The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...

for

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

societies and groups in Europe. The union works in the areas of vegetarianism,

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

, climate and environment, and food labelling. The current General Secretary is Louise Johansen from Denmark, who is also working as a policy advisor and programme director at the Vegetarian Society of Denmark (DVF

History

* The EVU distributed the 1995 film ''

Devour the Earth Tony Wardle is a British journalist and writer. He co-authored, with Michael Mansfield, the 1993 book ''Presumed Guilty: British Legal System Exposed'', which criticised the British criminal justice system. He is a vegan and actively involved in ...

'' about the global consequences of meat consumption. The film was produced by the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (VSUK) is a British Registered charity in England, registered charity. It campaigns for dietary changes, licenses Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks for Vegetarianism, vegetarian and Veganism, v ...

, written by Tony Wardle and narrated by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. * In October 2011, Renato Pichler, Board Member of the EVU, reported that the French government's ''Décret 2011-1227'' and associated (September 30, 2011) effectively outlaws the serving of

meals at any public or private school in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Similar decrees are proposed for kindergartens, hospitals, prisons and retirement homes.

Purpose

The main activities of the EVU are: * To support and represent member societies on a European level, and to offer a platform for close cooperation; * To raise public awareness of, and promote vegetarianism, vegetarian/plant-based issues and the benefits of a vegetarian/plant-based lifestyle; * To lobby governments, European institutions and organisations for greater recognition of plant-based issues in policy decisions; and * To promote transparent food labelling in the interest of all vegetarian and vegan consumers across Europe and the rest of the world.

Labelling

V-Label

EVU has acted as the background organisation for the V-Label in the past. Some of EVU's member organisations certify products with the label. The label was launched in 1995 and redesigned in 2023 to better differentiate between the vegan and the vegetarian label.

Other labels in the European Union

The European Vegetarian Union has tried to legally define the use of the labels "vegetarian" and "vegan" on food items. They have argued that the vegan label on a product should have a clear and standard meaning. They have put forth two main requirements: # "The deliberate use of non-vegan or non-vegetarian substances must be ruled out." # "The (potential) presence of inadvertent traces of non-vegan or non-vegetarian substances should not be an obstacle to labelling a product as vegan or vegetarian, provided that such contamination occurs despite a careful production process that complies with the best practices and the state of the art." Despite the organisation's efforts, the European Commission initially refused to enact any changes. The EVU has continued to lobby state governments, especially in Germany because the country experienced more widespread support for the labelling legislation. As a result, "consumer protection ministers of German Länder unanimously agreed on a proposal for a wording of the definition of the terms "vegan" and "vegetarian" for food labelling and put it into effect for the food control authorities within their jurisdictions, making it de facto binding."

References

External links

* {{Vegetarianism Food politics Vegetarian publications and websites Vegetarian organizations Winterthur Certification marks Ecolabelling Vegetarianism in Switzerland