Vegetarian and vegan symbolism

Multiple symbols have been developed to represent vegetarianism and veganism. Several are used on food packaging, including voluntary labels such as the Vegan Society trademark or the European Vegetarian symbol[1][2] as well as the vegetarian and non-vegetarian marks mandated by the Indian government.[3] Symbols may also be used by members of the vegetarian and vegan communities to represent their identities, and in the course of animal rights activism.

Vegetarian symbols

Indian vegetarian mark
Main article: Vegetarian and non-vegetarian marks

Packaged food products sold in India are required to be labelled with a mandatory mark in order to be distinguished between vegetarian and non-vegetarian.[3][4][5][6][7] The symbol is in effect following the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Act of 2006, and received a mandatory status after the framing of the respective regulations (Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulation) in 2011.[3] According to the law, vegetarian food should be identified by a green symbol and non-vegetarian food with a brown symbol.

V-label

The V-label, a V with a leaf, originated with the European Vegetarian Union. The V-Label is a standardized European vegetarian label from the EVU with the aim of easy identification of vegetarian products and services.[8]

Vegan symbols

Vegan Trademark

The Vegan Trademark, a flower, is an internationally recognised standard from The Vegan Society that registers products with the aim of easy identification of vegan products.

Enclosed V

The enclosed V (modeled after the enclosed A and the enclosed–E symbols) is a popular vegan symbol, especially on social networks where it is represented by the Ⓥ symbol of the Enclosed Alphanumerics Unicode block. A "V" inside a circle is not used to label products as vegan nor should be relied upon to determine if a product is vegan. A Kosher organization (Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis) owns and uses a US trademark (certification mark) consisting of a V inside a circle.[9]

Seedling emoji

On internet forums and social networks, the seedling emoji 🌱 is sometimes used to symbolize veganism or vegan products.[9]

Veganarchy symbol

The Veganarchy symbol, first introduced in print in Brian A. Dominick's Animal Liberation and Social Revolution pamphlet in 1995, combines the Circle-V with the Circle-A of anarchist symbolism.[10]

Vegan flag

The vegan flag[11] was designed by a network group of graphic designers and activists from several countries. The group was opened by Gad Hakimi, a vegan activist and designer from Israel.[12][13] [14] intending to be a civil flag to represent veganism. The flag consists of three blue and green triangles forming the letter V, the first letter in the word "vegan".

Originally, some members of the group suggested that animals should be featured on the flag, with red colours featuring prominently to symbolize the blood of slaughtered animals.[15] However, the group eventually chose to make the flag about human–animal equality, not about animals themselves.[16] Inspired by the LGBT rainbow flag, the flag was created in hopes of uniting animal rights organizations and activists. The colours white, green, and blue were chosen to represent the natural habitats of animals: sky, land, and sea. The letter V stands for Vegan, and is an inverted pyramid intended to symbolize the ability to do the impossible.[17]


References
  1. Yacoubou, Jeanne (2006). "Vegetarian Certifications on Food Labels: What Do They Mean?". Vegetarian Journal. 17 (3): 25. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. Basas, Carrie Griffin (2011). ""V" is for Vegetarian: FDA-Mandated Vegetarian Food Labeling". Utah Law Review. 4: 1275. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1434040.
  3. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. 'Food Safety and standards (Packaging and Labelling) regulations, 2011.'
  4. Greendotter. 'Dots'.
  5. The Hindu. '6 months imprisonment to papad maker, sellers.'
  6. Indian Express. 'See brown logo on non-veg biscuits.'
  7. National Institute of Open Schooling. 'Wise Buying.'
  8. "The history of the V-Label › V-Label". V-Label. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  9. "Vegan Symbol". vegansymbol.com. The Vegan Feed. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  10. Dominick, Brian. Animal Liberation and Social Revolution: A vegan perspective on anarchism or an anarchist perspective on veganism, Critical Mess Media, 1995.
  11. "The vegan flag website".
  12. "Graphic Design Team Unveils Veganism's First Ever Official Flag". Plant Based News. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  13. "New Flag Launches to Unite Vegans Across the Globe". Veg News. 16 July 2017.
  14. "Team Of Designers Launch New International Vegan Flag". Veggie Savvy. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  15. "The Vegan Flag: A Symbol of Unity or a Point of Conflict?". LIVEKINDLY. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  16. "The International vegan flag has launched". Vegan Food & Living. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  17. Pinto, Goel (24 June 2017). "Designing the flag of veganism". "Gam Ken Tarbut" on Israeli television (in Hebrew). Minutes: 0:32-0:40: KAN Culture. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017. The idea is a upside-down pyramid, to show that we can do the impossible. (min 0:37:55)CS1 maint: location (link)
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