I am perpetually startled at the massive growth of Veganism.
What once was a fledgling idea has now spread to all corners of the world and is now in the public consciousness. It’s no longer dismissed, but instead taken quite seriously.
Here’s are couple of stats to stress the point:
- 300% increase in the number of Vegans in the UK since 2014
- In the US, plant-based product sales grew by 31.3% between 2017 and 2019.
- 95% of people that eat vegan burgers in the US aren’t even vegan or vegetarian.
- Millennial vegan statistics reveal that a quarter of 25–34-year-old Americans are either vegetarian or vegan.
- 10% of UK children between the ages of 8 and 13 are opting not to eat meat.
Check out the full statistics from HealthCareers here.
Vegans are Diverse
When you speak to Vegans, you will get different answers as to why they adopted a Vegan lifestyle. In fact the answers can be so disparate that it’s hard to discern what connects us all.
Ask one Vegan and they might respond that they went vegan for animal welfare reasons, ask another and they will tell you they went Vegan for increased physical performance. Personally I went Vegan to help stop the Climate Crisis.
These are diverse reasons without a visible common thread.
What’s even more weird is how we choose to express our Veganism. Some will attend animal liberation marches, some will create amazing Vegan food and yet others will practice their Veganism silently.
Once again these are diverse implementations of Veganism.
So the questions arises- How is Veganism Growing so Rapidly?
The One Rule
It’s actually rather simple.
There is one rule that all Vegans believe in, and that we all practice.
Why you’re a Vegan or how you express it doesn’t matter.
We do not consume animal based products. That’s the rule!
That’s what we will live by – and this has manifested with profound results.
This rule is an action – an action that we perform every single day, every single hour and every single second.
It’s not a cute little hashtag that will get you more likes. It’s not a badge that you can virtue signal with. It’s not a trend you jump onto.
It’s an action that is performed every waking moment.
We may sometimes squabble with other Vegans, but we always come back to the rule – do not consume any animal based products.
We may slip up once in a blue moon, but we always come back to the rule – do not consume any animal based products.
Marketers and media might try to convince us to eat ham, but we always live the rule – do not consume any animal based products.
The Movement will Last and Dominate
Veganism is a big idea that can get conflated with other ideas.
Technically veganism is about Animal Welfare.
In practice Veganism seems to touch on everything from healthcare to solving income inequality.
But the single core action is – do not consume any animal based products.
That’s why Veganism will grow, last and come to dominate – because its an action that we do every single day.
It’s a simple, clear, unambiguous rule that we comply with forever.
Conclusion
There’s a great saying : Actions speak louder than words.
Veganism is the embodiment of this phrase.
In a world of social media, hashtags and microtrends that amount to little – Veganism stands bold in that it is an action that delivers real results.
Those results are animal welfare, environmental protection, social equality, wealth generation and spiritual awakening.
Live the Rule – Do not consume animal based products.
Photo by Miika Laaksonen on Unsplash