Portal:Veganism
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
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Introduction
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. A follower of the diet or the philosophy is known as a vegan (/ˈviːɡən/ VEE-gən). Distinctions may be made between several categories of veganism. Dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) refrain from consuming animal products, not only meat but also eggs, dairy products and other animal-derived substances. The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet but extend the philosophy into other areas of their lives, and oppose the use of animals for any purpose. Another term is environmental veganism, which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the premise that the industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.
Some reviews have shown that some people who eat vegan diets have less chronic disease, including heart disease, than people who do not follow a restrictive diet. They are regarded as appropriate for all stages of life including during infancy and pregnancy by the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the British Dietetic Association. The German Society for Nutrition does not recommend vegan diets for children or adolescents, or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. 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, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12. Unbalanced vegan diets may lead to nutritional deficiencies that nullify any beneficial effects and may cause serious health issues. Some of these deficiencies can only be prevented through the choice of fortified foods or the regular intake of dietary supplements. Vitamin B12 supplementation is especially important because its deficiency causes blood disorders and potentially irreversible neurological damage.
Selected general articles
The question of whether it is right to eat non-human animals (henceforth "animals") is among the most prominent topics in food ethics. The most commonly given moral objection to meat-eating is that, for most people living in the developed world, it is not necessary for survival or health; some argue that slaughtering animals solely because people enjoy the taste of meat is wrong and morally unjustifiable.
Ethical vegetarians and ethical vegans may also object to the practices underlying the production of meat, or cite their concerns about animal welfare, animal rights, environmental ethics, and religious reasons. In response, some proponents of meat-eating have adduced various scientific, nutritional, cultural, and religious arguments in support of the practice. Some meat-eaters only object to rearing animals in certain ways, such as in factory farms, or killing them with cruelty; others avoid only certain meats, such as veal or foie gras. Read more...- The Friday Fast is a Christian practice of abstaining from animal meat on Fridays, or holding a fast on Fridays, that is found most frequently in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist traditions. According to Pope Peter of Alexandria, the Friday fast is done in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. Abstinence is colloquially referred to as "fasting" although it does not necessarily involve a reduction in the quantity of food.
In Roman Catholicism, specific regulations are passed by individual episcopates. In the United States in 1966, the USCCB passed Norms II and IV that bound all persons from age fourteen to abstain from meat on Fridays of Lent and through the year. In September 1983, Canons 1252 and 1253 expressed this same rule, and added that Bishops may permit substitution of other penitential practices, but that some form of penance shall be observed on Friday in commemoration of the day of the week of the Lord's Crucifixion. Read more...
Juice fasting, also known as juice cleansing, is a fad diet in which a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juices while abstaining from solid food consumption. It is used for detoxification, an alternative medicine treatment, and is often part of detox diets. The diet can typically last for two to seven days and involve a number of fruits and vegetables and even spices that are not among the juices typically sold or consumed in the average Western diet.
This diet is sometimes promoted with implausible and unsubstantiated claims about its health benefits. Read more...- 23rd Tirthankara, Parshwanatha revived Jainism and ahimsa in 9th century BC, which led to radical animal rights movement in South Asia.
Animal rights is the idea in which some, or all, non-human animals are entitled to the possession of their own lives and that their most basic interests—such as the need to avoid suffering—should be afforded the same consideration as similar interests of human beings.
Its advocates oppose the assignment of moral value and fundamental protections on the basis of species membership alone—an idea known since 1970 as speciesism, when the term was coined by Richard D. Ryder—arguing that it is a prejudice as irrational as any other. They maintain that animals should no longer be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, research subjects, entertainment, or beasts of burden. Multiple cultural traditions around the world such as Jainism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Animism also espouse some forms of animal rights. Read more... - Carnage is a 2017 mockumentary directed by Simon Amstell. Set in the year 2067, when veganism is the norm, the film looks back on meat-eating today. It premiered on BBC iPlayer. Read more...
- Parshwanatha founded Jain vegetarianism in 8th century BC, the strictest and most comprehensive form of vegetarianism.
