European Vegetarian Union

The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) is a non-profit, non-governmental umbrella organisation for vegetarian societies and groups in Europe. The union works in the areas of vegetarianism, nutrition, health, consumer protection, the campaign for animal rights, ecology, general information and against world hunger. Headquarters are in Winterthur (Switzerland), together with the Swiss organisation Swissveg.

European Vegetarian Union
AbbreviationEVU
Formation1988 (1988)
Founded atHilversum, Netherlands
TypeNon-profit organisation
Registration no.109356110578-03
FocusVegetarianism
Location
Area served
Europe
ProductBusiness development, standards organisation
Members (2020)
37 member organisations from 25 countries[1]
Official language
English
General Secretary
Olivia Ladinig
President
Felix Hnat
Vice President
Sebastian Joy
Treasurer
Johannes Gilli
AffiliationsInternational Vegetarian Union
Budget (2017)
€13,072
Websitewww.euroveg.eu
V-label
Effective regionWorldwide
Effective since1995
Product categoryFood label
Legal statusConsumer recognised
Websitewww.v-label.info

History

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 issues and the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle;
  • To lobby governments, European institutions and organisations for greater recognition of vegetarian issues in policy decisions; and
  • To further promote the V-Label scheme (Universal Vegetarian Symbol), in the interest of all vegetarian and vegan consumers across Europe and the rest of the world. The V-Label is a standardised European vegetarian label from the EVU with the aim of easy identification of vegetarian products and services.

Labelling
The V-Label since January 2023[5]
V-Label from 1995 until 2022

V-Label

The EVU owns the V-Label, and its member organisations certify products with the label.[6] EVU launched the label in 1995[7] and redesigned it in 2023 to better differentiate between the vegan and the vegetarian label.[5][8]

Other labels in the European Union

The European Vegetarian Union has tried to legally restrict the use of the labels "vegetarian" and "vegan" on food items.[9] They have argued that the vegan label on a product should have a clear and standard meaning. They have put forth two main requirements:

  1. "The deliberate use of non-vegan or non-vegetarian substances must be ruled out."
  2. "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." A recent 2018 report predicts that "vegan" and "vegetarian" labels will be required to meet the EVU's criteria by the year 2020.[9]

See also

Animal protection movements

References
  1. "Members - List". European Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. "Devour the Earth". World Preservation Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-01-07.
  3. "Devour the Earth". EVU. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14.
  4. Renato Pichler "The French Government Outlaws Vegetarianism in Schools" Archived October 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, European Vegetarian Union (EVU). *Also see "The French Government Outlaws Vegetarianism in Schools", European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA).
  5. "V-Label unveils new labels, marking global growth - V-Label". www.v-label.com. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  6. "Get certified - V-Label". www.v-label.com. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  7. "CH-440.4.021.134 V-Label GmbH". Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  8. "Mehr Transparenz: Neues V-Label markiert vegane und vegetarische Lebensmittel unterschiedlich". stern.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  9. Domke, Felix (2018). "Vegetarian and Vegan Products - Labelling and Definitions". European Food and Feed Law Review. 13 (2): 102–107.
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