World Vegetarian Day | |
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Official name | World Vegetarian Day |
Observed by | Vegetarians across the planet |
Significance | First day of Vegetarian Awareness Month (month of October) |
Celebrations | Local, regional, and national groups organize events to promote the desirability and benefits of vegetarian practices. |
Date | October 1 |
Next time | 1 October 2024 |
Frequency | annual |
Related to | Vegetarian Awareness Month, [1] World Farm Animals Day, [2] International Vegetarian Week (IVW), [3] International Vegan Day also known as World Vegan Day , International Vegetarian Day[ citation needed ] |
World Vegetarian Day is observed annually around the planet on October 1. It is a day of celebration established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978, "To promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism." It brings awareness to the ethical, environmental, health, and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. [4] [5] World Vegetarian Day initiates the month of October as Vegetarian Awareness Month, which ends with November 1, World Vegan Day, as the end of that month of celebration. [1] [6] Vegetarian Awareness Month has been known variously as "Reverence for Life" month, "Month of Vegetarian Food", and more. [7]
Several additional days of vegetarian significance are included in or on the edge of Vegetarian Awareness Month: [8]
Meatless Monday is part of the Healthy Monday initiative. [38] Healthy Monday encourages Americans to make healthier decisions at the start of every week. Other Healthy Monday campaigns include: Do The Monday 2000, Quit and Stay Quit Monday, Move it Monday, Monday Mile and others.
There is a common practice for some Chinese people to be vegetarian twice a lunar month - the first day and the 15th day of each lunar month. (初一)﹑(十五). The 15th day of each lunar month is the day/night with full moon. Local vegetarian restaurants are particularly busy on those 2 days. The origin of such practice is related to religious beliefs.[ citation needed ]
The Nine Emperor Gods Festival, also known as the Vegetarian Festival, is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, celebrated primarily in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand by the Peranakans (not the entire Overseas Chinese community). The ninth lunar month occurs around World Vegetarian Day. [39]
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. A person who practices vegetarianism is known as a vegetarian.
A flexitarian diet, also called a semi-vegetarian diet, is one that is centered on plant foods with limited or occasional inclusion of meat. For example, a flexitarian might eat meat only some days each week. Flexitarian is a portmanteau of the words flexible and vegetarian, signifying its followers' less strict diet pattern when compared to vegetarian pattern diets.
An economic vegetarian is a person who practices vegetarianism from either the philosophical viewpoint that the consumption of meat is expensive, part of a conscious simple living strategy or just because of necessity. In the developing world, where large numbers of poor people might not be averse to eating meat, they are regularly forced to not eat it, since meat can often be a luxury.
World Vegan Day is a global event celebrated annually on 1 November. Vegans celebrate the benefits of veganism for animals, humans, and the natural environment through activities such as setting up stalls, hosting potlucks, and planting memorial trees.
Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a concern for God's creation, a concern for animal rights and welfare, or both. Likewise, Christian veganism is not using any animal products for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. Pescatarianism was widespread in the early Church, among both the clergy and laity. Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John the Baptist, James the Just and Jesus were vegetarians.
The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) is an international non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote vegetarianism. The IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany.
The practice of vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religious traditions worldwide. These include religions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With close to 85% of India's billion-plus population practicing these religions, India remains the country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world.
The Toronto Vegetarian Association (TVA), also known as VegTO, 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 through plant-based eating.
Vegetarian and vegan dietary practices vary among countries. Differences include food standards, laws, and general cultural attitudes toward vegetarian diets.
Meatless Monday and Meat Free Monday are international campaigns that encourage people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and the health of the planet.
Hom Jay Dinshah was an American veganism activist and natural hygiene proponent who was the founder and president of the American Vegan Society and the editor of its publication the Ahimsa magazine (1960–2000).
Meat-free days or veggiedays are declared to discourage or prohibit the consumption of meat on certain days of the week. Mondays and Fridays are the most popular days. There are also movements encouraging people giving up meat on a weekly, monthly, or permanent basis.
The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India, especially among the Hindus and Jains. Later records indicate that small groups within the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece also adopted some dietary habits similar to vegetarianism. In both instances, the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals, and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
Jewish Veg is an international 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to encourage and help Jews to embrace plant-based diets as an expression of the Jewish values of compassion for animals, concern for health, and care for the environment. Jewish Veg was formerly called Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and, prior to that, the Jewish Vegetarian Society of America.
Dugald Patterson McDougall Semple was a Scottish advocate of simple living and animal welfare, naturalist, prolific author, and fruitarian. He is sometimes credited with co-founding the vegan movement in 1944 without using the term "vegan".
The North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) is a charity and activist organization with the stated objectives of supporting vegetarians and informing the public about the benefits of vegetarianism.
Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) is an international nonprofit organization working to promote a vegan lifestyle and animal rights through public education and grass roots outreach. It operates ten national and international programs from its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. FARM has the abolitionist vision of a world where animals are free from all forms of human exploitation, including, food and clothing, research and testing, entertainment and hunting. FARM's mission is to spare the largest number of animals from being bred, abused, and slaughtered for food, as this accounts for 98% of all animal abuse and slaughter.