Veganism: The New Trend

Veganism is a philosophy of life which abstains from the cruelty of animals in any and all forms. It promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, the environment and humans. 

Origin of Veganism

Veganism originated as an extreme form of vegetarianism, the term veganism was coined back in 1944, but the idea of it can be traced back to eastern Mediterranean societies and ancient Indian societies. Vegetarianism was first mentioned by the Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras of Samos in around 500 BCE. It was inspired by the meatless traditions of the followers of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. 

Veganism in Diet

The vegan diet is composed of only plant-based food. This diet includes vegetables, fruits, soy, nuts, legumes, plant-based dairy alternatives, fermented or sprouted plant foods, nut butter and whole grains. 

Vegans do not include any type of animal foods like dairy products, eggs, poultry, eggs, seafood. Moreover, vegans do not consume any by-products of animals which would include things like honey. The other lesser-known animal-based things like casein, lactose, gelatin, shellac, animal-derived vitamin D3, carmine, and fish-based omega-3 fatty acids are also avoided. 

A vegan diet is known to be rich in vitamins like K, C, A, E, and antioxidants, fibre and phytonutrients. 

Parents and children following a vegan diet have been found to have low levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI when compared to baseline. Vegan diets have also been associated with improved levels of glycemic control when compared to a conventional diet of a diabetic person with Type 2 diabetes. A low-fat vegan diet improves plasma lipids and glycemia. Studies have also shown that an overall vegan diet reduces the risk of cancer by 15% due to the low levels of cholesterol. 

But with these benefits, the limited variety of food also presents us with some deficiencies. These include 

Calcium, which is important for dental, bone, nerve and muscle health, calcium is mainly found in dairy food and less in leafy vegetables. In a vegan diet, it is found in tofu, dairy alternatives and bread but in low quantities. Due to this vegans are found to have a low mineral density in their bones, and higher rates of fractures. 

Iron is also one of the minerals which are found less in vegan food, although some sort is found in enough quantities in spinach, fruits, lentils, beans and whole grains, it is non-heme iron which is not as bio-available as the other heme iron mainly found in animal food. 

Vitamin B12 is important for metabolism, nerve, heart and muscle health and is mainly found in animal products and is present in not-enough quantities in vegan food. 

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of fat which supports cardiovascular health in us. The three most common of them are eciosapentaenoic(EPA), docosahexaenoic(DHA) and alpha-linolenic(ALA). EPA and DHA are found mainly in animal food with only a few exceptions being marine plants, ALA can be found in plant-based sources like chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.

It is advised that people following a vegan diet should take supplements for these nutrients to avoid any illnesses caused due to deficiencies.

Veganism in Clothing

Veganism in clothing also known as ‘vegan fashion’ refers to clothing that does not contain any animal-based fibres referring to silk, wool, fur, or leather and also requires the clothing to not have used any animal-based material in the production process of the items. 

People prefer vegan fashion products not only because they are animal cruelty-free and support animal rights and freedom but also because they reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry on livestock.

However, vegan fashion is not sustainable fashion exactly, it does lie under the category of it an option but sustainable fashion in itself focuses on reducing their environmental impact on a very large scale than vegan fashion, which may sometimes include using animal-based materials at least in production, it also supports activities like recycling and re-selling etc.   

Veganism in Products

Many products in our daily life are tested on animals before they are taken out in public for dermatological reasons. This is considered inherently wrong by vegan societies because to get a safe product free of side effects, animals are being used as a tester and if side effects are present in the process of making a product, the animals have to suffer through them. For this reason, more and more companies have started making their products free of testing on animals that is, cruelty-free.

Veganism in Medicine

Veganism has had its influence on medicine too, in today’s time for example in the UK all medicines have to be tested on animals before being considered safe for consumption by humans. Although this in no way means that people should not take the medicines prescribed to them because they may be tested on animals but vegan society works against such activities through movements etc. 

Written By: Sofia Choudhary  

Edited By: Nidhi Jha