European vegetarian union
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) is an umbrella organisation for vegetarian societies and groups in Europe, and works in the areas of vegetarianism, nutrition, health, consumer protection, the campaign against world hunger, animal rights, ecology and general information.
The main activities of the EVU are:
• To support and represent member societies on a European level, and to offer a platform for close cooperation;
• To raise public awareness of, and promote vegetarianism, vegetarian issues and the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle;
• To lobby governments, European institutions and organisations for greater recognition of vegetarian issues in policy decisions; and
• To further promote the successful V-label scheme, in the interest of all vegetarian and vegan consumers across Europe. The V-Label is a standardised European vegetarian label from the EVU with the aim of easy identification of vegetarian products and services.
The EVU aims to support vegetarian organisations across Europe and bring them closer together. This is especially important in countries where the vegetarian philosophy has not yet had a chance to develop.
The connection between the various member societies is promoted through the EVU magazine "European Vegetarian". This is produced twice a year and reports on events, news, trends, developments, initiatives and activities that are of interest to vegetarians.
Also very important are the opportunities for vegetarians from all over Europe to meet in person and be able to exchange ideas and information, offer each other help and build links with other organisations. International meetings and events, where the latest developments and findings can be discussed in lectures and working groups, serve this purpose well.
Through membership of the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), the EVU is in contact with the international vegetarian community.
EVU receives regular information and alerts from the most important international organisations and media companies, which allows for a close monitoring of important international economic, political and social developments.