Celebrated on the first of October every year since 1977, World Vegetarian Day is an observance designed to raise awareness about vegetarianism and to promote the benefits this lifestyle provides. Benefits that not only include better health for those practicing a vegetarian lifestyle but also proposed benefits to society and the environment. This day is also the first day of World Vegetarian Month, which concludes with World Vegan Day on November 1st.

History

World Vegetarian Day was first enacted by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 as a way to promote the vegetarian lifestyle among non-vegetarians. A year later, it was adopted by the International Vegetarian Union.

Over the past four decades, it has slowly gained popularity as more and more people have begun looking at the moral, economic, and environmental issues surrounding the consumption of meat.

Facts About Vegetarianism

The country with the largest vegetarian population is India. About two-thirds of the world’s vegetarians currently reside in India, and the country accounts for more vegetarians than any other country in the world.

A recent study done in Great Britain showed that the IQ of a child could be used to predict whether that child would become a vegetarian or not. According to this study, the higher a child’s IQ, the more likely they are to become a vegetarian.

Famous vegetarians include Mohandas Gandhi, Jane Goodall, Sri Chinmoy, George Bernard Shaw, John Harvey Kellogg, Meat Loaf, Benjamin Franklin, Sir Isaac Newton, Mark Twain, and Henry Ford.

Conclusion

World Vegetarian Day is a day for everyone to take a look at their eating habits and to reflect on how those eating habits may affect one’s health, society, and the environment. It is also a day that allows people to try out the vegetarian lifestyle without committing to it completely.