Short answers, pulled from the story.
Donald Watson coined the word vegan in November 1944 in a small room in Leicester, England. He created the term by taking the first three letters of vegetarian and the last two to distinguish his group from mainstream vegetarians who accepted milk and eggs.
Early vegans include the Arab poet al-Ma'arri and the English philosopher Lewis Gompertz who argued for animal justice. The practice also has roots in the Indus Valley civilization between 3300 and 1300 BCE and includes figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Indian philosophers such as Parshavnatha and Mahavira.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada claim that well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for all life stages including pregnancy and lactation. The German Society for Nutrition holds that a vegan diet can be healthful for healthy adults but does not recommend it for vulnerable groups like children or pregnant women without professional advice.
A 2018 study found that global adoption of plant-exclusive diets would reduce agricultural land use by 76 percent and cut total global greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent. A 2023 study published in Nature Food found that a vegan diet reduces emissions, water pollution, and land use by 75 percent while reducing the destruction of wildlife by 66 percent.
The United Kingdom ruled in 2020 that the Equality Act 2010 protects ethical veganism as a belief. Portugal requires public administration canteens and cafeterias to offer at least one vegan option at every meal starting in 2017. Ontario ruled in 2023 that veganism is not a protected belief under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Feminist veganism was pioneered by scholar Carol J. Adams with her 1990 book The Sexual Politics of Meat. The central argument is that there is a connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of animals, viewing meat eating as the ultimate capitalist product.