The Vegetarian Society is a British registered charity established on 30 September 1847 to "support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK."[1]
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In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat-free diets. Key groups involved in the formation of the Vegetarian Society were supporters of the Concordium, members of the Bible Christian Church, and readers of the Truth-Tester journal.[2]
The Concordium was a boarding school near London on Ham Common, Richmond, Surrey. Pupils at the school followed a diet completely free of animal products, today called a vegan diet. The Concordium was also called Alcott House, in honor of American education and food reform advocate Bronson Alcott.[2]
The Bible Christian Church was founded in 1809 in Salford after a split from the New Church. One distinctive feature of the Bible Christians was a belief in a meat-free diet.[3]
The Truth-Tester was a journal which published material supporting the temperance movement. In 1846 the editorship was taken over by William Horsell, operator of the Northwood Villa Hydropathic Institute in Ramsgate, Kent. Horsell gradually steered the Truth-Tester towards promotion of the 'Vegetable Diet'. In early 1847 a letter to the Truth-Tester proposed formation of a Vegetarian Society. In response to this letter, William Oldham held what he called a "physiological conference" July 1847 at Alcott House. Up to 130 attended, including Bible Christian James Simpson, who presented a speech. The conference passed a number of resolutions, including a resolution to reconvene at the end of September.[2]
On September 30, 1847 the meeting which had been planned at the Physiological Conference took place at Northwood Villa Hydropathic Institute.[4] Salford parliament member and Bible Christian Joseph Brotherton chaired. Bible Christian James Simpson was elected president of the society, Concordist William Oldham elected treasurer, and Truth-Tester editor William Horsell elected secretary.[5] The name 'Vegetarian Society' was chosen for the new organization by a unanimous vote.[4]
The Vegetarian Society's first full public meeting was held in Manchester the following year. In 1853 the Society already had 889 members. In 1897 its membership was about 5,000.[6]
In the 20th century, the Society's work became geared primarily towards the provision of advice and education to individuals, educational establishments and community groups. The Vegetarian Society also acts as a pressure group with the aim of influencing food producers to remove non-vegetarian ingredients such as gelatine or cheese produced using animal rennet from their products. Manufacturers can apply for their products to be accredited with the Society's trademarked seedling symbol, which has strict criteria,[7] including the use of free range eggs, which other V symbols may not include. They also campaign strongly against the labelling of products containing fish as vegetarian, (particularly by restaurants) and negatively highlighting celebrities who claim to be vegetarian but eat fish. The Society also maintains a regularly updated list of products which are not vegetarian.
Notable members of the Vegetarian Society have included Peter Cushing, Isaac Pitman, Jorja Fox, George Bernard Shaw, Keith Lorraine, and Paul, Linda. Stella McCartney and Mahatma Gandhi
There are numerous other vegetarian societies in various parts of the world, notably in Australia, New Zealand and the United States though these are not directly linked to the Vegetarian Society.
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