Vegetarianism has its roots in the civilizations of ancient India and ancient Greece. Vegetarianism is the theory and practice of voluntary non-consumption of the flesh of any animal (including sea animals), with or without also eschewing other animal derivatives (such as dairy products or eggs). The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people concern ancient India and the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece. In both instances, the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals (called ahimsa in India), and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th-6th centuries), vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe. Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or banned the consumption of meat for ascetic reasons, but none of them abstained from the consumption of fish; these monks were not vegetarians, but some were pescetarians. Vegetarianism was to reemerge somewhat in Europe during the Renaissance, and became a more widespread practice during the 19th and 20th centuries. The figures for the percentage of the Western world which is vegetarian varies between 0.5% and 4% per Mintel data in September 2006. Read more...
This is a list of notable people who have adhered to a vegetarian diet at some point during their life. In the cases where a person's vegetarian status is disputed or they no longer adhere to a vegetarian diet, they are categorized as disputed or former. Read more...
Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism or eating a plant-based diet based on the indications that animal-based industries are environmentally destructive or unsustainable. The primary environmental concerns with animal products are pollution—including greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)—deforestation, and the use of resources such as fossil fuels, water, and land. Read more...
Eating Animals is the third book by the American novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, published in 2009. It was written in close collaboration with Farm Forward, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that implements innovative strategies to promote conscientious food choices, reduce farmed animal suffering, and advance sustainable agriculture. A New York Times best-seller, Eating Animals provides a dense discussion of what it means to eat animals in an industrialized world. It was adapted and extended into a 2018 documentary film with the same name, directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn and co-narrated by Foer and Natalie Portman. Read more...- The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan society in the world, founded in the UK in November 1944 by Donald Watson, Elsie "Sally" Shrigley, and 23 others.
Watson coined the word "vegan" to stand for "non-dairy vegetarians" who also ate no eggs. 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. However, the founding of The Vegan Society is thought to have been either 5 or 12 November 1944. Read more...
Jain vegetarianism is practiced by the followers of Jain culture and philosophy. It is one of the most rigorous forms of spiritually motivated diet on the Indian subcontinent and beyond. The Jain cuisine is completely vegetarian and also excludes underground vegetables such as onion, garlic, etc, to prevent injuring small insects and microorganisms; and also to prevent the entire plant getting uprooted and killed. It is practised by Jain ascetics and layman Jains.
Jain objections to the eating of meat, fish and eggs are based on the principle of non-violence (ahimsa, figuratively "non-injuring"). Every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is seen as act of violence (himsa), which creates harmful reaction karma. The aim of ahimsa is to prevent the accumulation of such karma. The extent to which this intention is put into effect varies greatly among Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Jains believe nonviolence is the most essential religious duty for everyone (ahinsā paramo dharmaḥ, a statement often inscribed on Jain temples). It is an indispensable condition for liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, which is the ultimate goal of all Jain activities. Jains share this goal with Hindus and Buddhists, but their approach is particularly rigorous and comprehensive. Their scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities, and especially to food, shapes their entire lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity. A side effect of this strict discipline is the exercise of asceticism, which is strongly encouraged in Jainism for lay people as well as for monks and nuns. Out of the five types of living beings, a householder is forbidden to kill, or destroy, intentionally, all except the lowest (the one sensed, such as vegetables, herbs, cereals, etc., which are endowed with only the sense of touch). Read more...- Diet for a New America is a 1987 bestselling book by John Robbins. The book discusses vegetarianism, the environmental impact of factory farming and animal rights.
In 1991 KCET, the Los Angeles PBS affiliate, produced a film documentary based on the book called Diet for a New America: Your Health, Your Planet. The film is narrated by John Robbins and features interviews with Michael Klaper, T. Colin Campbell, and John A. McDougall. Read more...
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa; (/ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɪˈnoʊ.ə/, from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa) is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a grain crop primarily for its edible seeds. Quinoa is not a grass, but rather a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach and amaranth (Amaranthus spp.).
