Hi!  I've gotten into veganism recently, but it seems like veganism isn't really an old thing.  It must've not existed 100 years ago.
You might be shocked to find out that it has roots in the civilizations of ancient India and ancient Greece. 
Wow definitely color me shocked.  With india is veganism related to religion since they don't like eating mutton and cows?
Yeah, in both cases the diet was very closely connected to the idea of nonviolence towards animals. 
Outside of India has veganism only cropped up in modern times, or perchance was it a fad in victorian England?
History of vegetarianism
The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India and the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece. In both instances, the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals (called "ahimsa" in India), and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th–6th centuries), vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe. Several orders of monks in medieval Europe restricted or
and Brooklyn.
Activism.
Moskowitz is a vocal opponent of "humane meat", promoting animal rights through what she calls "Culinary Activism" or "Baketivism":
I think that activism isn't what you decide to do but how it affects people. So if someone says, I'm going to become an activist! I'm going to stand on a street corner and preach about veganism! And then they go ahead and do that but no one listens and no one becomes vegan, then is that