The Vegan Society

The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan society in the world, founded in the United Kingdom in November 1944 by Donald Watson and his wife, Dorothy, along with four friends - Elsie Shrigley, Mr G. A. Henderson and his wife Fay K. Henderson among them.[3][4]

The Vegan Society
Motto"Promoting ways of living free from animal products for the benefit of people, animals and the environment."
FoundedNovember 1944 (1944-11)
FounderDonald Watson
TypeCharity
Registration no.279228
FocusVeganism
Location
Area served
International
MethodInformation, support, campaigns
Members
4,000 (in 1988[1] and 2005)[2]
CEO
George Gill
Key people
Donald Watson
Websitewww.vegansociety.com
Vegan Trademark for the labelling of vegan products
The Vegan Trademark is a registered trademark that registers products as vegan.
Effective region United Kingdom
Effective since27 February 1990 (1990-02-27)
Legal statusRecognised by consumers
Websitewww.vegansociety.com/vegan-trademark

Watson coined the word "vegan" to stand for "non-dairy vegetarians" who also ate no eggs.[4] The founding of The Vegan Society is celebrated annually on 1 November, World Vegan Day. The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, the then President and Chair.[5] However, the founding of The Vegan Society is thought to have been either 5 or 12 November 1944.[6]

The Society now 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."[7]

Origins

Vegans separated from the London Vegetarian Society and founded the Vegan Society in 1944 because the former group refused to support veganism, which they saw as extreme and antisocial.[8]:4 The word 'vegan' was coined that year by Donald Watson from the first three and last three letters of 'vegetarian'.[8]:4

The founding of the Vegan Society is celebrated annually on 1 November, World Vegan Day. The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, the Society’s then President and Chair.[5] However, the founding of The Vegan Society is actually thought to have been either 5 or 12 November 1944.[6] It was founded in Leicester by Donald Watson and his wife, Dorothy, along with four friends - Elsie Shrigley, Mr G. A. Henderson and his wife Fay K. Henderson among them.[9]

In November 1944 the then-new Vegan Society held its first meeting, at the Attic Club, 144 High Holborn, London. Those in attendance were Donald Watson, Elsie B. Shrigley, Fay K. Henderson, Alfred Hy Haffenden, Paul Spencer and Bernard Drake, with Barbara Moore observing.[10]

Donald Watson and the group launched the first edition of the Society's quarterly newsletter, The Vegan News, in the same year.[11] He ran the publication single-handed for two years, writing and duplicating the newsletter, and responding to the increasing volume of correspondence.[12]

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. The Vegan Society also offer tools for activists such as free leaflets, as well as advice on effective outreach.
  • Campaigns – The Vegan Society campaigns on various issues. Current 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.
  • Registers vegan products with its Vegan Trademark – ensures all products and its derivatives that are registered are free from animal ingredients and testing. The Vegan Society defines 'animal' as all vertebrates and invertebrates, meaning its animal testing policy does not exclude insects, water fleas or any other creature.[13]
  • Since June 2020, The Vegan Society has a podcast, called The Vegan Pod.[14]
  • Publishes The Vegan – a quarterly magazine sent free to members.

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.[15][16][17]

See also

References
  1. Debra Blake Weisenthal, Powers in the Western world. How do they match up to one other?. Vegetarian Times, December 1988, pp25. Seen on 10 March 2015
  2. "Health | Obituary: Donald Watson". BBC News. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  3. "Interview with Donald Watson - Vegan Founder". Foods for Life. 15 December 2002. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  4. "Vegetarians in Paradise/Donald Watson/Vegan Society/24 Carrot Vegetarian Award". Vegparadise.com. 11 August 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  5. "A Cruelty Free Vegan-Friendly Rock N' Roll Website". Save A Scream. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  6. Calvert, Samantha (31 October 2014). "Ripened by human determination: 70 years of The Vegan Society" (PDF). The Vegan Society. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  7. "Definition of veganism". vegansociety.com.
  8. Laura Wright (2015). The Vegan Studies Project: Food, Animals, and Gender in the Age of Terror. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-4856-8.
  9. "Donald Watson - Vegan Society Founder". Foodsforlife.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  10. Richard Farhall, "The First Fifty Years: 1944–1994", iii (full names of members on following pages), published with The Vegan, 10(3), Autumn 1994, between pp. 12 and 13.
  11. "Obituary: Donald Watson". BBC News. 18 November 2005.
  12. "Donald Watson - Vegan Society Founder". Foodsforlife.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  13. "Vegan Trademark standards". The Vegan Society. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  14. "The Vegan Society launches new podcast – The Vegan Pod!". The Vegan Society. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
  15. "Vegan Views 96 – Kathleen Jannaway 1915–2003: A Life Well Lived". Veganviews.org.uk. 26 January 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  16. Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  17. Kathleen Jannaway 1915-2003: A Life Well Lived Harry Mather & Malcolm Horne., Vegan Views 96 (Spring 2003)
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