Founded in the United Kingdom in November 1944, The Vegan Society is the oldest vegan society in the world. They even created the word ‘vegan’, by taking the first three and last two letters of the word vegetarian.
This was the beginning of an adventure aiming to live a healthy, respectful, and happy life. It was founded by Donald Watson and his wife, Dorothy, along with four friends – Elsie Shrigley, husband and wife Mr. G. A. Henderson and Fay K. Henderson were among them.
We talked with Nishat Rahman, Brand Marketing Officer, about their activities, goals, and the importance of being vegan. We invite you to know them better:
Why is it important to be vegan in the 21st century?
All animals, including non-human animals, deserve not to be harmed
We don’t need animal products to live a healthy, happy life
We are in a climate emergency. We are in a climate emergency. Eating a vegan diet could be the single biggest way to reduce our environmental impact (Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html)
Could you give us some tips to start being vegan?
Use our app to help you start your vegan journey: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/veguide
Think about your favorite vegan snacks and meals and get creative with how to veganise them you’ll be surprised at how enjoyable it can be to experiment and find new alternatives that don’t harm animals
Having a vegan community always helps! Check-in with your vegan friends and share advice, recipes, product recommendations. If you don’t have any vegan friends, join online groups with other vegans for tips, advice, and ideas.
Look out for The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark on products. It helps you easily identify if a product is suitable for vegans and can be found on over 50,000 products worldwide.
What does the Vegan Trademark mean?
If a product is certified by the Vegan Trademark, it means that the product has been checked against The Vegan Society’s strict standards and contains no animal ingredients, and has not been tested on animals. It is the most trusted and recognized mark that vegan standards have been met, regulated by a team of vegan experts.
Could you provide us with some information about companies in Latin America and the world that have the Vegan Trademark?
Here are just a few companies in Latin America that have products certified by the Vegan Trademark:
B.You (Brazil) – juices and ice creams
Beyoung Cosmeticos (Brazil) – skincare and cosmetics
Cofina (Ecuador) – cocoa products
Bananas To Go (Ecuador) – snacks
Mieles Campos Azules (Mexico) – organic agave syrup and tequila
Kaiken (Argentina) – alcoholic drinks
Lupwi – Alimentarte S.A. (Ecuador) – Andean lupine drinks
You can also find Vegan Trademark certified products across the world in the UK, Europe, America, Canada, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Russia, as well as global brands that sell on multiple continents.
What does it take to get the Vegan Trademark?
To get products certified by the Vegan Trademark, a brand can submit their products for registration here.
Our team of experts will then check the products thoroughly to ensure its free of animal ingredients and animal testing. Once successfully verified, the brand can proudly display the Vegan Trademark on their product (or products!) to help vegans or those looking for vegan alternatives trust that it has been checked against the strictest standards.
What changes have occurred worldwide in favor of veganism?
The vegan movement is going from strength to strength with more people going vegan. For example, in 2015 Veganuary, a charity that asks people to go vegan in January registered 12,800 sign-ups. This has quickly grown to 513,663 pledges in 2021.
More high-profile personalities and celebrities are going vegan and talking about veganism. This includes actor Joaquin Phoenix in his Oscars speech. More films, documentaries, and publications are discussing veganism and its impact on human and non-human animals as well as the planet, and access to information across the internet means people can make more informed decisions.
Companies are making more vegan products. When we first launched the Vegan Trademark in 1990, only five products were registered and now we can proudly say over 50,000 products carry the trusted mark, with an impressive 15,206 new products certified in 2020 alone.
The Covid-19 pandemic encouraged people to cook more at home and think about the impact of their diet and lifestyle. A study by The Vegan Society found that 1 in 4 (25%) people in the UK have actively cut back on some form of the animal product since the first lockdown. (Source: https://www.vegansociety.com/news/news/1-4-brits-cut-back-animal-products-during-covid-19-pandemic-0)
What are your expectations for the future?
The future is vegan! In a world where it’s easier than ever to share information and ideas, the vegan movement will continue to grow with more people living a vegan lifestyle for a combination of reasons including ethics, health, and sustainability. From food and drink to cosmetics, household and fashion, companies are increasingly growing their vegan product ranges and we don’t see any signs of that stopping.
