Developing an International Approach to Promoting Veganism

Following on from “How many vegans in the world are there?“, I imagine that in 1944, Donald and Dot Watson knew all the vegans in world by name.

Today, vegans and Veganism are spreading all over the world. The ‘social virus’, or meme, self-replicating beyond anyone’s control.

Given the nature of the movement, the anti-establishmentarianism of many of the individuals and their unwillingness to join national vegan societies, it is very difficult to estimate how many vegans there actually are.

If the 2.2% figure for vegans amongst the United Kingdom population is true, that would make for over 1,300,000 vegans in the UK. A quite impressive figure really. As an ethical code, or a ‘way of life’, there are almost as many British Vegans as, say, Muslims (1,500,000) or more than twice as many Hindus. Sikh (329,358), Jewish (259,000) and Buddhists (144,000) being far less. We also have to suspect strict Veganism is still growing – and having a wider effect on society – whilst most religions, and their religiosity, is waning.

Gathering statistics may be a worthwhile consciousness raising exercise for individuals active in the international vegan association. If veganism could be listed in all nations’ census forms (or vegetarian and veganism) it would remind others they exists. If statistics gathered by the big market research companies could be encouraged, or paid for, corporations and politicians would have to become aware of such trends, serve and accommodate for them.

We need to position vegan concepts on the national and supra-national political conveyor belts.

I suspect the numbers of vegans plummet outside of the “developed” nations to near zero and this is also in places such as South America and even “developed” Asian nations such as Japan.

It is interesting to consider the factors as to why?

Is veganism a product of development … or a reaction against it?

Is it cultural?

Being almost entirely “unnatural” (as not practiced by any original or tribal societies), is it primarily a metropolitan phenomenon?

One could probably chart at what point in the development of society it starts to rise, e.g. most people react after the transition from poverty to wealth by indulging themselves in “rich” food and increased animal products.

Is it only after a period of indulgence that future generations then start to renounce it?

Can the global environment cope with that pattern, e.g. China rising economically to demand to eat a Western or Japanese-style diet with increase meat and fish products?

Is it ethical to demand that they omit that stage and remain on a more sustainable plant-based diet and society?

Is it at all possible to avoid the indulgent, carnivorous phase from happening?

Or are there other social, political and psychological aspects to British, American and a few other Northern European societies that add to the equation, e.g. the influence of Protestant Puritanism?

It interests me that, for example, many Asian nations have Buddhist or Jain influences which encourage compassion but, within that, most avoid the rigidity and strictness which Veganism in the West has.

Obviously, we believe that veganism has a part to play in establishing sustainable societies in the future but what part, and what target, should we be aiming at? 100% vegan societies are unreasonable to ever imagine, so should we be aiming or encouraging 95% … 90% … 80% … and so on.

Going back to Veganism being primarily a metropolitan phenomenon, that is arising in mainly within the great metropolises of developed nations, e.g. London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Kansai etc, is it a sub-conscious survival awareness arising amongst society’s future leaders*?

Why I am asking this is if we believe that veganism has a part to play in establishing a sustainable world societies in the future then we, the movement and its leaders, really have to start to think about development at an international and engage with the political discussions that is going on about that … the shaping of the future. Otherwise, veganism will likely remain a Puritan cult, a Chosen Few, a market of small business people, and be left behind as an oxbow; a meander from the main stem of civilisation.

At present, the shaping of the future is basically being created by a runaway horse whipped on by the multi-national corporations. Or rather, a runaway, carnivorous, all devouring lion.

To start to engage within such discussion seriously, one needs to now one’s facts and figures.

The problem arises though, that the mainstream of society are unlikely to, and be unable to, accept the need for 100% puritanical veganism; and so how does the mainstream of Veganism accept the idea of promoting a more flexible approach to Veganism? That is, to encourage populations to be “as vegan as possible”.

In other words, to apply the spirit of ‘vegan law’ rather than the ‘word of vegan law’ and allow individuals and societies to interpret “the exclusion – as far as is possible and practical – of all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals” according to their own needs and state of societal evolution.

Should we the ‘Puritanical Vegan 100%-ers’ learn from history, and practice more compassion towards other human animals, and would that not encourage a greater benefit towards the majority of life more quickly?

* By “leaders”, I do not mean ‘bosses’ or politicians. I mean the young, the movers and the shakers, the opinion formers and futurists.