The Vegan Awareness Foundation, also known as Vegan Action, is a

501(c)(3) non-profit organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and founded in 1995. Its declared goal is to help animals, the environment, and human health by educating the public about the benefits of a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

lifestyle and encourage the spread of vegan food options through public outreach campaigns. One of the goals of Vegan Action is to create growth in the vegan marketplace and increase the availability of vegan products. They have introduced a logo to certify vegan products, vegan food options into schools nationwide, and ideas behind veganism.

Activities and campaigns

Vegan certification

Since 2000, Vegan Action administers a "Certified Vegan" logo, which is a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

applied to foods, clothing, cosmetics and other items that contain no animal products and are not tested on animals. The logo is aimed at consumers interested in vegan products and helps vegans to shop without consulting ingredient lists. Since its introduction, the logo has been used by over 800 companies on thousands of products.

McVegan

Each year, Vegan Action helps people worldwide organize McVegan events, which involve passing out thousands of free vegan food samples and dietary information to the public. In 1995,

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

threatened to sue Vegan Action for trademark infringement over McVegan shirts which featured McDonald's well-known golden arches with the logo "McVegan. Billions and billions saved." Instead of backing down, Vegan Action enlisted pro-bono services from an intellectual property legal firm and developed a defense based on the First Amendment's protection of parody. The story was picked up by ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', '' San Francisco Examiner'', ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'', ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', the AP and UPI wires,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and four local television networks. After two weeks of widespread press, McDonald's backed down and formally withdrew their threat of legal action.

Dorm food

Vegan Action has worked to help dozens of campus groups across the country bring vegan food options into their dorms. Their dorm food campaigns have made college life more convenient for vegan students while introducing thousands of other students to the possibilities of a vegan diet. Vegan Action began after a successful petition in 1994 at

UC-Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

. Working with two campus groups, Students in Support of Animals and The Coalition of Students for Healthy Dorm Food, the Vegan Action founders circulated a petition for improved vegan food options, obtaining signatures from 1,200 dorm residents. The groups then met with dorm administrators, armed with the

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a plant-based diet, preventive medicine, and alternatives to animal research, and encourages ...

's Gold Plan, which supplies vegan recipes and nutritional information to food-service personnel, and other supportive material.Parr, Jan. ''

Vegetarian Times ''Vegetarian Times'' is an American publication focused on food, culture, health and lifestyle for vegetarians, vegans, and all people interested in plant-based eating. ''Vegetarian Times'' promotes an eco-friendly lifestyle with recipes, and he ...

''. April, 1995.

Members

Board of Directors: *Executive Director - Krissi Vandenberg *Board Members - Trey Sutton, Amy Kvien, Lauren Vincelli, Liz Dooley Advisory Committee: *David Blatte, Esq *Christopher Patterson, DVM

References