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Vegan Friendly, formerly the Association for the Vegan Future, is an Israeli organization founded in September 2012 by Omri Paz, an advocate of veganism and animal rights.[1]
 | |
| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Veganism |
| Leader | Omri Paz |
| Website | www.vegan-friendly.co.il/ |
The association operates in two main areas:
- Promoting the vegan lifestyle: labeling vegan products and vegan-friendly businesses, encouraging businesses to add vegan options, and organizing large-scale events.
- Raising awareness, explanation, and education: achieved through the execution of innovative projects in various fields by the supporters' club - Vegan Active.
Some of the most noticeable projects of Vegan Friendly include: The world's largest vegan festival - Vegan Fest; The first vegan commercial in Israel; "A Mother's Testimony" which included the participation of Rotem Sela; "Food Engineers" project; Gary Yourofsky's visit and lecture tour in Israel; The Vegan congress.
Vegan Friendly Label
editLabeling Businesses
editThe Vegan Friendly Label was designed to highlight vegan-friendly restaurants and businesses in Israel, making veganism accessible for those who choose to make the transition or want to experience veganism. [citation needed] As of November 2022, the organization certified more than 1,800 businesses and 10,000 products.[2]
The association has also worked to include a category for Vegan Friendly restaurants in all the leading indexes of restaurants and online delivery services, in order to make veganism accessible to the general population as well.[citation needed]
Labeling Products
editIn February 2013, the association began the national product labeling project. As part of this project, the association marks vegan food, grooming and clothing products with the label "Vegan Friendly" in large marketing chains and various companies in the Israeli market. As part of the marketing, the association conducts strict tests of the products' components to make sure that they are actually vegan.
By November 2022, over 500 food manufacturers including market leaders such as Unilever, Nestlé, and Strauss Group, use the Vegan Friendly seal and more than 10,000 plant-based products have the Vegan Friendly label nationwide.[2]
As part of the marketing, the association maintains collaborations with food chains and large businesses, providing advice on how to become vegan friendly and more.[citation needed]
Labeling Companies and Employers
editStarting from 2020, the association expanded its labeling project to include companies and employers. The label symbolizes a company that is environmentally friendly, compassionate toward animals, and promotes a healthy vegan lifestyle. This encourages a healthy lifestyle and diet within the company, provides a sense of belonging for employees, and offers a particularly positive experience for vegan and vegetarian employees and applicants.
Projects
editAmong the projects are Vegan Fest,[3] the Vegan Congress,[4] and Vegan Active Club.[1]
In September 2021, the association launched the first advertisement on veganism in Israel's prime time, "Fresh Fresh". It was estimated that one in three Israelis saw the advertisement and tens of thousands from all over the world indicated that they would switch to veganism and vegetarianism.[5][6][7]
With the participation of Rotem Sela, an informational video was made which deals with the ethical issues of the dairy industry. This project was watched by about a million Israelis and caused thousands of people to change their consumption habits.[8][9]
In August 2022, the association sponsored Hapoel Tel Aviv in basketball.[10][11]
The company started applying their business model to the UK market in 2020, and after two and a half years had over 1,200 businesses and 3,000 products certified as vegan friendly. The also started operating in the USA in 2022.[2]
The company also holds an annual Vegan Fest, which is considered as the world's largest vegan festival. The fourth event took place in Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv in June 2023, and had over 100,000 attendees.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ a b CTech (2021-09-16). ""I was obsessed growing up with what's right and what's not right, finding justice."". Calcalist. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ a b c Wrobel, Sharon. "Israel's vegan revolutionary now spreading word on plant-based food in New York". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "'World's biggest' vegan festival attracts thousands". Euronews. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ "Tel Aviv hosts 5th annual Vegan Congress". ISRAEL21c. 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ Chiorando, Maria (2020-09-14). "EXCLUSIVE: Isreal's First Pro-Vegan T.V Advert Reaches 35% Of Population". Plant Based News. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Ferrer, Marthe de (2020-09-15). "Live lamb used in provocative new vegan commercial in Israel". Euronews. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Smith, Kat (2020-09-17). "This Vegan TV Commercial Was Just Watched by One-Third of Israel". Livekindly. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Klein Leichman, Abigail (2015-12-12). "The (halachic) case for veganism". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ "Rotem Sela in a new controversial campaign: "Do not consume dairy products"". mako (in Hebrew). 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ Steinberg, Jessica (2022-08-16). "Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team goes vegan with new sponsor". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Livnat, Arie (2022-08-03). "Tel Aviv Basketball Team Goes Vegan". Haaretz. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Ynet (2023-06-20). "World's biggest vegan food festival arrives in Tel Aviv". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ^ Meyers, Danielle (2023-06-29). "The largest vegan food festival, Vegan Fest and it's in Tel Aviv - Green Prophet". Retrieved 2023-07-18.