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 V-Label (with support of the European Vegetarian Union[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.[citation needed]
Vegetarian symbols[]
Indian vegetarian mark[]
Packaged food and toothpaste[4] products sold in India are required to be labelled with a mandatory mark in order to be distinguished between lacto-vegetarian and non-vegetarian.[3][5][6][7][8] 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. They are defined as:
"Vegetarian food must have a symbol of a green color-filled circle inside a square with a green outline prominently displayed on the package, contrasting against the background on the principal display panel, in close proximity to name or brand name of the food."
"Non-vegetarian food (any food which contains whole or part of any animal including birds, marine animals, eggs, or products of any animal origin as an ingredient, excluding honey, milk or milk products), must have a symbol of a brown color-filled circle inside a square with a brown outline prominently displayed on the package, contrasting against the background on the principal display panel, in close proximity to the name or brand name of the food."[9]
The fact that the symbols are identical in shape mean that a person with color blindness may not be able to distinguish them. Some have recommended using a different shape in place of the brown dot.[citation needed]
In September 2021, the FSSAI announced adoption of the new vegan symbol.[10][11]
V-Label[]
The V-Label, a V with a leaf, originated with the European Vegetarian Union. The V-Label is a standardised international vegan and vegetarian label supported by the EVU with the aim of easy identification of vegan and vegetarian products and services.[12]
Vegan symbols[]
Vegan Trademark[]
The Vegan Trademark, with its iconic sunflower, is an internationally recognised standard from The Vegan Society (who coined the term 'vegan'). It certifies products with the aim of easy identification of vegan products. Launched in 1990, it was the first vegan verification scheme.
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.[13]