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Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vegan; the word is also used to describe foods and materials that are compatible with veganism.

Ethical veganism excludes all forms of animal use, whether in agriculture for labour or food (e.g., meat, fish and other animal seafood, eggs, honey, and dairy products such as milk or cheese), in clothing and fashion (e.g., leather, wool, fur, and some cosmetics), in entertainment (e.g., rodeos, bullfighting, zoos, pet ownership, circuses, dolphinariums and horse racing), in services (e.g., mounted police, working animals, K9s and animal testing), and in medicine (e.g., bile bear farms, wildlife trade). People who follow a vegan diet for the benefits to the environment, their health, or for religion are regularly also described as vegans.

Although individuals have been renouncing the consumption of products of animal origin since ancient times, the term "veganism" itself was coined in 1944 by Donald and Dorothy Watson. The aim was to differentiate it from vegetarianism, which rejects the consumption of meat but accepts the consumption of other products of animal origin, such as milk, honey, dairy products, and eggs. Interest in veganism increased significantly in the 2010s.

Vegetarianism can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization in 3300–1300 BCE in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in northern and western ancient India. Early vegetarians included Indian philosophers such as Parshavnatha, Mahavira, Acharya Kundakunda, Umaswati, Samantabhadra, and Valluvar, as well as the Indian emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka.

One of the earliest known vegans was the Arab poet al-Ma'arri, famous for his poem "I No Longer Steal From Nature". (c. 973 – c. 1057). Another vegan who predated the term vegan was English philosopher Lewis Gompertz. The Irish farmer Robert Cook (1646–1726) was a vegan who also predated the term; he did not eat any animal products and did not wear wool or leather, on account of his Protestant interpretation of biblical verses.

Ancient vegan arguments were based on health, the transmigration of souls, animal welfare, and the view — espoused by Porphyry in De Abstinentia ab Esu Animalium ("On Abstinence from Animal Food", c. 268 – c. 270) — that if humans deserve justice, then so do animals.

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vegan; the word is also used to describe foods and materials that are compatible with veganism.

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals.