This year will be remembered as one in which we all faced significant challenges and opportunities, but despite the turbulence, the vegan food and drink industry has once again come out thriving.
Kantar Worldpanel found that tofu sales in the UK increased 81.7% between April and June 2020, and in the same timeframe, sales of vegan mince and vegan burgers shot up 50.1% and 37% respectively.
Whilst we recognise that booming sales figures are a great indicator of increasing popularity, behind the scenes, we continue to face difficulties in defending vegan consumer rights and issues. One of which is the complexity surrounding vegan food and drink labelling.
We are very proud to say that the term vegan was coined in 1944 by The Vegan Societys founders. As such, history unites the terminology with our organisations identity and gives us unique authority in defending its use. The creation of the term, and our official definition, has been pivotal in creating the vegan movement that thrives today.
The British Dietetic Association defines a plant-based diet as based on foods derived from plants, including vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and fruits, with few or no animal products. Of course, this is looking at diets, rather than specific products. The Cambridge Dictionary states the definition as consisting or made entirely of plants, or mainly of plants. From these two definitions alone, there is ambiguity around the presence of animal products. To make matters more confusing, published research states that a plant-based diet excludes all animal products.
So which definition is correct? With veganism on the rise year by year, and vegan food manufacturers increasingly using plant-based to describe their products, it is becoming ever more essential to protect vegan consumers. Its also vital to ensure that food labelling is clear enough to allow people to live without compromising their ethical beliefs.
Asthe national standards body of the United Kingdom, TheBritish Standards Institution(BSI)developsvarious standards includingPublicly Available Specifications (PAS)fast-track standardisation documentsrelating to variousindustriesand consumer products.Over the last 12 months, the Society has been able to feed intoone such PASaimedatclarifyingrecommendations about the composition and characteristics of plant-based foods.
Within this document, the BSI stated that plant-based foods may be understood to occupy a position between vegan and vegetarian and that foods labelled as plant-based could contain limited amounts of egg and milk products. They stated: Plant-based foods: should not contain any ingredient derived from slaughtered or dead animals; and should contain a maximum of 5% ingredients in the final product that are animal-derived.
Centringtransparencyfor all consumers,the Society hasmaintained the distinction betweenthecurrentconsumer perception ofaplant-basedfoodanda plant-baseddietandhighlightedthe challenges faced by vegans withthe termplant-basedandvegancurrently being usedinterchangeablyby big brands.
In the public consultation to this PAS, we commented that The Vegan Society supports transparency for consumers via product labelling. After considering feedback from our supporters we strongly believe that a product labelled as Plant-Based would be considered by most vegans to be free from animal-derived ingredients. As a term closely linked with veganism, we would, therefore, only support a Plant-Based PAS which observed a completely free from animal-derived ingredients standard.
To find out what the public thought of this issue, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 people across Great Britain[1].
Our results found that:
We also looked at which of the two terms vegan and plant-based the public preferred, and found that:
From the feedback from our supporters and our research with the public, it is clear that the consensus is: if a product is labelled plant-based, then it is considered vegan. Additionally, although plant-based has risen in popularity, the term vegan still wins as the preferred term. Although our research did not ask why respondents preferred this, we believe it comes down to this: consumers want clear and precise labelling so that they can make quick and informed decisions. Thanks to our founders, the term vegan does just this.
Our work with BSI and theplant-basedPAS is coming to a close, andwe hope the final document will reflect the current perceptions of consumers protecting them from misunderstanding product labelling terminology and helping them find products that suit their diet andlifestyle.
The Vegan Society will continue to use the term vegan where we mean vegan. However, there are times where we may use the term plant-based when working with professions who are using it in their work. The scope of this includes health professionals, campaigns and policy work, market insights, and so on. Language is an important tool for connecting with broad issues and finding common ground, which are essential aspects to progress the vegan movement.
Louisianna Waring, Insight and Commercial Policy Officer
Louisianna is the Insight and Commercial Policy Officer at The Vegan Society. She leads on policy issues that affect vegan businesses and researches the latest trends, consumer insights and market data on veganism.
[1] Attest consumer survey for The Vegan Society (Food labelling) of 1,000 GB adults conducted 2-3 September 2020
See more here:
The Vegan Society's Stance on the 'Vegan' Vs. 'Plant-based' Debate - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine
