Vegetarian Month

All throughout the year, there seem to be dozens of holidays dedicated to meat. January is National Meat Month, May is National BBQ Month (which typically means barbecuing meat), and May is also National Hamburger Month. So, there are plenty of holidays celebrating the consumption of animal flesh.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many months dedicated to vegetarianism—at least not until now. Now, October has been designated as Vegetarian Month. It’s the perfect month for people to celebrate their meat-free diet. It’s also the perfect month for those considering becoming vegetarian to give it a try.

The History of Vegetarian Month

This month was first created during the 1970s as World Vegetarian Day. It was established in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and has been celebrated every October since then.

It’s been a unique meat-free month, but then November was designated as Vegan Month. Now there are two back-to-back months dedicated to abstaining from meat products, although they do so differently.

Vegetarians exclude meat, poultry, seafood, and fish from their diet, but some vegetarians may consume dairy products such as cheese, milk, or eggs. On the other hand, vegans exclude all meat and animal products from their diets—including cheese, milk, and eggs.

Fun Facts About Vegetarianism

We thought we’d include a section on vegetarianism facts that we think everyone will appreciate. We uncovered the following facts while doing research on the subject. We think that it rounds out this article nicely and gives our readers a better idea of what makes vegetarianism something worth checking out.

  • Approximately 80% of food poisoning cases are due to consuming spoiled meat or meat products.
  • A vegetarian diet leads to lower levels of obesity, a reduced risk of heart disease, and lower blood pressure readings.
  • The average American eats over 223 pounds of meat yearly, and that doesn’t even include seafood.
  • Studies have shown that a vegetarian diet could feed more people worldwide than meat-based diets.
  • There are more vegetarians in India than anywhere else in the world.
  • It’s estimated that 70% of the world’s vegetarians live in India.

Observing Vegetarian Month

This is the perfect month for people to celebrate their vegetarianism or to introduce someone else to their vegetarian lifestyle. It’s also a good month to share vegetarian recipes online using the hashtag #VegetarianMonth.

And for everyone who has been thinking about switching to a vegetarian diet but hasn’t taken the plunge yet, this is the perfect month for people to try it out for the first time.

When is it?
This year (2024)
October 1 Tuesday
Next year (2025)
October 1 Wednesday
Last year (2023)
October 1 Sunday
Topic
Food & Drinks, Lifestyle