Vegan vs Vegetarian

For years, I believed that the word "vegan" was just a trendy label created by self-righteous people who wanted to feel superior. In my mind, it was a term used by class-conscious, arrogant individuals who thought they were better than the rest of us because they didn't eat animal products. It felt like a title of exclusivity, a club where only the morally "pure" could belong. And, quite frankly, I found it annoying.

To make things worse, I also thought that vegans were just plain stupid. In my view, the term "vegetarian" already covered the concept of avoiding animal products, as I believed there were just three dietary categories: vegetarian, carnivore, and omnivore. So why create another term? It seemed unnecessary. However, I later learned that this wasn't entirely accurate—back in 1944, people understood "vegetarian" to mean avoiding meat but still consuming dairy and eggs. In fact, some vegetarians already abstained from dairy and eggs before the term "vegan" was coined, but the majority did not. This misunderstanding on my part only reinforced my ignorance for years.

The Birth of 'Vegan'—A Practical Need, Not an Ego Trip

The word "vegan" was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson, an English animal rights advocate and co-founder of The Vegan Society. It wasn’t invented to sound elite or exclusive, but simply to give a clear name to a growing movement.

Watson was a vegetarian, but he and others like him realized that the term vegetarian still allowed for dairy and eggs. Since they believed that all animal exploitation should be avoided—not just the consumption of meat—they needed a new word to describe their way of life. Watson took the first three and last two letters of vegetarian ("veg-an") and, just like that, the term was born.

Who Was Donald Watson?

Donald Watson was born on 2 September 1910 in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of a headmaster in a mining community. As a child, Watson spent time on his uncle George's farm. The slaughtering of a pig on the farm horrified him; he said his view of farm life changed from idyllic to a death row for animals. This experience led him to reassess his practice of eating meat, and he became a vegetarian in 1924 at the age of fourteen, making a New Year's resolution to never again eat meat. Approximately 18 years later, he gave up dairy products, having understood that the production of milk-related products was also unethical.

Upon leaving school at fifteen, Watson was apprenticed to a family joinery firm and became a woodwork teacher at twenty. He taught in Leicester, where he also played a significant role in the Leicester Vegetarian Society. Later, he moved to Keswick, teaching there for 23 years and remaining in the Lake District for the rest of his life. For several years, he devoted much time to working as a guided fell-walking leader and to organic vegetable gardening until shortly before his death in 2005.

Watson did not smoke, consume alcohol, or make contact with foods or substances he regarded as toxins. He was deeply concerned with animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and human health, and he lived by the principles he preached. In his later years, Watson continued to lead a plant-based lifestyle and lived to be 95 years old, passing away on 16 November 2005 in Keswick, Cumbria, England.

The First Vegans: Not Trendy Elites, But Ethical Pioneers

Contrary to my old assumption that veganism was an exclusive movement for the privileged, the early vegans were far from wealthy aristocrats. Many were ordinary working-class people who simply wanted to align their daily habits with their ethical beliefs. Some were also middle-class individuals dedicated to animal rights and ethical living. They saw the suffering of animals in the food industry and made a conscious decision to remove all animal products from their diets and lifestyles.

At the time, veganism was not the mainstream movement it is today. In the 1940s, the idea of not drinking milk or eating eggs was radical. The early vegans faced criticism, skepticism, and even ridicule. They had no plant-based meat alternatives or oat milk lattes—just a strong belief in animal welfare, human health, and environmental responsibility.

Fun Facts About the Word 'Vegan'

Now that I know the real story, I find the history of the word fascinating. Here are some fun facts:

1. The first vegan society newsletter was called "The Vegan News" – Donald Watson published it in 1944 to explain the movement and invite others to join.
2. Watson lived to be 95 years old! – Whether it was his plant-based diet or just good genes, he lived a long and healthy life.
3. Veganism wasn’t just about food from the start – Even in 1944, the movement included avoiding leather, fur, and other products made from animals.
4. The word ‘vegan’ has gone global – Today, ‘vegan’ is recognized in multiple languages and is a driving force behind a multi-billion-dollar plant-based industry.
5. It almost had a different name! – Before settling on 'vegan,' other name ideas included ‘benevore’ and ‘dairyban.’ Thankfully, 'vegan' won out.

Changing My Perspective

Learning the real history of the word vegan forced me to reconsider my past assumptions. Instead of viewing veganism as a superiority complex, I now see it for what it is: a movement with deep ethical roots, born out of compassion and the desire to reduce harm.

If you, like me, ever thought the word ‘vegan’ was just a fancy title for elitism, I encourage you to dig a little deeper. The history is rich, the reasoning is solid, and—whether you choose to be vegan or not—it’s always better to base our opinions on facts rather than misconceptions.

So, here’s to learning, unlearning, and giving credit where it’s due. And who knows? Maybe next time you hear the word vegan, you’ll think less about stereotypes and more about the fascinating history behind it.