Father of Veganism, Dead at 95 (Vegan Diet)

[Guest guest]

[He actually died about 10 months ago, but I wasn't

aware. Rick]

 

 

 

Donald Watson (September 2, 1910 – November 16, 2005),

 

Source > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Watson

 

founder of the Vegan Society and inventor of the word

vegan, was born in South Yorkshire, England into a

meat-eating 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 realise 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.

 

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, on the evening of November 16, 2005,

Watson died in his home in northern England.

 

 

History

The son of a headmaster in the mining community of

Mexborough, South Yorkshire, he was born into an

environment in which vegetarianism, let alone

veganism, was unknown. Donald’s parents, however,

encouraged and supported their three children in

determining their own paths in life, a liberal

approach which enabled Donald to formulate ideas which

were both challenging and controversial. He held his

parents in great esteem, and often expressed his

gratitude for their wisdom in accepting, if not

understanding, his philosophy.

 

An obviously sensitive young man, Donald responded to

the harshness and brutality of much which he observed

in the industrial and farming community in which he

grew up early last century, and he developed a great

reverence for and in-depth knowledge of the

countryside. An acute observer of the natural order

and perfection of creation, this throughout life

became his inspiration and guide, and led him to

question man’s place in nature and his relationship

with other species.

 

He became a vegetarian at the age of fourteen,

although he knew of no others who followed this

precept. A self-critical and free thinker, throughout

his life he always responded to his inner convictions,

regardless of any personal inconvenience or

difficulties which this might entail.

 

He was a quiet, strong-minded perfectionist, an

abstemious man – teetotaller and non-smoker – who

tried to avoid contact with any foods or substances

which he regarded as ‘toxins’. Never one to criticise

others, he himself never felt that his way of life

demanded any personal sacrifice; rather, he puzzled at

the risks, as he perceived them, which others took so

readily.

 

On leaving school at the age of fifteen, he became

apprenticed to a family joinery firm where he

perfected the skills necessary to continue a life-long

love of working with wood, later (from the age of

twenty) becoming a teacher of this subject. He taught

in Leicester, where he also played a large part in the

Leicester Vegetarian Society, and later in Keswick,

where he was able to enjoy his love of fell-walking

and organic vegetable gardening until very shortly

before his death.

 

From his early conversion to vegetarianism, he later

came to view the abstention from the use of all animal

products as the logical extension of this philosophy.

A committed pacifist throughout his life, he

registered as a conscientious objector in the war, and

faced the harshest challenges to his ethical position.

It was at this time that the need for a word to

describe his way of life, and a society to promote its

ideals, became apparent; together with his wife,

Dorothy, they decided on the word ‘vegan’ by taking

the first three and last two letters of ‘vegetarian’,

- ‘because veganism starts with vegetarianism and

carries it through to its logical conclusion’, and the

Society was founded in 1944.

 

Donald ran this single-handed for two years, writing

and duplicating the newsletter, and responding to the

increasing volume of correspondence. From these early

beginnings, more than sixty years ago, the world-wide

movement which exists today developed, with the word

‘vegan’ appearing with increasing frequency on food

labelling and restaurant menus.

 

Donald continued his life quietly in Keswick where he

taught for twenty-three years; also working with the

Cumbrian Vegetarian Society, campaigning through the

local press on matters important in his home

community, and, together with his family, enjoying his

love of the mountains. For several years after his

retirement from teaching he devoted much time to

working as a guided walks leader. Other leisure-time

activities included cycling, photography and playing

the violin, and while not a party political supporter,

he took a keen interest in political issues throughout

his life.

 

He never sought any recognition for his early work in

founding the Vegan Society, and indeed actively

shunned the limelight, concerned only that his vision

for a more compassionate way of life in harmony with

the natural order should take root and grow. He was

concerned to confound his many critics who claimed

that he could not survive on his proposed diet by

proving that he would not only survive but survive

well and free from the need for doctors’ interventions

until his final days.

 

Within the last ten years of his life he climbed many

of the major peaks of the Lake District. He viewed his

home and garden in Keswick as his ‘little piece of

heaven’, and died peacefully there, with his family

with him, on 16th November 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing this information with us. I trust I have

permission to share what you have written with others wanting to

know more of the 'history' of the Vegan 'movement'.

Take care. Blessings, Em

 

 

Let the beauty we love be what we do. Rumi

Let everything you do be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14

'Love is the measure.' Dorothy Day

'Gather yourselves...All that we do now must

be done in a sacred manner.' Hopi Elders 2001