Don't Get Mad, Get GLAD: Plant-based Diets 2

This is part 8 of my research on global food movements entitled
GLOBALIZATION: It's what for dinner

Global food movements making a difference:
PLANT-BASED DIETS - CURRENT HISTORY

In the east and in the west, history clearly reveals that plant-based diets have nourished and sustained cultures all over the world for thousands of years. However, Manchester, England in 1815 is often regarded as the birthplace of the current vegetarian movement. [44]

Because of the industrial revolution taking place in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there was growing awareness of health problems and the cruel treatment of animals. Large numbers of factories were being developed with appalling living conditions and an extremely poor diet for workers. Rev. William Cowherd was among those who responded to this problem. Taking a closer look at health, the environment, and animals, this Bible Christian preacher advanced the principle of abstinence from flesh-eating.

The Bible Christian denomination embraced a vegetarian diet and became the first institution to promote vegetarianism in the contemporary western world. Many of its members formed the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom in 1847. In 1817, 40 Bible Christian members brought the message to the United States. They founded a church in Philadelphia, and launched the vegetarian movement in America, which has a history of stutters and starts.

Though details are sketchy as to the beginning of vegetarian movements in other nations, by 1908, the International Vegetarian Union was founded with vegetarian societies having been established in 22 nations, primarily in Europe, but also in New Zealand, Chile, and India. Though Mohandas K. Gandhi was active in the London Vegetarian Society in the 1890s before his return to India, his involvement with the Indian or Punjab Vegetarian Society is unclear. [45]

As meat consumption began to dramatically rise in Western nations in the 20th century due to modern conveniences, refrigeration, and transportation, the vegetarian movement in the US declined with the rise of convenience foods and fast food restaurants. Internationally, however, the overall movement continued at a steady rate. For the United States, vegetarian societies appeared to come and go, reflecting the ambiguity of the population for plant-based diets.

It wasn't until 1960 when the current American Vegetarian Society was launched. Renewed interest in a vegetarian diet within the 1960s counterculture colored people's opinion of the movement. However, Francis Moore Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet in 1971 served as a catalyst to steer the movement towards a mainstream audience by raising awareness of health choices in light of emerging environmental problems. John Robbins' book in 1987, along with books by Dr. Dean Ornish, have increased credibility and have helped bring attention to the issues of health, diet, and the environment.

Now partnered with the animal rights movement, vegetarianism in the US today and around the planet appears to be on the rise, though statistics are difficult to assess. [46] In 1989, Collins and Collins note that "The popularity of plant-based diets has been increasing and both the variety and availability of convenient vegetarian foods have been skyrocketing. Restaurants around the country now regularly offer meat-free and dairy-free options. Scientists are publishing more articles about vegetarianism and writing more about the health potential of a plant-based diet." [47] Recent market sales continue to confirm that vegetarian foods have been on the rise in the last decade, especially in the UK. [48]

Morton Spurlock's 2004 award winning documentary "Supersize Me" on the effects of fast food, Oprah Winfrey's decision on national TV to go vegan for 21 days this year, and a growing number of celebrities publicly declaring their commitment to more compassionate dietary choices all reflect the acceptance and growing popular interest in plant-based diets in contemporary culture. [49]

In their 2006 book, The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter (where the acronym SAD originates), Singer and Mason examine three families' grocery-buying habits and the motivations behind those choices. They highlight with admiration a Kansas family that has turned vegan so as not to participate in the destructive cycle of animal and human exploitation. As individuals and families make new informed choices, the plant-based movement grows.

When asked about the future of vegetarianism, Howard Lyman, cattle rancher turned vegan, best-selling author of the book Mad Cowboy, and enemy #1 of Texas cattlemen because of his 1998 comments on Oprah, said, "I believe the vegetarian movement . . . will continue to grow. I see my role as that of a motivator to the young activists in the first world. I believe for the human species to survive on the Planet Earth, we must adopt a plant-based diet in this generation. Our future and the future of our children and grandchildren rests in the hands of the vegetarian activists today. No one can do it all, but we all can do something. We must get involved before it is too late." [50]

Next week:
Empowering consumer choices

[44] "Shaker-makers! Manchester Originals," International Actuarial Association - Manchester, http://www.actuaries.org/ASTIN/Colloquia/Manchester/Manchester_Originals.pdf (accessed December 17, 2008). Other details on the beginning of the vegetarian movement come from: Derek Antrobus, "Transatlantic vegetarians" (September 2000), International Vegetarian Union - History of vegetarianism http://www.ivu.org/history/england19a/transatlantic.html (accessed December 14, 2008); Maxwell G. Lee, "150 Years of Vegetarianism," International Vegetarian Union, http://www.ivu.org/congress/euro97/150-years.html (accessed December 14, 2008); and Maxwell Lee, "Formation of The Vegetarian Society," The Vegetarian Society UK - History Information Sheet, http://www.vegsoc.org/info/developm.html (accessed December 14, 2008).
[45] "Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)," International Vegetarian Union, http://www.ivu.org/history/gandhi/1891-11.html (accessed December 18, 2008).
[46] cf. "Q: Society, Diet and Statistics," Google Answers, http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=706957 (accessed December 17, 2008).
[47] Collins and Collins, 350.
[48] "Sales Figures 1991-2004," Vegetarian Society, http://www.vegsoc.org/info/statveg-sales.html (accessed December 17, 2008).
[49] cf. " HappyCow's Famous Vegetarians," HappyCow, http://www.happycow.net/famous_vegetarians.html (accessed December 18, 2008).
[50] "24 Carrot Award," Vegetarians in Paradise, http://www.vegparadise.com/24carrot31.html (accessed December 17, 2008). For more information on the lawsuit filed against Lyman and Winfrey: http://www.madcowboy.com/01_BookOP.000.html.)