Key facts

Please contact our Media Officer, Amanda Baker (media@vegansociety.com or 07847 664 793 or 0121 523 1737) for any background information, and where appropriate, comment, case studies, vegan-friendly product samples etc.

"Making the Connection" is a new film which invites you on a journey - together with a chef, a farmer, an MP, an athlete, a dietician, a poet - to explore an exciting lifestyle which combines delicious, healthy food with tackling many of the global challenges facing us today.

Policies that The Vegan Society would like Political Parties to Adopt

• Work towards better vegan catering in hospitals, schools, care homes, prisons and other publically run places under the terms of the Equality Act. This includes ensuring that local government is procuring vegan food for these establishments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help food security and ensure healthy diets.
• Ensure animal-free medication and food supplements including infant formula are available as required by the Equality Act.
• NVQ in catering to include section on catering for vegans.
• Help the farming industry move towards stock-free, plant-based farming to reduce greenhouse gases and help global food security.
• A legally accepted definition of the word vegan leading to better labelling.
• A policy promoting sustainable plant-based diets in international development work.
• Fund and develop alternatives to animal experiments.
• The National Curriculum to include:
  • Consideration of different ethical approaches to human-nonhuman animal relations, including veganism and rights-based approaches.
  • Honest education about the consequences for nonhuman animal well-being involved in the production of meat, fish, eggs and dairy foods.
• To end animal suffering in the name of sport or entertainment.
• Add a dietary preference question to the next census.

What is vegan?

Vegan lifestyles exclude – as far as is possible and practicable – all forms of exploitation of animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.

Vegans enjoy foods made from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, peas, lentils, grains and mushrooms, including all plant-based herbs and spices.

Saving scarce resources

A well-planned plant-based diet needs only one third the fresh water, fertile land  and energy used for the typical British diet.

The United Nations found that human farming of animals causes 18% of our global greenhouse gas emissions – more than world transport, including flying.

About vegans

There are at least 150,000 vegans in the UK. The UK meat-free foods market in 2008 was valued at £739 million.

People choose to follow vegan lifestyles to reduce environmental impact, to benefit global food security, for personal health reasons and to avoid exploitation of animals, among other reasons.

Vegans do not eat anything taken from animals – no meat, dairy, eggs, nor substances from insects.  That means no poultry, fish, shellfish, cheese, goats’ milk, honey, shellac, cochineal, and so on, nor any food or drink made with such substances.