VUNA Views, Vol. 8, No. 3, Summer (June), 2000

VUNA Views, Vol. 8, No. 3, Summer (June), 2000

H. Jay Dinshah, 1933-2000
In Memoriam

As I was catching up on my e-mail after a weekend out of town, I read a message that reported Jay Dinshah of the American Vegan Society had died. My first reaction was to assume this was one of those off-the-wall Internet rumors, and I would suspend belief until I could confirm it. Alas, another message with an obituary was farther down in my In box, and another, and another. I checked Veg-News on the IVU Web site and got the confirmation I dreaded. On the morning of June 8, H. Jay Dinshah, Founder and President of the American Vegan Society, had passed away suddenly while working in his office in Malaga, New Jersey.

Reaction to this news showed the esteem in which Jay was held. Joanne Stepaniak called him "the voice of the moral minority" who "courageously strove to bring awareness to a world desperately in need of truth, sacrificing riches for a life rich with purpose." Robert Cohen, who will give several talks at the upcoming World Congress, related his pleasure in buying $300 worth of books from the Dinshahs' book exhibit at a Florida vegetarian conference in December because his purchases were helping support their mission, which Robert described as "to help share the vegan lifestyle through their own example, by motivating and teaching and loving others." He suggests that a fitting tribute to Jay would be to order a book or ten books or a hundred books from the American Vegan Society (1-856-694-2887). "Your tribute and blessing would be to plant the seeds of knowledge contained within the thousands of books in the American Vegan Society's catalogue. Be true to Jay's spirit and support his mission. In death, you can renew Jay's life."

A lifelong vegetarian, Jay became a vegan in 1957 after reading literature from the British Vegan Society that described the cruelties involved in obtaining milk, leather, and other animal products commonly used by vegetarians. His desire to promote compassionate, nonviolent living including an animal-free diet and a lifestyle based on ahimsa, or Dynamic Harmlessness, led him to found the American Vegan Society in 1960. This was also the year he married Freya Smith of England, his partner in life and in work with the AVS. Their courtship was largely carried on through a trans-Atlantic correspondence. During the early years, Jay went on lecture tours across the US, to Europe, Asia, and around the world. Travel was decidedly unglamorous, as Jay drove old cars seemingly held together with baling wire to take himself and a load of books to any place where people were willing to hear the message of compassionate, healthy living that he spread with singular dedication.

A prolific writer, Jay got his and others' ideas into print using whatever equipment he could find at an affordable price--whether an ancient mimeograph machine, 19th-century printing press, or bargain-basement used offset press. As the years went on, Jay and Freya developed the AVS Book Nook into perhaps the most comprehensive source of vegetarian and vegan books, audio tapes, and videos. The extensive catalog, published in every issue of the AVS's magazine Ahimsa, includes a helpful description of every item in the hundreds listed.

Jay, an Old Friend of the IVU and VUNA
Jay had a long association with the IVU and VUNA. When the IVU wanted to hold a World Vegetarian Congress in North America--the first ever outside of Europe or Asia--Jay was instrumental in forming the North American Vegetarian Society, which had a more inclusive focus than Jay's vegan organization. The new NAVS hosted the 1975 World Congress in Orono, Maine. After the Vegetarian Union of North America was formed in 1987, AVS and VUNA jointly held several biennial Congresses.

Those whose connection with vegetarianism goes back no farther than the '80s cannot imagine how different the perceptions of vegetarianism, and even more, veganism, were in 1960, when Jay began the AVS. A meatless diet was considered dangerous, "radical," faddist, or wacky. The ethical implications of killing or harming animals merely to satisfy taste buds or fashion sense went unmentioned because they were largely unthought of. Jay dedicated his life to changing an indifferent, if not hostile, society--and change it he did. Today the healthfulness of sensible vegan diets is acknowledged by that most mainstream of authorities, the American Dietetic Association, and doctors advocating vegan or near-vegan diets are consulted by governmental health-policy bodies. Considerations of cruelty to animals and our obligations to them make their way into newspapers, magazines, TV news, and even situation comedies. Scientifically valid polls commissioned by The Vegetarian Resource Group have consistently shown that far from constituting a tiny subgroup of vegetarians, vegans probably make up a sizable percentage of true vegetarians (those who never eat animal flesh of any kind). An even larger group of vegetarians is reducing their use of dairy or eggs in response to concerns raised by vegan advocates. Such a sea change in attitudes would not have happened without the work of Jay and those inspired by his example.

Those of us who knew Jay only from his books, magazine articles, and book exhibits at conferences will greatly miss his insights and example. For those who loved him, the loss is far more profound. To Freya, Jay's daughter Anne and son Daniel, his sister and brothers and friends, the Vegetarian Union of North America extends our deepest sympathy and the promise to carry on his work of promoting peace and compassion for all the beings of the world.--Judy Miner

Maintained by Judy Miner jwminer@accessvt.com
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