JACK SANDERSON, 1911 – 1983

Jack Sanderson became vegan as a young man when he became aware of the cruelties inseparable from the meat and dairy industries; this was before The Vegan Society had been formed, or the word vegan had even been invented! He became one of the Society’s earliest members and played an active part for more than thirty years. His most memorable and influential contribution was as Editor of The Vegan magazine, a position he still held at the time of his sudden death at the age of 72.

A natural teacher, Jack Sanderson would happily travel anywhere to speak on veganism to any group. He spoke with lucidity and fluency and did not mind however many questions he had to answer.

He was widely liked and respected for his gentle nature, yet firmness of purpose, his intellectual brilliance and his compassion. Above all, his compassion!

In his last-ever editorial, written just weeks before his death, he contrasted the vibrant pre-Christmas shopping scene, with sheepskin and fur coats, leather footwear and furniture, and all manner of meats and poultry, specially fattened for the occasion, and all on brilliantly-lit display; with the realities of animal suffering in factory-farms and slaughterhouses. He also wrote of the sheer numbers of animals consumed by humans in one way or another. In going on to write of the many organisations which campaign against cruelty, he wrote:

"It is not easy to compare degrees of cruelty. Cruelty is cruelty and is indivisible."

As good a quote as any to remember Jack Sanderson by!