Positive Changes in Countries Part 29 of a Multi-part Series – Devoted Governments, Devoted Citizens: Iran, Iraq, Ireland

My country, Iran, is the second largest in the Middle East. Iran is the recipient of two Shining World Leadership Awards for Compassion for her noble lifesaving acts toward our animal co-inhabitants. The honorable government of Iran is also a four-time recipient of the Shining World Leadership Award for Good Governance. A continued priority for Iran’s leaders is the protection of women’s rights. I am happy to share that today, the peaceful and green vegan way of life is steadily blooming in Iran. Dedicated vegan organizations such as Hormat-e-Hayat, VeganKind, Pure Human, and Clean Earth, have been actively working to increase public knowledge regarding all aspects of the vegan lifestyle.

Fascinating Iraq is a Western Asian country next to the Persian Gulf. Since the end of civil conflict in December 2017, with Allah’s blessings, Iraq has experienced expanding peace. What’s more, Iraq is seeing an encouraging rise of conscious plant-based living in recent years. Zhiar Ali and Zanko Bakhshi, two young passionate vegans of Iraq, founded Kurdistan Vegans in 2018. This non-profit vegan organization is dedicated to animal rights, environmentalism, and a healthy lifestyle.

Friendly Ireland is a Western European country with a population of five million. Renowned for our magical folklore and legends, Ireland is the proud home of four Nobel Prize laureates for Literature in the 20th century alone. Animal welfare was a top priority of its 2019 legislation, the Irish government approved the Prohibition of Fur Farming Bill with All fur farming banned by the end of 2021. Today, plant-based eating is growing exponentially in Ireland. Based on data from TripAdvisor for vegan-friendly restaurants, Ireland’s capital Dublin was 2019’s most vegan-friendly city in the world. Lastly, as the pioneering country that introduced a smoking ban in all public places in 2004, Ireland further banned menthol cigarettes and rolling tobacco effective May 20, 2020.