What is a vegan lifestyle?
Veganism is a practice of avoiding the use of animal products, particularly in diet. For most people, this extends to an underlying philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. Another popular definition of veganism is: A way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
What is the motivation?
Anecdotal evidence and research suggest that nearly 50% of all adults who become vegan do so for ethical reasons (i.e. they become aware of the inhumane and violent treatment of animals used for food, and decide to withdraw from the demand for these products.) LEARN MORE.
Less than 50% of adults become vegan for health reasons (i.e. they become aware of the link between the consumption of animal products and the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, obesity, diabetes and other common western society diseases.) In this context (i.e. avoiding animal products mostly for health reasons), the term “plant-based” is often used to describe the lifestyle. LEARN MORE.
A minority of adults become vegan for environmental reasons (i.e. they become aware of the environmental issues linked to the industrial animal agriculture, especially the contribution to global warming and depletion of resources.) LEARN MORE.
How does this apply to vegans in business?
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The rising trend of vegans in the business world to a large degree mirrors the trend in the overall society (unprecedented public discussion of veganism, unprecedented supply and demand of vegan alternatives, etc.) Additionally, business professionals might particularly be drawn to the vegan lifestyle, and find it highly compatible with their existing driven, informed and responsible lifestyle. This is not a widely discussed or recognized theory but conceptually, many values that define good business leaders (integrity, care, knowledge, innovation, initiative and self-improvement) are the same as the values that underlie the vegan philosophy.