The Original "Vegan"

Donald Watson (2 September 1910 – 16 November 2005) was founder of the Vegan Society and inventor of the word vegan.

Watson was born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, into a non-vegetarian family.  His journey to veganism began when he was very young, at the farm of his Uncle George. 

There, he says:“I was surrounded by interesting animals. They all “gave” something: the farm horse pulled the plough, the lighter horse pulled the trap, the cows “gave” milk, the hens “gave” eggs and the cockerel was a useful “alarm clock” – I didn't realize at that time that he had another function too. The sheep “gave” wool. I could never understand what the pigs “gave”, but they seemed such friendly creatures – always glad to see me.”

He realized what purpose the pigs served when he saw one slaughtered, and his life was changed.  At the age of 14, he became a vegetarian as a New Year’s resolution, and in the 1940s, after learning about milk production, he became a vegan.

The term “vegan” was coined in England by Donald Watson, his motivation was to be ethical to sentient animals:

“We can see quite plainly that our present civilization is built on the exploitation of animals, just as past civilizations were built on the exploitation of slaves, and we believe the spiritual destiny of man is such that in time he will view with abhorrence the idea that men once fed on the products of animals’ bodies.”

In 1944 he and some friends founded the Vegan Society. Someone in the group would have come up with a word to describe their diets, he believes, but he suggested “vegan,” using the first three and last two letters of “vegetarian.” It was “the beginning and end of vegetarian,” and it stuck.

At the age of 95, Watson died in his home in northern England.

"Donald Watson." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 3 December 2012. Web. 27 December 2012 < http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Watson&oldid=526203852> 

Original link from Invercargill Vegan Society, New Zealand.
http://www.invsoc.org.nz/