I have a root (certainly not a bone!) to pick with The Economist, who at the start of 2019 declared it would be the Year of the Vegan. Of course they were right, with plant-based eating going more and more mainstream. Over the year, plants took bow after bow for appreciation of their health benefits and their role in helping to save animals and the environment.
They just weren’t right enough. “The vegan” is a term like “the society,” too easy to read past in haste, without thinking about what it really means.
That recognition jumped out at me when I looked back over the many news stories that I and others wrote for VEGWORLD throughout this exciting vegan year.
What did I see in those news reports that jump-started a newly deepened respect for vegan living? Hint: It was more than vegan-leaning educators, health professionals, retailers, and manufacturers; more than the animals and the environment; more even than the plants themselves.
It was YOU. You and the countless others like you whose passion and commitment got the plant-based movement into gear in the first place and kept driving it forward until, today, it has a thriving life of its own that you continue to nourish.
So this story is about you in 2019 — our salute to you, our readers, as we continue on together:
About how we at VEGWORLD had you always in our thoughts as we crafted the news you read in our pages, and
About our pride in the actions you and so many other VEGWORLD readers take every day of the year to keep exciting, positive plant-based news events happening.
In reading over our 2019 news stories, I was struck by the astonishing spread of plant-based living into just about every aspect of our daily lives — taking care of our health; eating, entertaining, and dining out; buying clothes, cosmetics, cars, and more; vacationing in hotels and resorts; even financial investing and following our favorite celebrities.
Here’s just a brief recap to help you remember our news from 2019, and to whet your appetite for what’s to come in 2020.
Our news stories ranged incredibly widely, from the rescue of a burned tortoise in the devastating Amazon wildfires; to Earthling Ed’s hilarious retorts to offer when people derided veganism; to the “fungus amongus!” development of tasty no-meat foods made from truly surprising things such as — yes, fungi; to the very origins of plants themselves.
In education, for example, we celebrated the MUSE School’s plant- and sustainability-based curriculum; the training of young attorneys to advocate for animal rights, and the plant-based medical training initiatives taking place.
We even reported on investment exchanges that are now excluding all stocks from their portfolio offerings that rely on the exploitation of animals — remarkable evidence of how far animal advocacy has spread in our society.
In health, we reported long-term studies supporting plant-based health benefits as well as the personal experiences of celebrity vegans, including Mister Rogers, Pamela Anderson, Jaden Smith, Billie Eilish, and many, many others. (These stories supplement the powerful non-news content written by our wonderful VEGWORLD authors, chefs, and columnists. Take a bow!)
In clothing and car manufacturing, we celebrated with you the ongoing reports of companies dropping leather, fur, feathers, and other animal products from their fashions, automobile interiors, and many other products.
YOU made all these things happen. It’s been a pleasure to “report” that plants couldn’t help anybody, anywhere, without you. And neither could we.
Thank you!
For details of these and other news stories reported in VEGWORLD, visit https://www.vegworldmag.com/news?start=0.
