November Is World Vegan Month: Let’s Celebrate!

There’s nothing else like practising kindness and compassion

November is World Vegan Month, and I’d love to celebrate Veganism this month with all my readers. So watch out for many articles on Veganism, why it matters, its origins, and how you can add some delicious vegan food to your diet, too!

World Vegan Month stories

These are all the stories I wrote during World Vegan Month and a few other interesting ones written previously:

• The Myth of Healthy Vegan Food
• Where Did the Word Vegan Come From?
• Sometimes, I Wish I Weren’t Vegan
• The Difference Between Plant-Based and Vegan
• The Only Thing I Miss As a Vegan
• Can A Dairy Farm Be Ethical?
• Are You Vegan Enough?
• Veganism: It’s a Question of Morality
• What’s Wrong With Eggs?
• What’s Wrong With Milk?

Wait, isn’t Vegan Month in January?

Don’t worry, you’re not the only one to get confused. Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that encourages people to try going vegan for January (and beyond!). The initiative started in 2014 and has been growing ever since, with millions worldwide taking the pledge (and sometimes staying vegan).

This was the only month that worked well to form a wordplay, so they settled for January. No, of course that’s not the reason, but I couldn’t help myself; I had to make this mommy joke! January is when many people make New Year resolutions aimed at starting a new habit or quitting bad habits. So, there was no better month to get people to try a vegan lifestyle.

Meanwhile, November is the anniversary of the foundation of The Vegan Society. The first World Vegan Day was created in 1994 to celebrate The Vegan Society’s 50th anniversary. The date was celebrated on the 1st of November, as it is not known precisely when the society was created (the very first newsletter was dated 24th of November). Through the years, it was extended into a week-long celebration, and it’s now a whole month celebrating Veganism.

I have been vegan for over seven years now. I absolutely love to have a lifestyle that aligns with my morals and principles. I first became vegetarian for health reasons, but it wasn’t long before I watched a handful of YouTube videos and documentaries that would change my life forever. Once I knew what the animal agriculture industry was really like, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. So, I became vegan. And I haven’t looked back ever since.

Being vegan shouldn’t be about perfectionism, though. It should be about trying your best to eliminate unnecessary cruelty to and suffering of animals. And if you’re not ready to go vegan, you can still try some vegan dishes or a Meat Free Monday. Who knows, you might be ready to even try Veganuary in 2024!

But isn’t Veganism just a passing trend?

Veganism is seen by many as a fad. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. In some form or another, abstaining from animal products has been a practice for millennia; one such example is the ancient religion of Jainism, which is still practised today. One of the pillars of Jainims is ahimsa, a principle of causing no harm to other living things.

Veganism, as we understand it today, comes from the foundation of The Vegan Society in 1944 — hardly a recent fad. But it is true that the number of vegans is on the rise, and the number of vegan products on supermarket shelves has also grown in recent years.

Currently, around 3% of people in the UK and the US declare themselves as vegan, with a further 5% identifying as vegetarians. And it doesn’t stop there; 15% of people aren’t ready to completely give up meat, but they consider themselves flexitarians; that is, their diet is comprised mainly of plant-based meals with only the occasional addition of animal products.

Although these numbers are similar on a global scale, specific countries can have very different profiles. For instance, almost half of the population of India declare themselves as following either a vegetarian or vegan diet! The precise numbers, according to a 2018 poll conducted by Ipsos Mori, show that in India, 22% of people are vegetarian and 19% are vegan. On the other hand, Russia has 91% of its population declaring themselves as meat eaters.

In the last couple of years, several vegan products have been discontinued (although new ones have been launched). The main reason is not that Veganism is finished (as my husband likes to joke!), but that the cost of living is on the rise and vegan products are, indeed, a luxury. Some vegan brands have taken a big hit, but the UK poll on dietary trends, updated every six months, shows that the number of vegans isn’t going down. You don’t need a fancy vegan burger; a cheap tin of beans will do the trick just fine (and it’s super tasty, too!).

Fancy a vegan treat?

Perhaps you think vegan food is bland and disgusting, and you could never bring yourself to eat it. Look, I’m not going to judge you, promise! I once said that I could never go vegan because the food is just too bland, and it would be too hard. I have an inkling most vegans have been in a similar position…

The good news is being vegan isn’t hard, and it’s absolutely delicious. Even if you’re not ready to go full vegan, there are many vegan treats you can try and savour without compromising on taste, wasting hours in the kitchen, or taking long excursions to find exotic ingredients.

If you want to go really simple, try frozen grapes. Seriously, it’s delicious! I know, this isn’t even technically a recipe, but I never knew I could freeze grapes and then eat them from frozen. I recommend seedless grapes.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, get some dates, peanut butter, and dark chocolate. First, melt the chocolate in the microwave (20 seconds at a time, so it doesn’t burn). Then, open each date, remove the seed and replace it with some peanut butter (crunchy peanut butter will give it an interesting texture). Finally, dip the date in the chocolate or lay all the dates on parchment paper and cover them with the melted chocolate. Now, if you can, wait for the chocolate to settle. I like to put mine in the fridge so it goes quicker. It’s a lovely treat to eat with a warm cup of tea.

Ultimately, you don’t even need to do anything fancy. A good rice and beans burrito with guacamole is vegan! And you don’t have to tweak the recipe at all (unless you ruin your guacamole with sour cream. Why, though?!).

Enjoy kindness

Regardless if you were born vegan, went vegan last month, or think you’ll never be vegan, join me in celebrating kindness and compassion during November.

Being vegan is much more than not eating a steak or adding milk to your tea. It’s an ethical lifestyle built on kindness and compassion.

If you’re interested in Veganism, check out my other posts on the subject: