Every year on October 1, the world community celebrates World Vegetarian Day (World Vegetarian Day), established by the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) in 1977 and a year later supported by the International Vegetarian Union (IVU).
This annual celebration aims to raise awareness among the general public about the health, environmental and ethical benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, and aims to promote various aspects of vegetarianism.
Vegetarianism is a dietary system that excludes animal products from food. Like all traditions, it has its own, and, moreover, a long history. It is believed that vegetarianism originated in Asian countries in ancient times, and it was originally based on the religious traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism. In Europe, vegetarianism appeared only at the beginning of the 19th century, and specifically in England, where Buddhist teachings, which the colonialists met in India, contributed to the widespread dissemination of this “hobby”. By the way, the first society of the same name was founded in England (in 1847), and today it is the country where the largest number of supporters of a vegetarian diet live (about 6% of the total population). It should also be noted that the economic crisis in Europe also contributed to the development of this doctrine, which then led to a rise in the price of a significant part of food.
The spread of vegetarianism was also “promoted” by Darwin’s evolutionary theory, which “destroyed” the religious and philosophical justifications for killing animals in society. At the same time, the first serious studies of vegetarianism began, author’s works appeared on the benefits of plant foods for well-being and spiritual harmony. The revolutionary food system began to win more and more new supporters. For example, he believed that a vegetarian is a person with higher moral and moral foundations, and declared that he eats like a decent person, not eating the corpses of innocent creatures. The most famous Russian vegetarian of that time was who believed that “virtue is incompatible with steak.” By the way, in Russia the first vegetarian community was created in 1901, and seven years later the International Vegetarian Union was created.
Over the years, vegetarianism spread throughout the world, it developed, slightly transformed, and its most ardent fans adhered to an increasingly strict “diet”, refusing not only meat, but also other animal products. And today vegetarianism does not lose its popularity. Although the reasons why people choose this lifestyle are different. Someone – in an attempt to keep up with fashion, someone – for the sake of losing weight, someone – to “stand out from the crowd”, someone – for the sake of health, and someone – for ethical and religious-spiritual reasons. But not everything remains in it, because vegetarianism is still not a diet or fashion, but a way of life and an appropriate worldview.
According to statistics, today there are almost a billion people in the world who adhere to the principles of vegetarianism. That is, about 10-11% of the world’s inhabitants deliberately refused meat-eating, believing that thereby they gain not only health, but also peace of mind. After all, their slogan “We have not killed anyone.”
It must also be said that the classical theory of vegetarianism presupposes the rejection of only meat (flesh) of living beings, but the modern culture of vegetarianism also includes many different trends. For example, a raw food diet (eating only foods that are not processed by thermal methods), or fruitorianism (eating only fresh fruits, vegetables, berries, seeds, nuts, but rejecting roots and root crops), or lacto-vegetarianism (in addition to plant foods, you can milk, dairy products and eggs) and others. However, many of the adherents of this culture adhere to the strict principles of vegetarianism and even refuse to use fur, animal skin, wool, silk, etc. in everyday life. These people are called vegans.
Disputes about the dangers and benefits of vegetarianism in the world have been going on for a long time, including by doctors. According to many doctors, this lifestyle has undeniable advantages – healthy weight loss, reduced risk of obesity and the amount of cholesterol that enters the body through food. But, in their opinion, there are also disadvantages. First of all, any restriction on meat consumption results in a lack of essential amino acids and minerals. All this not only leads to a deterioration in the condition of bones, hair, skin …, but people who have completely given up meat can have a serious problem – atrophy of the heart muscle.
Therefore, doctors warn against “fan” vegetarianism, when a person deliberately impoverishes his diet, practically not compensating for the deficiency of animal protein, amino acids and vitamins. Only a properly planned vegetarianism does not harm a person. And to lead such a way of life is quite acceptable, but to adults, and you should not impose the same way of life on your children. Indeed, for a child, such a diet is unacceptable, since the child’s body grows, and if it is deprived of food of animal origin at an early stage of development, a lag in physical development may occur. Also, vegetarianism is contraindicated for pregnant women due to the threat of miscarriage, nursing mothers and is highly undesirable for the elderly.
By the way, among the adherents of vegetarianism there are such famous personalities as: Pythagoras, Plato, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Leo Tolstoy, Emil Zola, Franz Kafka, Bernard Shaw, Benjamin Spock, Thomas More, Voltaire, Russo, Adam Smith, Byron, Bob Dylan, Richard Gere, Adriano Celentano, Brad Pitt, Sting, Natalie Portman, Steven Seagal, Paul McCartney, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Demi Moore, Laima Vaikule, Stas Namin, Mikhail Zadornov, Nikolay Drozdov, Victor Pelevin, Olga Shelevin and many other famous people.
Incidentally, supporters of this lifestyle can celebrate their “professional” holiday for a whole monthsince World Vegetarian Day begins the so-called Vegetarian Awareness Month, during which there are various thematic events dedicated to the benefits and harms of vegetarianism and which lasts until, that is, until November 1st.
Traditionally, among the most popular actions and events of the Day of Vegetarianism, which are held in different countries, are flash mobs with calls not to kill animals for food; culinary events (for example, many restaurants on this day include only vegetarian dishes on the menu, and shops offer discounts on vegetables and fruits); discussions on vegetarianism, master classes and tastings of culinary vegetarian masterpieces, etc. By the way, many famous vegetarian festivals take place in Thailand and China at this time.