Donald Watson: Founder of the Vegan Movement

Donald Watson became a vegetarian at 14, after witnessing a pig being slaughtered on a relative’s farm. His sister and brother soon followed suit, his mother remarking she felt ‘like a hen who had hatched a clutch of duck eggs!’ He later went on to found the Vegan movement in England.

Born in Yorkshire (the son of a headmaster in a mining community), he moved to Leicester and became a teacher. Also a pacifist, he was a conscientious objector during World War II, and he and his wife founded the society (with others) after being told that they would not be able to survive on plants! He also practiced no-dig gardening (to avoid killing earthworms) when everyone else was still using spades and forks, to grow vegetables.

The couple had one daughter (she also became a teacher). There are now plaques in both Leicestershire and Yorkshire to commemorate him. Although he chose to live very simply, and had a simple funeral, and is buried in a small church cemetery on the outskirts of Keswick in Cumbria.

Donald’s son-in law continued the tradition, turning his home into a veggie bed-and-breakfast. He said that his relative’s nickname was ‘poppy’ (after Popeye, as everyone thought he ate a lot of spinach!) He said that back in the day, people thought Donald and his wife were ‘cranky oddballs’. But today millions of people know different.

Donald and his wife were passionate about nature, and lived the later years of their lives in Cumbria, where they enjoyed fell walking (he lived to the ripe old age of 95). He climbed Latrigg, just two days before he died.

Today The Vegan Society that he founded is very different, moving from its humble quarters in Hastings to now a bigger society based in Birmingham  There is controversy as it certifies foods with palm oil as vegan (indirect use is harming orangutans). You can’t campaign to save cows, but kill apes? What would Donald have thought?

I was surrounded by interesting animals. They all ‘gave’ something; the farm horse pulled the plough, the lighter horse pulled the trap, the cows ‘gave’ milk, the hens ‘gave eggs’ and the cockerel was a useful ‘alarm clock’.

I didn’t realise at that time, that he had another function too. The sheep ‘gave’ wool. I could never understand what the the pigs ‘gave’. But they seemed such friendly creatures – always glad to see me. Donald Watson