The European Vegetarian Label

Already 20 years ago there had been efforts to launch a vegetarian label worldwide. In fact William Pick, founder and President of the Jewish Vegetarian Society, tried to introduce a universal vegetarian symbol already in 1976.

The present V-label was created by the Italian artist Prof. Bruno Nascimben (Castenaso) and presented for worldwide use at the EVU Congress 1985 in Cervia, Italy. Since then many vegetarian and vegan organisations have adopted the logo so that it became the most widely used vegetarian symbol worldwide.

The market for vegetarian products and meat alternatives is growing rapidly and there is clearly a demand to help consumers identify these products.

In Switzerland, licences are granted to the food industry since 1996. Since then the label has been launched in ever more countries and is now introduced in almost all European nations, from Portugal to Russia. A lot of work has been invested regarding the regulations, criteria and many other issues. A growing number of vegetarian organisations are joining this initiative of the European Vegetarian Union.

An overview of all presently available V-Label advertising material can be found here: advertising material.