Quinoa provides protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and dietary minerals in rich amounts above those of wheat, corn, rice, or oats. It is gluten-free. After harvest, the seeds are processed to remove the bitter-tasting outer seed coat. Read more...- Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is a 2010 American documentary film which follows the 60-day journey of Australian Joe Cross across the United States as he follows a juice fast to regain his health under the care of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Nutrition Research Foundation's Director of Research. Cross and Robert Mac, co-creators of the film, both serve on the Nutrition Research Foundation's Advisory Board. Following his fast and the adoption of a plant-based diet, Cross states in a press release that he lost 100 pounds and discontinued all medications.
During his road-trip Cross meets Phil Staples, a morbidly obese truck driver from Sheldon, Iowa, in a truck stop in Arizona and inspires him to try juice fasting.
A sequel to the first film, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2, was released in 2014. Read more... - Fit for Life (FFL) is a diet and lifestyle book series stemming from the principles of orthopathy. It is promoted mainly by the American writers Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. The Fit for Life book series recommends dietary principles including eating only fruit in the morning, eating predominantly "live" and "high-water-content" food, and if eating animal protein to avoid combining it with complex carbohydrates.
While the diet has been praised for encouraging the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables, several other aspects of the diet have been disputed by dietitians and nutritionists, and the American Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians list it as a fad diet. Read more... - The Toronto Vegetarian Association (TVA) is a volunteer-driven, charitable organization based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1945, its mission is to inspire people to choose a healthier, greener, more compassionate lifestyle.
Held every September since 1985 at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, the organization's Annual Vegetarian Food Festival attracts over 40,000 visitors annually and is the largest event of its kind in the world and is credited with having inspired a copycat VegFest movement in the United States, where over 120 such events are scheduled for 2018. The event provides opportunities for visitors to learn about vegetarian issues and to sample vegetarian foods from diverse cuisines. Read more...
Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets.
While a well-planned, balanced vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life, improperly planned vegan diets may be deficient in vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, iron, zinc, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Read more...- Michael A. Klaper (July 19, 1947) is an American physician, vegan health educator and conference and event speaker, and a author of articles and books of vegan medical advice. He advocates rearing children on vegan diets throughhout their entire lifetimes, beginning with the vegan mother's pregnancy. Oncologist David Gorski claims that Klaper is "peddling highly dubious claims... pseudoscience and harmful surgical and cancer advice". Read more...
- Mochi (Japanese: 餅, もち) is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time.
Mochi is a multicomponent food consisting of polysaccharides, lipids, protein and water. Mochi has a heterogeneous structure of amylopectin gel, starch grains, and air bubbles. This rice is characterized by its low level of amylose starch, and is derived from short- or medium-grain japonica rices. The protein concentration of the rice is higher than that of normal short-grain rice, and the two also differ in amylose content. In mochi rice, the amylose content is negligible, and the amylopectin level is high, which results in its gel-like consistency. Read more... - This is a list of vegetarian or vegan organizations. Vegetarian organizations are located in numerous locations and regions around the globe. Their main goal is to promote vegetarianism among the public and to support and link individuals and organizations that practice, promote or endorse vegetarianism.
The biggest vegetarian organization in the world is the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), which acts as a connecting umbrella organization. Read more... - A semi-vegetarian or flexitarian diet is one that is plant-based with the occasional inclusion of meat. In 2003, the American Dialect Society voted flexitarian as the year's most useful word. Read more...
- Diet for a Small Planet is a 1971 bestselling book by Frances Moore Lappé, the first major book to note the environmental impact of meat production as wasteful and a contributor to global food scarcity. She argued for environmental vegetarianism — practicing a vegetarian lifestyle out of concerns over animal-based industries and the production of animal-based products.
The book has sold over three million copies and was groundbreaking for arguing that world hunger is not caused by a lack of food but by ineffective food policy. In addition to information on meat production and its impact on hunger, the book features simple rules for a healthy diet and hundreds of meat-free recipes. "Its mix of recipes and analysis typified radicals' faith in the ability to combine personal therapy with political activism." Read more... - A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is a fad diet fixed on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet attempts to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce animal products, eat locally grown foods that are in season, and consume meals in moderation.
