Asia - A Return to Vegan Roots, Part 1 of 2

In early 2010, several vegan organizations emerged in Asia. The Vegan Society of Indonesia (VSI) was founded in August 2009, and it was soon followed by similar organizations in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The development of these organizations has had an enormous impact on veganism in Asia and across the globe.

In 2018, 74 years after Donald Watson coined the term "vegan," vegan leaders and activists from around the world gathered in Taiwan (Formosa) to unite their movements and create a single organization, the World Vegan Organization (WVO). The WVO's goal is to achieve a more significant impact by supporting each other's efforts in each delegate's country. The World Vegan Organization (WVO) believes that everyone can become vegan and that every vegan is an activist, whether they realize it or not. The WVO's mission is to help people understand the benefits of veganism and inspire them to switch to a plant-based diet.

We had the honor to talk to Zac Lovas (vegan), the Secretary General of WVO, in April during the preparation for the 8th WVO Conference & Vegan Festival. “How do I see veganism in Asia? I see it like we see it all over the world. We see it growing.”

The World Vegan Organization partnered with the Indonesian Vegetarian Society and Vegan Society Indonesia (IVS &VSI) for the 8th WVO Conference & Vegan Festival 2023. In addition to the fun activities, there were several educational and informative events. The Vegan Film Festival also featured a range of inspiring and thought-provoking films that promote veganism, animal rights, and facts about the environmental impact of the animal-people meat, dairy, and egg industries, movies such as “Cowspiracy,” “Eating Our Way to Extinction,” “Land of Ahimsa,” “Slay,” “Planet A,” and many more.