Simple living, veganism, and transformation in a world of limits
How exactly have people defined the term “vegan”? Let’s start with the end result, or rather, two end results: two definitions of “vegan,” one from the Vegan Society and the other from the American Vegan Society (AVS).
Donald Watson and his wife Dorothy coined the term “vegan” and presented it to the world in 1944. Continue reading “Defining veganism: a quick history”
Veganism could be an ambiguous concept. Is this a problem?
The original basic idea of veganism is the principle of ahimsa, or not harming sentient creatures. In the overwhelming majority of cases it is perfectly obvious (both to vegans and nonvegans) what is, or is not, vegan. But at the edges of the concept, there are ambiguities, and sometimes disagreements; different people use the term “vegan” in slightly different ways. Why do these and other ambiguities arise, how important are they, and what (if anything) should we do? Continue reading “Defining veganism: is veganism ambiguous?”
Kate Lawrence, author of The Practical Peacemaker: How Simple Living Makes Peace Possible (Lantern Books) was interviewed as part of the “Authors @ Douglas County Libraries” series. This is the third short excerpt from the interview, on media overconsumption and advertising, recently uploaded to YouTube. For more about the book see Kate’s blog.