eli5: has there ever been a time when there were vegan civilization(s), or is veganism a new thing in the history of humans
In: 0
All three major Indian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) promote nonviolence as a major moral obligation, which very often includes not eating animals. Wikipedia says that eating animal meat had become a major taboo in India by 200 CE, and around 45% of Hindus today report that they are vegetarian. This is much more common in the north/west part of the country.
I don’t know if that’s the same as a whole vegetarian (not vegan) civilization, but probably the closest. For all of history, getting enough food to eat was (and still is) the first and biggest challenge of life. Choosing not to take advantage of every possible food source is generally a luxury few can afford.
I can’t think of any vegans. There have been a lot of vegetarian societies going quite far back, most famously in Indian culture. Ovo-lacto vegetarianism was common, and many societies allowed fish too.
IMHO this is why much modern American vegan cuisine isn’t that great, it’s mostly modern inventions made to make people forget they’re not eating meat. But Indian vegetarian (ovo-lacto) cuisine has grown over thousands of years to just be delicious on its own. I’ll take a good chana (chickpea) saag over a chicken saag any day, and I’m not even a vegetarian.
Latest Answers