William Safire on the word "vegan"

Safire is a "carnivore," but he has some appreciation for vegetarians who can either write well ...

"By all that is sacred in our hopes for the human race," wrote the passionate poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1813, "I conjure those who love happiness and truth, to give a fair trial to the vegetable system." The cardinal rule of that blithe spirit: "Never take any substance into the stomach that once had life."

... or coin a clever word.

Then along came the Yorkshireman Donald Watson, a woodworker in Britain and a devotee of greens, who [invented the word 'vegan'].... I'm a carnivore myself -- an animal that delights in eating other animals -- but won't treat this guy like a fad-diet freak: Watson has a major coinage under his belt, and he's a spry 94.

Thanks to the Green Eats weblog for the link.