While not as many people recognize World Vegan Day as ‌they do other celebratory days, it is still a unique opportunity to celebrate the benefits of veganism. 

World Vegan Day, also known as National Vegan Day, is a holiday celebrating the benefits of veganism for humans, animals and the environment. The holiday started in 1994 and occurs annually on Nov. 1.

While the day was originally started to commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Vegan Society, it now serves as a day for vegans to celebrate their diets and educate others on veganism.

There are several reasons someone could choose to follow a vegan diet. For Esha Mehta, freshman in Engineering, that reason was animal cruelty. 

“I’m a huge wildlife fan, and if they’re not able to live their best life running around and being with their family, I can’t support something like that,” Mehta said. “That was the big shift there. Once I had that mentality, there’s no way I was going back.”

Veganism first began in many cultures as a diet discouraging violence against animals. While animal cruelty remains a driving reason for vegans across the world, some practice the diet for its other benefits as well. 

Diya Kumaran, freshman in Engineering, originally got the idea to go vegan after watching a documentary about how unsustainable the livestock and dairy industries are. Since Kumaran’s family was already vegetarian, switching diets was a small step for her. 

For Jame Sewell, a sophomore in Engineering, adjusting to a vegan lifestyle at home wasn’t hard, but transitioning to the University presented new challenges. University dining has limited options and, for vegan students, getting a nutritious meal can be difficult.

Sewell has been a vegan since she was in fourth grade and found meals easy at home because her entire family is also vegan. But maintaining her diet proved to be a struggle when she moved into the dorms last year, during the workers’ strike in particular.

“I actually was in contact with one of the women in charge of all the dining hall options because I was really struggling, especially toward the beginning of the year,” Sewell said. 

This strike left Sewell struggling to find a hearty meal as it reduced vegan-friendly options even further. But it seems the University has done work in between the academic years to provide more inclusive meal options. 

According to Kumaran, finding a good meal hasn’t been too much of a struggle as the freshmen this year have many options within the dining halls, including some delicious vegan-friendly desserts.

However, despite this increase in alternatives, Mehta and Kumaran still share some concerns regarding cross-contamination. According to Mehta, she sometimes finds pieces of meat mixed in with the plant-based alternatives, as the two containers are next to each other in the dining halls. This has led both Mehta and Kumaran to pass on their plant-based options a few times. 

Even though the dining options sometimes cause problems for vegan students, Champaign-Urbana has plenty of spots serving up vegan-friendly meals daily. 

When Sewell’s family comes to town, she loves to bring them to Sakanaya. This is one of her favorite spots because it has a vegetarian menu and almost all the options on it are vegan.

One of Mehta’s favorite vegan-friendly spots near campus is Forage Kitchen. Its Thai bowl has already become a staple plant-based meal for her. 

While some restaurants still have a bit of a way to go in offering inclusive menus, access to vegan-friendly options continues to grow. Students can find vegan meat and dairy products in many large convenience stores, including the Target near campus. 

As vendors become more inclusive of different diets, Mehta hopes to also use World Vegan Day as a way to break stigmas around vegan diets and encourage others to try their hand at a plant-based diet. 

According to Mehta, people often assume vegan products won’t taste as good as the original items. But she has found that when she provides friends with vegan food while letting them assume the items are not vegan, they tend to actually like the taste of the alternatives. 

“My favorite thing to do is have a vegan dessert and not say it’s vegan and wait for everyone to rave about it and then be like, ‘Oh, it’s actually vegan,’” Mehta said. 

Despite stigmas still surrounding vegan diets, vegans across campus and the world can use World Vegan Day to celebrate and share how far plant-based options have come.

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