World Vegetarian Month

“Vegetarian food leaves a deep impression on our nature. If the whole world adopts vegetarianism, it can change the destiny of humankind.”  Albert Einstein

Starting on October 1st, the world will encompass World Vegetarian day, following that with Animal Day on October 4th, and ending the month with World Vegan Day on November 1st.

The World Vegetarian Day was first established in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and was further endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978. It evolved into a Vegetarian Awareness Month.

"This month is a good opportunity to promote healthy living, sustainability, and kindness to animals. It is important to encourage everyone to see how vegetarian values can help the world. Now more than ever, we have seen the impact human activities have on the environment, we all have a responsibility to create a kinder, healthier world through our choices." Says Julia Clements, President of the NZ Vegetarian Society.

Vegetarianism is growing rapidly in New Zealand, but other parts of the world have had meat-free cuisines for centuries. Vegetarianism has been present in India since the 5th Century, in Buddhism, in plant-based staples such as tofu which have been consumed in China for more than 2,000 years, in Indonesian, Japanese and Thai cuisines, and also on the African continent before the European colonisation.

For a rich and varied plant-based diet, we have compiled our favourite plant-based recipes for you to try! Most of these recipes were traditionally vegan, but some were meat-based recipes that have been ‘veganised’. 

World Vegetarian Awareness Month brings greater awareness to the ethical, environmental, health, and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.

Pop this poster up on your local, work or school noticeboard, or inside your car window. Let as many people know about this month of compassion as you can.

Take the challenge and go veg during October. 

Check out this awesome list of things we can all do to help animals:

1. Organise a special display at your local library, favourite cafe, store or workplace – we can provide posters check out our resources page – you can print them too.
2. Arrange a veg~n morning tea for your workmates.
3. Movie night: arrange a DVD/film evening and invite your non-veg friends (some ideas: What the Health, Conspiracy, Raw, Okja).
4. Volunteer for us – help us create a kinder, healthier world. We need helpers for information stalls, admin tasks in the office and much more!
5. Get your library to buy vegetarian books (recipe books, books on ethics, veg strategies etc.) – suggest a purchase! You never know whose life that book may change!
6. Once you finish reading it, leave vegetarian magazines at a waiting room.
7. Get a vegetarian bumper sticker for your car or bike.
8. Wear your favourite vegetarian shirts and take a vegetarian tote bag with you everywhere (check out our online shop).
9. Calmly and respectfully answer questions about vegetarianism (yes, including those silly and annoying questions about protein 🙂. Read about the benefits of vegetarianism (environmental, health, ethics).
10. Build a community – start your own veg group if you don’t have one in your area (let us know about it).
11. Research reasons to go veg and share with your friends and family.
12. Suggest to your friends to sign up to a veg challenge.
13. Help us grow our Vegetarian Approved & Vegan Certification programme – Do you know a company making delicious vegetarian or vegan food? Why not encourage them to get their products approved?
14. Visit a sanctuary: spend some time with the animals we advocate for.
15. Encourage non-veg restaurants to offer veg meals.
16. Do online reviews – restaurant owners care about online reviews, so praise the best vegan options at local restaurants or noting room for improvement is a great way to inspire change.
17. Be strategic: research how to become a more effective advocate. Recommended books: How to Create a Vegan World: A Pragmatic Approach by Tobias Leenaert or Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism by Mark Hawthorne.
18. Add a positive message to your email signature such as a nice quote, a banner or a link to campaigns, free veg starter kits, or to our website.
19. Write letters to the editor: if you find an article in your local paper that is full of misinformation, write to the editor with well-researched facts.
20. Donate to a vegetarian charity of your choice (we are a veg charity too, just saying 🙂).
21. Write a letter to a company: find out which companies test their products on animals and write a letter asking them to switch to humane alternatives.
22. Run for a good cause – raise money, challenge yourself and show the world that everything that meat-eaters can do, vegetarians can do better. 🙂
23. Be healthy – there are no better advocates for our cause than thriving vegetarians. Make sure you eat a well-balanced diet to lead by example.
24. Join email campaigns – the message should be polite and civil.
25. Chalking – create eye-catching and inspiring messages in chalk on the sidewalk. Ideas: be kind to every kind.
26. Social media activism – bashing people with the brutal truth is not effective, keep it positive and inspiring.
27. Offer help to friends and family – sometimes people have good intentions but they are really clueless about how to start out. Mentor them for a while, go grocery shopping with them, show them recipes etc.
28. Use your talent – art, graphic design, photography, videography, music, etc. skills are invaluable in spreading a compassionate lifestyle. Be creative.
29. Practice how you talk about veg~nism – never attack, use non-violent communication.
30. Be a proud veg~n: when your GP praises your cholesterol levels or BP rate, your friend compliments you on your healthy weight, glowing skin or hair, tell them it’s because you are veg!
31. Take care of yourself – Activists, particularly if they are exposed to disturbing images and information are at risk of burnout. So take a break and pat yourself on the back. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

Keep an eye out on our facebook page/website for opportunities to get involved.

Do you have other simple activism ideas? We’d love to hear about them!

Don’t forget to take a picture of yourself doing activism and send it to us so we can include it in our magazine’s kindness corner! 🙂