Macrobiotics writers often claim that a macrobiotic diet is helpful for people with cancer and other chronic diseases, although there is no good evidence to support such recommendations, and the diet can be harmful. Studies that indicate positive results are of poor methodological quality. Neither the American Cancer Society nor Cancer Research UK recommend adopting the diet. Suggestions that a macrobiotic diet improves cardiovascular disease and diabetes are explained by the diet being, in part, consistent with science-based dietary approaches to disease prevention. Read more...
Raw veganism is a diet that combines the concepts of veganism and raw foodism. It excludes all food and products of animal origin, any food that is processed or altered from its natural state, and food cooked at a temperature above 48 °C (118 °F). Little is known about the raw vegan diet as it is not widely used. Read more...- The Vegan Awareness Foundation, also known as Vegan Action, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (FIN# 94-3224024) in Virginia, United States and founded in 1995. Dedicated to helping animals, the environment, and human health by educating the public about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle and encouraging the spread of vegan food options through public outreach campaigns. One of the goals of Vegan Action is to create growth in the vegan marketplace and increase the availability of vegan products. They have introduced a logo to certify vegan products, vegan food options into schools nationwide, and ideas behind veganism. Read more...
- Naked Food is a quarterly magazine focusing on whole-food plant-based nutrition. It features health information, nutrition and food related news, recipes, interviews, events, and product, book, and film reviews.
It was founded as a digital publication in 2012 by Margarita Restrepo, and transitioned to a printed publication in the spring of 2014. The magazine is published by Naked Republic, Inc., and distributed through bookstores and health-food stores in the USA and Canada. Read more... - Skinny Bitch is a diet book written by former modelling agent Rory Freedman and former model Kim Barnouin.
The book sold better than expected despite not having high initial sales.
Skinny Bitch became a best-seller in the United Kingdom by May 2007 and in the United States by July, more than eighteen months after its initial 2005 press run of 10,000 copies. The book also sold well in Canada. Read more... - The American Vegan Society (AVS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes veganism in the United States.
AVS was founded by 1960 by H. Jay Dinshah. The date of the earlier The Vegan Society (UK)'s founding, November 1, is now celebrated annually as World Vegan Day. Read more...
Joel Fuhrman (born December 2, 1953) is an American celebrity doctor who advocates what he calls a micronutrient-rich diet.
A former competitive figure skater, he suffered a serious injury which removed him from competition. He says an alternative medicine therapy helped speed his recovery and led him to become a physician. His practice is based on his nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, also referred to as a nutritarian or restrictive diet, as well as promoting his products and books. He has written several books promoting his dietary approaches and sells a related line of nutrition related products. As of April 2013, his book Eat to Live was on the New York Times bestseller paperback Advice & Misc. list for 90 weeks. Read more...
This is a list of vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Vegetarian cuisine refers to food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products. For lacto-ovo vegetarianism (the most common type of vegetarianism in the Western world), eggs and dairy products such as milk and cheese are permitted. For lacto vegetarianism, the earliest known type of vegetarianism (recorded in India), dairy products such as milk and cheese are permitted. The strictest forms of vegetarianism are veganism, raw veganism, and fruitarianism, which exclude all animal products, including dairy products as well as honey, and even some refined sugars if filtered and whitened with bone char.
Vegan restaurants are also included in this list. Read more...- Jack Norris (born 1967) is an American dietitian and animal rights activist. He is Executive Director of Vegan Outreach, which he co-founded in 1993 with Matt Ball. He runs Vegan Outreach's Adopt A College program which began in 2003 and which organizes volunteers to hand out Vegan Outreach brochures on college campuses. Read more...
Tofurkey (a portmanteau of tofu and turkey) is faux turkey, a meat substitute in the form of a loaf or casserole of vegetarian protein, usually made from tofu (soybean protein) or seitan (wheat protein) with a stuffing made from grains or bread, flavored with a broth and seasoned with herbs and spices. Tofurkey is oven-roasted or baked and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It can be homemade or purchased ready-made and frozen from multiple sources such as health food stores or specialty grocers, or ordered online and shipped in insulated packing. Read more...- In Sikhism, only lacto-vegetarian food is served in the Gurdwara (Sikh temple) and in it Sikhs are bound to be meat-free. The general consensus is that Sikhs , once they become Amritdhari (baptised) via the Amrit Sanchaar (baptism ceremony), are forbidden from eating Kutha or ritually-slaughtered (Halal, Kosher) meat because it transgresses one of the four restrictions in the Sikh Code of Conduct. Read more...
- Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism (2009) is a book by American social psychologist Melanie Joy about the belief system and psychology of meat eating, or "carnism". Joy coined the term carnism in 2001 and developed it in her doctoral dissertation in 2003. Carnism is a subset of speciesism, and contrasts with ethical veganism, the moral commitment to abstain from consuming or using meat and other animal products. Read more...
- Japanese sushi; many cultures offer pescetarian-friendly cuisine.
Pescetarianism (/ˌpɛskəˈtɛəriənɪzəm/; also spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of following a diet that includes fish or other seafood, but not the flesh of other animals.
Those on pescetarian or pollotarian diets may define meat only as mammalian flesh and may identify with vegetarianism. Most pescetarians maintain a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet with the addition of fish and shellfish, described as "fish but no other meat". The common use association between such diets and vegetarianism has led groups such as the Vegetarian Society to state that diets containing these foods are not vegetarian. Read more...
Agave nectar (more accurately, agave syrup) is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of agave, including Agave tequilana (blue agave) and Agave salmiana. Agave syrup contains fructose as a carbohydrate providing sweetening properties. Read more...
Fruitarianism (/fruːˈtɛəriənɪzəm/) is a diet that consists entirely or primarily of fruits in the botanical sense, and possibly nuts and seeds, but without animal products. Fruitarianism is a subset of dietary veganism.
Fruitarianism may be adopted for different reasons, including ethical, religious, environmental, cultural, economic, and health. There are several varieties of the diet. Some people with a diet consisting of 75% or more fruit consider themselves fruitarians. Read more...
A veggie burger is a burger patty that does not contain meat. Such burgers may be made from ingredients like beans, especially soybeans and tofu, nuts, grains, seeds or fungi such as mushrooms or mycoprotein. Read more...- Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC) is a British company that manufactures vegan cosmetics. The cosmetics contain no animal products and are not tested on animals.
The company was founded as a charity in 1959 by Lady Muriel Dowding (1908–1993), president of the National Anti-Vivisection Society and wife of Lord Dowding (1882–1970), the former commander-in-chief of RAF Fighter Command. The charity, now known as the BWC Charitable Trust, established branches in Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and the United States, and in 1963 Dowding set up Beauty Without Cruelty Cosmetics, which became a private company. According to Dowding, BWC pioneered the production of 100 percent vegetable soap as a luxury item. The brand was introduced into the United States in 1989. Read more...
Did you know...
- ... that some instant puddings are vegan?
- ... that Little Pine is a vegan restaurant founded by American singer–songwriter Moby that donates all of its profits to animal welfare organizations?
- ... that the MUSE School in Calabasas, California, has been described as the first vegan K-12 school in the U.S.?
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Selected images
Pigs, as well as chicken and cattle, are often denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.
Vegan products in a supermarket (Oceanside, California, 2014)
Oatmeal with blueberries, toasted almonds and almond milk; one packet of instant oatmeal contains 8.2 mg of iron.
Mock meats in Veganz, a vegan supermarket in Berlin
Barbara Moore attended the first meeting of the Vegan Society as an observer.
Vegan soap made from olive oil; soap is usually made from tallow (animal fat).
Vegan graffiti showing an enclosed V in Lisbon, Portugal.
Mahatma Gandhi, Vegetarian Society, London, 20 November 1931, with Henry Salt on his right
Fruitlands, a short-lived vegan community established in 1844 by Amos Bronson Alcott in Harvard, Massachusetts.
Rice and beans is a common vegan protein combination.
Tahini miso soup with brown rice, turnips, squash, radishes and nori (an edible seaweed). Nori has been cited as a plant source of B12, but the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics established in 2016 that is not an adequate source of this vitamin. Vegans need to consume regularly fortified foods or supplements containing B12.
Veganz in Berlin, Europe's first vegan supermarket
Warm tofu (soybean curd) with garlic sauce. Soybeans are a source of complete protein.
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