October 1st – a beautiful day of celebration for all vegetarians. Yes! The day is declared as World Vegetarian Day and is celebrated not just for a day but also for an entire month.
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When is World Vegetarian Day 2021?
World Vegetarian Day is observed on 1st October annually. Surprisingly, India is primarily vegetarian by nature, though it has a significant non-vegetarian population! World-famous stalwarts like Newton, Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin and George Bernard Shaw are examples of luminaries who chose a vegetarian lifestyle in place of a non-vegan living style.
History of World Vegetarian Day
In 1977, the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) launched a worldwide mission to make vegetarianism accessible. This was later taken over and continued by the International Vegetarian Union later in the year 1978. Both the organizations had straightforward missions yet very meaningful to society.
They wanted to popularise vegetarian foods and encourage people to lead a vegetarian style of living. The good thing is, they didn’t focus just on American soil but worked hard to spread the word to other countries worldwide.
They had two-point agendas on bringing people closer to vegetarianism. They provided focus on the various advantages of sticking to an all-vegan diet. The second plan spoke closer to mother nature. They explained in multiple ways the many favourable benefits vegetarianism can bring to our environment.
Finally, in their continued efforts, they have made available many resources that signify plant-based nutrition to a man compared to the adverse effects of a non-vegan diet.
Why is World Vegetarian Day Celebrated?
Vegetarians are considered much healthier and closer to their surroundings, in stark contrast with their non-vegan counterparts. This is because their dependency on food is mainly derived from plants. They do not consume animal-based foods hence increasing the sustainability quotient for living things and their surrounding environment. Secondly, plant-based foods induce lesser harmful substances into the body. Our eating habits indicate our lifestyle and thereby define our health.
A vegetarian diet is recommended by doctors too! Non-vegetarian food causes the majority of heart diseases and cancers. The metabolism rate of a person is generally good when he adopts a vegetarian diet. A vegan diet is a high fibre diet too! All our fruits, nuts, vegetables and grains are excellent storehouses of digestive fibres. They help in increasing the roughage content in our food and also balance body weight.
World Vegetarian Day 2021 Theme
Every year unique themes are designed to help people find a motivational goal to celebrate vegetarianism. The theme for World Vegetarian Day 2021 is undecided yet. The year 2018 contemplated a broader theme and vision for the non-vegans. It said, “time to contemplate what we are eating”.
In 2016, International Vegetarian Day had a particular theme called “World Meat Free Day”. Many organizations came forward and celebrated a day by eating only vegetarian food. They spread awareness on the ill effects of eating meat products and animal-based food.
World Vegetarian Day 2021 Celebration
Celebrations for Vegetarian Day begin right on October 1st but continue till November 1st. The day concludes with the added celebration of World Vegan Day on November 1st. Events are planned and timed for an entire month to spread awareness on vegetarianism. Special workshops and talks are conducted worldwide.
These workshops talk about a vast range of topics like healthier ways of living, vegetarian ways of life, vegetarians and more enormous benefits, etc. Specially targeted entities to promote vegan foods are restaurants and dining places. Snack bars and chocolate/ice-cream parlours support vegetarian diets by offering only vegan meals for the entire month.
Local NGOs can organize vegetarian food drives and distribute food to poor communities. Regional health workers and volunteers can contribute to the day by holding campaigns and placards. At the national level, exhibitions to promote vegetarianism are considered an essential part of the day’s celebrations.
The day is all about spreading vegetarianism, especially to the non-vegan community. So activities and events could be charted around these centres of non-vegan activities.
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