the celebrations of Samhain/Halloween which she felt represented times of celebration. The day itself is described as a day of action which serves the higher purpose of opening a dialogue between different ideologies when it comes to consumer behaviour emphasising the value of vegetable based foods. The vegan society provides a more in depth look into what they do and their values here.

How to celebrate

There are many ways people choose to celebrate World Vegan Day, the focus is primarily on the coming together of people who are open to make positive changes to their lifestyles. For example, some people will bake vegan cakes, try new vegan foods, share recipes with friends or family etc. It does not necessarily have to be something you celebrate openly, but can be something you use to set milestones, plan goals or just educate yourself on something which you perhaps aren’t that knowledgeable about. Overall, the day is there for you to celebrate in any way that you please even if you have been a vegan for many years or are purely interested in learning more.

Hopefully this article has provided you will a good insight into what World Vegan Day is, what it means and how you can celebrate it!