The concept of veganism has been around for centuries, but the term itself was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson, a British woodworker. Watson was a vegetarian, but he felt that the term didn't go far enough, as vegetarians still consumed dairy and eggs. He wanted to create a new term to describe people who avoided all animal products, and he came up with the word "vegan" by combining the first three and last two letters of the word "vegetarian."
Watson was not the first person to avoid all animal products, but he was the first to create a word to describe this way of life and to start a movement to promote it. He founded the Vegan Society in 1944, and he spent the rest of his life advocating for veganism and educating people about its benefits.
While Watson is credited with coining the term "vegan" and starting the vegan movement, there are many other people who have played important roles in promoting veganism over the years. These include Pythagoras, Al-Maʿarri, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Sylvester Graham.
Thanks to the efforts of Watson and many others, veganism is now more popular than ever before.
