# Veganism > A term meaning a philosophy and way of life that seeks to exclude, as far as possible, all forms of abuse toward animals, a word coined in 1944 by Donald Watson and Dorothy Morgan (who would later marry Watson). A term meaning a philosophy and way of life that seeks to exclude, as far as possible, all forms of abuse toward animals, a word coined in <1944> by and (who would later marry Watson). ## History The Vegan Society's definition. > It is a philosophy and way of life which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for any purpose whatsoever, including or clothing; and furthermore, promotes and develops alternatives that do not use animals, for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment. In dietary terms, it means not eating any kind of food derived wholly or partly from animals. > > Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals. Donald Watson also wrote the following about his ethical motivation in "Vegan News No. 1" of the Vegan Society in <1944>. > Just as our civilization in the past was built on , it is easy to see that modern civilization is built on animal exploitation. ## Meaning in everyday usage Unfortunately, the way the word is actually used often departs from the definition above. A few examples are as follows. - The distinction between **ethical vegans** and **dietary vegans**: Originally, the word "vegan" referred to all practices including diet for ethical reasons, but at some point it also began to be used in a way where the original vegan is called an "ethical vegan," while a person who practices strict vegetarianism for various reasons such as health is called a "dietary vegan." - Vegan as meaning **perfectly flawless practice**: The original definition includes the phrase "as far as is possible and practicable." But many people tend to think that one is vegan only if one perfectly excludes all exploitation of animals. However, in a society where [carnism](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Carnism.txt) is the dominant ideology, a perfect vegan is an impossible goal to achieve. 'Either perfect or not perfect' is a [false dichotomy](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/False%20dichotomy.txt). - The **misunderstanding that it is a kind of stage of vegetarianism**: There is also a common misunderstanding that vegan is at the very end of the "stages of vegetarianism." If you look only from the perspective of a dietary pattern, it is not an entirely wrong distinction, but first of all, veganism is not simply about diet; it is about a way of life that excludes all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty, so the perspective that it is "a kind of stage of vegetarianism" is to some extent a misunderstanding. Also, even if you consider only diet, if you think about why a person adopted that diet, vegetarians may choose vegetarianism for various reasons such as health or the environment, whereas vegans, at least according to the original definition, differ in that their aim is animal rights. ## Why veganism ### Ethical reasons Veganism is a way of life and a philosophy that opposes unjust oppression, discrimination, and exploitation of animals. There are various perspectives that explain why veganism should be practiced. - [Utilitarianism](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Utilitarianism.txt): In his book [Animal Liberation](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Animal%20liberation.txt), [Peter Singer](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Peter%20Singer.txt) explains the need for animal liberation on a utilitarian basis. He argues that every being capable of feeling pleasure or pain—that is, every being with [sentience](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Sentience.txt)—has interests in pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain, and that to ignore those interests without reason or to give them less weight than human interests is [speciesism](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Speciesism.txt). - [Rights view](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Rights%20view.txt): In his book , says that all living beings that have beliefs, desires, perception, memory, a sense of the future, an emotional life, preferences, the ability to act in pursuit of goals, a continuing identity, and so on are [subjects-of-a-life](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Subject%20of%20a%20life.txt), and that all subjects-of-a-life have moral rights (based on the first edition of 1983). - [Vegan feminism](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Vegan%20feminism.txt): In her book [The Sexual Politics of Meat](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/The%20sexual%20politics%20of%20meat.txt), explains the intersectionality of violence against animals and violence against women. According to Adams, the idea of viewing the flesh of animals as food contains a patriarchal attitude. By patriarchal attitude she means the justification of means by ends, the belief that objectifying other beings is an essential element of life, and the belief that violence can be hidden and ought to be hidden. - [Violent domination ideology](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Violent%20ideology.txt): In her book [Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Why%20we%20love%20dogs,%20eat%20pigs,%20and%20wear%20cows.txt), says that a culture of killing animals and eating their corpses is rooted in the violent domination ideology of [carnism](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Carnism.txt). All forms of discrimination, such as [sexism](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Sexism.txt), , and [speciesism](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Speciesism.txt), are kinds of violent domination ideology and operate through shared mechanisms. References: - [The Sexual Politics of Meat](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/The%20sexual%20politics%20of%20meat.txt) - [Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Why%20we%20love%20dogs,%20eat%20pigs,%20and%20wear%20cows.txt) - [Animal Liberation](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Animal%20liberation.txt) - [Animal Rights, Human Wrongs: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Animal%20rights,%20human%20wrongs%20-%20An%20introduction%20to%20moral%20philosophy.txt) ### Health and hygiene is also better for health than meat-eating. According to numerous studies, animal-based meals (, , , , , etc.) cause or worsen , , [diabetes](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Diabetes.txt), , , , , , and , whereas vegetarian diets—especially —have effects in preventing or improving such diseases. In order to meet the artificially inflated demand for meat among modern people, [factory farming](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Factory%20farming.txt) is essential, and not only does it pose the problem of cruelly abusing animals, it is also harmful to humans in that it can contribute to the increase of such as . References: - [What Shall We Eat?](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/The%20China%20study%20(book.txt)) - [Health Benefits of Plant-Based Diets](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Health%20benefit%20of%20plant-based%20diet.txt) - [Negative psychological aspects of working with experimental animals in scientific research](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Negative%20psychological%20aspects%20of%20working%20with%20experimental%20animals%20in%20scientific%20research.txt) ### Environment Also, compared to meat-eating, it is more effective in terms of energy efficiency, and therefore has less negative impact on the environment. - [Efficiency of Plant-Based Diets](https://wiki.g15e.com/en/pages/Efficiency%20of%20plant-based%20diet.txt)