Veganesimo: da Zarathustra alla Vegan Society
Veganism is“a philosophy and way of life that excludes, to the extent possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation and cruelty to animals, for food, clothing, as well as for any other purpose; by extension, it promotes the development and use of non-animal alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment.”
Cit. Vegan Society – Memorandum of1979
As long as veganism and vegans have existed.
The term vegan originated in 1944: it was invented by Donald Watson, founder in the United Kingdom of the Vegan Society.
However, the ethical principles motivating veganism (when it was not yet called that) have roots in antiquity.
Vegans include Ari and Mitanni (20th and 18th B.C. between India and Mesopotamia): they are the first“cruelty free” Eastern peoples of whom we have evidence.
And again, in the 9th BC. C. the philosopher and mystic Zarathustra practiced the vegan diet.
He was convinced that to achieve enlightenment he had to refrain from hurting, killing and eating animals.
In short, the usual qualunquists can be safely answered that veganism is not a fad.
Why people decide to go vegan: awareness
“A monstrosity of our century was the establishment of intensive livestock farms and the development of a complex discipline of torture called animal husbandry. The zootechnical lager has not only REMOVED any sense of human responsibility for domestic animals, it has done more: it has deliberately ignored their characteristics as sentient beings. This activity is literally a legalized crime.
Cit. Roberto Marchesini – Philosopher and Ethologist
What it means to be vegan: the inconsistency of those who feed on animals
“Those who defend animal food should force themselves into a decisive experiment to establish its validity, tear the flesh of a live lamb with their teeth alone and sink their heads inside its intestines, quench their thirst in steaming blood; when, fresh from this horrible action, they return to the irresistible instincts of nature that would stand in judgment against it, and say, ‘Nature made me for this kind of work,’ then and only then would they be consistent.”
Cit. Percy Bysshe Shelley – Poet
“When a human being kills an animal to eat it, he stifles his own aspiration for justice. Man invokes mercy, but is incapable of manifesting it to others.”
Cit. Isaac Bashevis Singer – Writer
